Prepared to Help

SHREVEPORT, LA. – Approximately 20 novice Area Coordinators for Adventist Community Services – Disaster Response (ACS DR) met in Shreveport, La. for a first-time Area Coordinator Disaster Response training.

Lavida Whitson, ACS DR director for the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference paired up with Marshall and Julie Gonzales, ACS DR directors for the Texas Conference and the Southwestern Union for an intense weekend of disaster scenarios and classes. Training was geared for the local church level, teaching things that their churches might be able to do in a local disaster.

Starting with learning to meet the unexpected, the group found that they would be housed in the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference office building in Shreveport. With individuals and couples finding places to set up their cots or bed-rolls, the building began to look like a disaster staging unit.

Whitson found a cook for the group and the fun began. Worships and program scenarios kept everyone engaged and learning. Throughout the day, Whitson or Beverly Wynot injected new problems for the group to solve. Classes included “How to do a Collection Site,” “How to set up a Sort Team,” “How to Handle a Distribution Site,” and “How to Deal with Difficult Volunteers.” It was a fun weekend, and we all learned from it.

Are you interested in learning what to do if a disaster hit your town or church? Would you like to learn how to be prepared to care for and serve in a moment of dire need? If so, please contact your local conference Adventist Community Services Disaster Response Coordinator and schedule a training class for your church. Imagine the impact we could have if our churches, scattered throughout our territory, were hubs of hope and care during a crisis or natural disaster.

By Sylvia Downs, ACS Administrative Assistant