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We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a disaster response team sponsored by the United Methodist Church - Memphis Conference. Unfortunately, the team has been extremely active over the past few years, responding to tornado damage in Jackson, Dyer, Bradford, Paris, and Camden Tennessee and Benton, Kentucky. We also spent a week in Southern Alabama after hurricane Ivan and ten weeks on the Mississippi coast after Katrina. The team worked in Louisiana and Missouri, but neither Glenda nor I were able to participate in those deployments. In 2008 we spent a week in the Houston, Texas area following hurricane Ike. More recently, we worked for several weeks in Western Kentucky after the February 2009 Ice Storm. There are three teams from the Memphis Conference. One based in Memphis, Camden, and Paducah. We work mostly with the team from Camden which consist of members from a large part of rural West Tennessee. We are primarily involved in tree and debris removal from homeowners' property, but we have performed a variety of services including cleanout and sanitation of houses on days when the weather didn't permit work outdoors. We've even moved a couple government agencies from one temporary location to another. Our team asks nothing from homeowners in return for our help. Our reward comes from knowing that we've been able to help people in distress. Homeowners often become emotional and ill at ease trying to show their gratitude and we usually tell them that it may sound inappropriate, but we are actually having fun. That is true. We have a lot of fun and enjoy the camaraderie of teammates in a wholesome Christian environment... even if it is usually a tent. |
United Methodist Church