JOPLIN – Minutes after the tornado blasted through Joplin, Col. Gary Gilmore, state chaplain for the National Guard, former pastor and member of First Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon, was on the phone with Joplin National Guard chaplain and high school teacher Phil Gloyer.
“He had gone to the high school to check it out,” Gilmore said. “He told me it was hit hard and the entire area was devastated.”
Gilmore said that Gov. Jay Nixon immediately mobilized the National Guard to help the locals.
“Phil, also a Baptist, was checking out the destruction one evening,” he said, “then, the next day he put on his uniform and began to help and he is still on duty. He is a citizen soldier like all in the Guard.”
When the Guard was mobilized into Joplin, they brought resources with them.
“The National Guard lays a foundation for the larger community,” Gilmore said, “and supplies the response with the other state agencies. We don’t take over; we help the civil partners keep going. We augment what the local authorities are doing.”
When Gilmore arrived, he contacted churches and service organizations to see what they could do or what skills they had to offer.
“For example, if an organization called needing cots,” he said, “the government might not have those, but the Red Cross or another organization might have those. Many times, one group may have the food and groceries, but another group will have a group of volunteers ready to cook. We help put them together.”
“It is great when a church wants to help,” Gilmore said. “We have a system for the state and it is great to tuck those churches into that larger working system. We assess the situation and bring the closest and proper resources to the disaster site.”
According to Gilmore, this disaster is personal to him.
“This disaster was so large that it touched everybody even beyond,” he said. “I’ve ministered in the southwest so long that I have many friends and neighbors feeling the impact.”
The chaplains of the National Guard assist both civilians and the soldiers in dealing with the ramifications of the storm.
“We have served as pastoral care for those who have lost loved ones and we’ve served as a liaison with the churches,” Gilmore said. “We’ve also been taking care of the soldiers. They go out to work and come back and want to talk. One soldier pulled a 5-year-old out of the rubble. We need to be available to help with mental and spiritual healing.”
Gilmore summarized the work of the National Guard.
“We want to partner with faith-based organizations and fold them into the community needing the help,” he said. “I smile with pride when I see the work of the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief. Baptists are trustworthy and recognized as coming to help families.”
VICKI STAMPS/contributing writer