JEFFERSON CITY – The waters have not yet begun to rise, but Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief leaders are asking churches and groups to join in on the flood fight. With that in mind, Gaylon Moss, director of disaster relief for the Missouri Baptist Convection, hopes churches will begin to fill and stage sandbags across the state.
“Working ahead of time will help us get ahead of the disaster,” said Gaylon Moss, director of Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief.
Disaster Relief volunteers from Missouri Baptist churches are ready and willing to do hard, messy work like mud-out after a flood, but sandbagging an area before the water gets a chance to invade a home or community is a much easier step in the long run. And while time or physical ability might keep someone from tearing wet drywall out of a flooded basement, pretty much anyone can fill a sandbag.
Sunday school classes, youth groups and more can band together and stockpile the sandbags in churches across Missouri, ready to be used when the waters come. A standard pallet will hold 85 sandbags, containing roughly 3,000 lbs. of sand.
Detailed instructions and guidelines are available at mobaptist.org/dr/flood-fight/, but it’s as simple as gathering the supplies, filling the bags and storing them on pallets in a dry, dark accessible place. If (or most likely, when) the need arises in the area, Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief teams will pick up the sandbags and deliver them. For more information, go to the website or call 573-636-0400. ν