Early Monday (August 29) morning, the NAD ACS Team met up with the ACS workers from Tennessee at the Distribution Center, and spoke with them about about how their home churches and some counties had supported them in their plans to help with the Relief work in Louisiana. The discussion also involved reviewing a listing of the homes affected that had been prepared by the local ACS leadership, and outlining them in a manner that would ensure the most effective use of the resources. The discussion with the team from Tennessee was followed by another discussion with the American Red Cross Team led by Director Carlos.
The different groups that were actively involved in the Recovery Efforts touched on some of the shortfalls that they had experienced in the last few days. For example, the Red Cross highlighted some of their concerns with the donated “stuff’ that had been given to them. In the afternoon, conference calls were held for our Union Directors and some of our other Conference Directors/Coordinators to discuss the continued work in Louisiana. “This interaction will create opportunities for collaborative support of our team on the ground and we’ll follow-up upon my return to the home office,” says W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS Disaster Response Director.
Presently, the local Southwest Regional and Arkansas-Louisiana Conferences are scheduling volunteers to serve in both the Warehouse and the Wellness Center. As these plans are being formulated, the local community continues to keep an eye on the weather reports. In the last six months, Louisiana has been hit by a Tornado in February, a major flooding in the Spring when 40 of the 64 Parishes were affected to experiencing this latest flooding. Forecast reports are now calling for a possible Hurricane that is predicted to devastate the State again.
Please, let us keep the State of Louisiana in our thoughts and prayers, for their protection and safety as they encounter such weather-related tragedies.