Responding to Sally

By Sam McVay

During the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 16, Hurricane Sally slowly made landfall in Pensacola, Florida, several miles east of where she had been projected to land. Her slow movement and unexpected directional change caught many by surprise. Unrelenting heavy rains and destructive winds wreaked havoc in the Pensacola area.

The Master’s Men Disaster Response Team (DRT) immediately sprang into action, making plans to join the Florida DRT to help those impacted by the storm. The National DRT, led by Sam McVay, and the Florida DRT, led by Allan Austin, were joined by Florida Executive Director Randy Bryant, local pastor Blake Nance, and men from the Beulah (Pensacola) and Damascus (Marianna) Free Will Baptist churches in assisting with clean up and relief.

Most of the work involved cleaning up large trees that had fallen on homes, across drives, and in yards. Sam’s brother, Mike McVay, brought his skid steer and was a tremendous asset to the efforts. With the skid steer, the team removed debris from three local Free Will Baptist churches and several family residences in four days. Much work remains to be done, and at the time of this report, the South Carolina DRT is coordinating with the Florida and National teams to return to help with the cleanup.

Whether removing trees from a house, a storage building, a car, across fences, blocking driveways, or just across the yard, those impacted were extremely thankful and appreciative. During a very stressful time, the disaster relief ministry brings help and encouragement to those impacted. We are thankful for men and women who serve the Lord by volunteering their time and efforts to bring help and relief to those impacted by disasters.

If you are interested in helping support the ministry of Master’s Men Disaster Response, or in volunteering yourself, go to fwbmastersmen.org. Your donation will help Master’s Men purchase the necessary equipment to minister effectively to those suffering from the latest disaster.

About the Writer: Sam McVay is church relations officer for Free Will Baptist North American ministries. Learn more: fwbnam.com/masters-men.