April 27th marked a day of devastation in the southeast, and especially the state
of Alabama. It has been a month since the tornadoes hit our Sweet Home Alabama,
and it has been truly miraculous to see individuals, organizations, communities,
and the nation come together to help those suffering in Alabama, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
We want to thank everyone who has been involved in the recovery process, from
prayers, donations, volunteers, and with those spreading the word of helping those
in need. In this process of recovery there is a verse that comes to mind:
“Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these
is love.” –1 Corinthians 13:13
Through the rubble we have hope of rebuilding, and we have hope for a better future.
Through suffering we have a tested yet stronger faith in our Lord and Saviour.
But it is the love that has been shown by the Lord and the love of those who responded
immediate after the storms that has been so telling, and it is love that will continue
to be strengthen us. The process of this recovery comes in three phases
Phase I: Servicing the immediate needs. We were able to mobilize our efforts at
Christian Service Mission in order to meet the immediate needs after the tornadoes
hit. We will continue to service these needs.
Phase II: Rebuilding and Reconstructing. Now the initial shock is over, the broken
and the rubble is being removed to rebuild. Physical buildings and homes are being
rebuilt as well as the spirits of these families and communities.
Phase III: Investment and Care. It would be easy to finish with Phase II, but it
is this last phase that is the most important. As mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:13
the greatest of hope, faith, and love is love. Phase III demonstrates love, servicing
not just the physical needs but holistic needs of the individuals, families and
communities.
This video, created by Tate Hipps, demonstrates how the resources are connected
with the needs at Christian Service Mission while truly demonstrating these phases.
The 3 Steps to Connecting RESOURCES with NEEDS – CSMission
How can you get involved in this process?
We will be mobilizing teams to be involved in all the steps of this process. We
will continue to need volunteers at our warehouse to sort, package, load and unload
items for the communities, but we are sending volunteer teams out into the communities
to be involved in cleaning, rebuilding, and reconstructing. This Friday, June 3,
we will be sending a volunteer team to Webster’s Chapel in Wellington doing these
things. You can also invest and walk along with these communities through recovery,
whether it be in Wellington or another community in which we can help foster the
process. It is difficult to explain what this looks like because each investment
and relationship is different, but we are here to connect those resources of investment
with the needs of recovery. You can also share the Mission. You may not be able to get out there yourself right now, but you can connect the resources with the needs by sharing the Mission to those who can go out those and rebuild, reconstruct, and invest.
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