A Reminder and Overview of DRT

Evangelism is THE entire purpose of DRT. The Disaster Response Team uses the examples Jesus set for all of us of serving others as they are being taught.

GOD has truly blessed the ministry of DRT!! In June it will be 5 years ago that "DRT" was first established. Although Mark and I had 12 years experience in disaster relief prior to this, through much prayer and spiritual guidance we stepped out on faith and started what is now known as the Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team. It began in 2004 with Mark and I going full-time in this ministry, a handful of volunteers from our home congregation in Troy, Ohio and (1) 8 x 10 trailer that was donated to the work and filled with Mark's personal tools.
Fast Forward to 2009......
The purpose of DRT is to reach out spiritually to survivors of disaster by building relationships as we work alongside them helping to rebuild their lives and homes.

How Is This Done?...........
The Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team (DRT) is a 1st Response Organization dealing mainly with catastrophic disasters. When DRT first began, we would call the churches in the disaster areas asking if they needed assistance, etc. now as time goes on and DRT has helped in so many areas word has spread about the wonderful disaster assistance DRT provides to congregations in the disaster areas. Now congregations call DRT asking for assistance.

DRT has (18) trained volunteer coordinators. (we are always looking for more) :-)
DRT sends trained coordinators into the disaster area to work with the local congregation/s. We "help them" set up and/or run their relief effort. This includes cooking meals for the community and volunteers as well as providing the food. (DRT also has a mobile kitchen available if needed that can serve up to 3,000 meals per day) and a full-time cook/evangelist.(who has received his own support through COC congregations) Our coordinators are also trained in the distribution, clean up and rebuilding phases of disaster relief as well as evangelism which is our main purpose.
DRT also helps to purchase building material for those who are without/under insured.

DRT has over 6,000 volunteers in our database (and continue to seek more) :-) from all across the U.S. as well as several foreign countries that we pull from when a disaster strikes to come and assist DRT and the local congregations in all of the above mentioned phases.
Volunteers that come to work with DRT are always assured of housing (usually in the church building), hot showers (DRT brings a shower trailer with instant hot water), 3 daily meals, jobs already lined up and waiting for them :-) as well as the tools and building material to do the work. DRT brings several tool trailers completely stocked with all the tools needed for whatever disaster we are on as well as job site coordinators to work with the volunteers teaching and training certain skills if needed. This is all provided to the volunteers at no cost, thanks to the funding provided by congregations all across the U.S. that realize the need for the Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team (DRT).

"This is an excerpt from an email I received from a brother in Christ that has worked with DRT.

PS. Mark and Laura the fields are still being harvested in BLB (Bayou La Batre .ed)due to what you two started. Dave Neal and Doug Oakes were recently down there and more have been taught and baptized. Don, Rosemary and Mike are going down to do follow-up next week. We continue to pray for their efforts. Russ"

Lives are changed because of the DRT. Not because of Mark or I at all, there is no way we could have done this. THIS IS ALL A GOD THING!! Because of GOD, DRT has grown and continues to grow, the church has grown, we know this because of the many baptisms that have taken place all over where the DRT has been and served......YOU....the members of the churches in the disaster areas....the volunteers......those of you that are praying for this ministry.....
GOD is using YOU to bring the lost to JESUS through disaster relief!! PRAISE GOD and Let us not grow weary!

Wildfires in South Carolina

We're staying in contact with the Myrtle Beach Church of Christ. Currently they are 10 miles away from the fires and have had no members affected. We will keep you informed if the need arises for DRT to go to assist in the Myrtle Beach area.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - A coastal wildfire spread Thursday toward one of the busiest tourist stretches in South Carolina, burning dozens of homes and forcing 2,500 to flee in the middle of the night.
Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the area, saying the fire had consumed 15,000 acres, or about 23 square miles — nearly double earlier estimates. The declaration frees up more resources to battle the blaze.
At least 40 homes have been destroyed and 100 damaged.....

Garry Alderman, the county fire chief, described some homeowners as having been left with only "skeletal remains."
"I've never seen anything this bad," he said.
Even as hundreds of firefighters, two dozen bulldozers and a water-dropping helicopter were deployed, Sanford said the fire was continuing to spread and more people may be affected.....

No cause determinedAbout 2,500 people in a four-mile stretch on the western side of the waterway were told to leave their homes overnight, Aiello said. No injuries have been reported...
"What we have on is what we got away with," said Sherlene Pinnix, 63.

Besides the wind, Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner said crews were having trouble getting to the flames because of the dense vegetation and were using bulldozers and tractors to cut paths to it.
Adding to the problem were heavily vegetated patches called Carolina Bays that caught fire and fueled the blaze. The shallow, egg-shaped depressions pockmark the coast and range in size from a few to thousands of acres. The bays are densely filled with plant life and often have boggy bottoms where peat, if it catches fire, can burn for days or weeks.
Tropical downpours are often needed to extinguish such fires, said state Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins.
"Once you get a fire in a bay, it's very, very hard to put out," he said.

This year has started out busy as usual! We closed the relief site in Bridge City, Texas and have been in touch with and working by phone with many congregations in the tornado stricken and fire damaged areas with the storms that passed through the Midwest a couple of weeks ago.
WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW... YOU ASK??
Glad you asked :-)
All of our coordinators are at home (although most are still working on DRT things, trying to make things better.....more organized....more efficient :-) just can't get 'em to stop :-) However we hope and pray they are getting some much needed and well deserved rest!
One thing we all are working on are articles for our next newsletter. I've been extremely lax at keeping up with the newsletters and have received many requests for them. So each coordinator is writing an article about the Bridge City Relief Effort from their perspective for the next issue. I'm looking forward to y'all getting a copy of it, we've got some wonderful coordinators doing extremely good work for the LORD!

Sid and Debbi Smith are the DRT cooks (excuse me Sid) Executive Chefs ;-) Believe me....they deserve that title.....the food is awesome! Anyway....when we are not at a disaster, Sid goes around speaking at congregations for DRT. He's been quite busy lately, so many of you have worked with us or have heard about us and are seeing how needed this ministry is, Praise GOD! GOD continues to bless the efforts of DRT and as congregations hear about us and want to know more, we send Sid to do a presentation. Sid does an excellent job with this...he's a natural speaker....he tells things in a very interesting way, totally holding your attention.....keeping you on your toes.....and has plenty of personal stories from the disaster sites that he likes to share with you. If your congregation is interested in a presentation.....please have your minister or one of the elders contact me at 937-308-2259 to schedule Sid for a presentation. Now is the time, he obviously won't be available during disasters to do this.

Mark and I have been in Melbourne, Florida this past week meeting with the DRT committee and the elders that oversee the work of DRT. I can't say enough about this wonderful congregation and the leadership here. We are SO blessed to have them as our overseeing eldership! Check out my facebook page for more comments :-)
Mark, Ashley and I (and Gizzy, Chloe' and Jewel ;-)) will be heading to Pepperdine to set up the DRT booth at the lectures on May 5-8. I will be speaking there on Friday, May 8 @ 8:30am. I'm not in the program--- so please look me up!! ;-) Come join us to hear the latest on disaster relief directly from the front lines as well as how you can help your own communities get through the smaller disasters.

The following is the Schedule of where the DRT exhibits and/or Speakers will be.
April 26 (am) Buna COC - Buna, TX- Sid Smith -
April 26 (pm) Kountze COC - Kountze, TX - Sid Smith
April 29 - West Houston COC - Houston, TX. - Sid Smith
May 1 - Heritage University - Sid Smith
May 3 (am) - Cox Blvd.COC - Sheffield, AL. - Sid Smith
May 3 (pm) - Moulton COC - Moulton, AL - Sid Smith
May 5 - 8 - Pepperdine University- Malibu, CA - Mark and Laura Cremeans
May 8 - 8:30 am - Pepperdine lecture- Laura Cremeans
June 2 - 7 -Florida Bible Camp(DRT WORK CAMP)(YOU)WE NEED WORKERS! :-)
DRT Coordinators--email for more details -mailto:-disasterrelief@hotmail.com
June 4 - 6 - Quest- Oklahoma Christian University- Laura Cremeans
July 2 - 4 - Lipscomb Lectures - Sid Smith
July 20 - 24 Blue Ridge Family Encampment
July 25 - 31 Tahoe Family Encampment
Sept. 4 - 6 - SonQuest - Orlando, Fl.
Sept. 27 - 30 - Harding Lectures

If you're attending any of these events-- stop by and say hi!! We'd love to see you!

CONGREGATIONS IN NEED

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful network of volunteers from all across the U.S. we thank our LORD for you!! Many of you have been calling wondering where you are needed,where we will be, what is needed, etc. since the extreme weather system swept through the midwest the other night. We've also been receiving calls from those in the disaster areas that are in need of assistance or who know of someone in need. Due to the large distance between disasters....Wild fires in Texas and Oklahoma to Tornadoes in Arkansas - Alabama - Tennessee - Georgia, etc. logistics will be somewhat different than usual. The following is the information we have so far:

Tornado Relief
Murfreesboro, Tennessee:
We will be working with (4) congregations in some capacity. (details still to be determined)
**VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AND BEING ACCEPTED**

Tornado Relief
Mena, Arkansas
Northside Church of Christ
We will be working with this congregation in some capacity (details to be determined)
They are to receive a truck of supplies from Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, Inc. (Nashville) tonight.

**If you are able to volunteer in either of these areas, please go to the DRT website and fill out the registration form. Please make sure to state which location you want to work at.

***If you are with a congregation in one of the disaster areas and in need of assistance or if you have information to share, please contact me.
disasterrelief@hotmail.com 937-308-2259


Keep checking the blog, website, twitter and face book for the latest information.
http://www.churchesofchristdrt.org
http://www.twitter.com/LauraCremeans
http://www.facebook.com Laura Baker Cremeans

WILDFIRES - TORNADOES

Midwest City, OK. Wildfires 4/10/09
Over 49 injured - Over 100 houses burned in Oklahoma County.


Sunset, TX. Wildfires 4/10/09

Mena, AR., - EF-3 Tornado 4/9/09

3 deaths - 30 injured (1) of those in critical condition.

NBC News is reporting over 600 structures damaged in Polk County.

Murfreesboro, TN - Tornado 4/10/09

2 deaths - 41 injured (7) of those in critical condition.

Over 250 homes damaged/destroyed in the Murfreesboro/Rutherford County area.

Minute By Minute Info on Wild Fires and Tornadoes

Keep in touch with me on http://www.twitter.com/LauraCremeans and on http://www.facebook.com Laura Baker Cremeans

I'll be posting continuous updates on weather situations as the storms are moving through and as we continue to receive information on damage, etc.

WILD FIRES - TORNADOES

We are closely monitoring and have been in contact all night with people on the ground in the areas of the tornadoes in Louisianna and Arkansas, etc. as well as the wild fires in Texas and Oklahoma. We will update as we have more information. Also check the DRT website for information. http://www.churchesofchristdrt.org/

The DRT Exhibit Upcoming Schedule of Events-- Check Out the Latest News and Information

If you are with your youth group at the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Convention in Orlando, Fl. or Indianapolis, IN. this weekend, please stop by the DRT exhibit to say hi and see the latest information.
Mark Cremeans is in Orlando
Sid Smith is in Indianapolis.

Crowleys Ridge College Lectureship - Paragould, AR. - April 12 - 15 (Sid Smith)

Pepperdine University Lecturship - Malibu, CA. - May 5 - 8 (Mark & Laura Cremeans)

DRT Work Camp -- @ DRT Florida location (Florida Bible Camp) - May 25 - 29
(service & clean tools, trailers, make care packs, rearrange/organize food semi trailers, etc)
**We need all the help we can get!- please plan to come and help us prepare for the next disaster--remember our Florida location isn't far from Disney ;-) work for a couple days - then go have some fun in the sun! :-)
For information please contact Laura - disasterrelief@hotmail.com