Texas Baptist volunteers offer hope to the hurting in Missouri

JOPLIN, Mo.—Standing tall in a wasteland of rubble, shards and debris, an outline of hope cuts clear across the Missouri sky. The cross is all that remains of a church now faded into memory.

Two months after tornadoes with winds of more than 200 mph ripped through the heart of Joplin, destroying businesses, homes and lives, it still bears the scars of damage and devastation.

But the cross marks one of many signs reminding residents faith will stand beyond the storm, a hope that Texas Baptists were able to experience personally as they served in relief efforts during a weeklong mission trip to Joplin.

More than 160 volunteers represented 18 Texas Baptist churches and three from Missouri in the trip headed up by Baptist General Convention of Texas Disaster Response.

"The devastation is pretty sobering, but the camaraderie is beautiful," noted Brian Anderson, pastor of Crossroads Fellowship in Jackson, Mo. Anderson worked with other volunteers in triple-digit heat clearing and sorting layers of debris at a low-income apartment complex.

Items uncovered in the rubble included family pictures and children's toys. Vehicle parts and dumpsters were found slammed into walls or wedged in roofs—the ones that still existed. Volunteers' work alleviated an estimated $500,000 of the cost to clear the land and rebuild, according to a member of apartment complex's board of directors.

"It looks like you took a house and put it in a blender and shot it out of a blow gun," said Drew Hargrove from Hutto Baptist Church in Hutto. "It's so hard to actually see and think and comprehend—people lived here. A couple months ago, people lived in these apartments."  

But volunteers were not discouraged. They were united with a common vision for restoration.

Texas Baptist volunteers (left to right) Austin Webb and Will Van Der Hoeven, both from Hutto Baptist Church in Hutto, help with recovery efforts in Joplin, Mo. (PHOTO/Grace Gaddy)

Chris Liebrum, coordinator of disaster response for Texas Baptists, encouraged volunteers during a communitywide prayer service, citing the biblical story of Nehemiah rebuilding the Jerusalem wall.

"He knew God had called him to rebuild that wall, and nothing was going to stop him," Liebrum said. "I hope that that's what you're about this week. There has been some sense of call that you're here."

Jack Elliot, 75, of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Paris, testified to that call. He had wanted to go on a mission trip like this since 1969, when he served with disaster relief efforts for a flood in North Dakota, he said.

"Wherever there is a need, like the disasters that happen around the country, if we can do anything in the name of Christ, we need to do it," he said. "I jumped at this chance."

Elliot worked in a distribution center sorting boxes of school supplies. After three schools were completely demolished and others damaged, a church in South Texas donated three 18-wheelers full of materials, making it possible to provide each Joplin student a backpack of supplies for the first day of school Aug. 17.

That covered 7,700 students, said Mark Gooch, owner of the warehouse. Gooch expressed thanks for the willingness of the volunteers. "They've been a huge blessing to our warehouse," he said.

Trip participants reached out each day through a number of relief efforts across the city. Volunteers helped prepare meals for workers, salvaged wood to be built into storage sheds for Joplin residents, organized clothing for a free rummage sale and distributed goods to needy families—all in the name of Christ. 

"It's just people-loving, God-loving people," said Jerica Lawyer, from Hutto Baptist Church, pointing out how her faith grew as she watched God work over the course of the week. She told a story of one woman who lived across the street from their worksite. The woman approached the team, asking how she could get on the list for assistance. 

Two minutes later, 20 volunteers surrounded her home, cleaning up, clearing the debris and sharing Christ's love. "That was not us. That was God," Lawyer said.

The trip prepared the group for continuing outreach in the future, Lawyer said. The night before returning to Texas, they learned of a fire that caused destruction back home.

"Now we're ready to go back and start rebuilding our area," she said, noting Joplin gave her something she will never forget. "It was a totally different experience. I loved it—every minute."