ARNOLD – Anyone who knows MODR volunteer Toby Tucker already knows that the Distinguished Service Award he received from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and Send Relief was well deserved. Presented in recognition of exceptional service during a disaster and based on the most recent year of responses, the Distinguished Service Award is like an All-Star award for volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during an actual response or series of responses during the most recent … [Read more...]
Missouri DR brings help, hope, healing to Jamaica in wake of Hurricane Melissa
JAMAICA (MODR) – It’s estimated that half the economy in Jamaica relies on income from services such as tourism. In fact, an estimated 4.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year. So, when a hurricane like Melissa hits the island, it not only damages businesses and homes, but affects the economy that supports a major portion of the population. According to reports, Melissa slammed into southwestern Jamaica on October 28, 2025, bringing sustained winds of 185 miles per hour and … [Read more...]
Missouri DR offers new training opportunities
UPDATE: Missouri Disaster Relief announced on Facebook, March 5, that the March 6-7 DR training previously planned to take place in Monett, Mo., will now take place entirely online because of the potential severe weather in the region. Updated virtual meeting links and instructions will be sent via email to registered trainees. JEFFERSON CITY – It’s well known that the motto of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is “be prepared”. However, that advice could just as easily be applied to anyone … [Read more...]
Missouri DR continues to help Hurricane Helene survivors
NORTH CAROLINA (MODR) – It’s been nearly a year and a half since Hurricane Helene ripped John and Lisa Grinstead’s home from its foundation and carried it down the flooded Cane River. Today, a totally new home built in the same location by hundreds of Baptist volunteers is within days of being ready to move into. According to Mike Hibbard, who, with the help of his wife, Brenda, has served as liaison for the project, the project has been ongoing since August 18, 2025. Designed as partial … [Read more...]
Disaster Relief volunteers open doors to ministry impact in Milwaukee
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tharran Gaines serves as public information coordinator with Missouri Disaster Relief (MODR). MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – Milwaukee is known for many things, including the birth of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, cheese curds, bratwurst and Lake Michigan. One thing it’s not known for is floods. That all changed, though, on Aug. 9-10, when different parts of the city were inundated with 10-to-14 inches of rain. The rain came so fast that it was more than the storm drains could handle, … [Read more...]
MODR Helping to Rebuild a Home Following Hurricane Helene
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tharran Gaines serves as the Public Information Coordinator for Missouri Disaster Relief. Watch a video related to this article at https://modr.org/video (“Helene NC Rebuild” video). At the time John and Lisa Grinstead moved to Burnsville, North Carolina, from Florida in 2010, part of their goal was to escape the frequent hurricanes that hit the coast. Little did they know that another hurricane would hit the mountains, where they thought they would be safe, and take … [Read more...]
‘Hear my cry for mercy’: MODR volunteers bring hope to California fire survivors
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (MODR) – Following any disaster, it’s only natural that the survivors want to recover anything that hasn’t been destroyed. It doesn’t matter whether they’ve experienced a flood, tornado or hurricane. The natural response is to locate any belongings that may have survived. Unfortunately, the situation is usually much worse following a widespread fire like those that occurred in Hawaii in August 2023 and more recently in southern California. When the entire house burns to … [Read more...]
Continued Hurricane Helene response requires flexibility
BURNSVILLE, N.C. – A common motto among Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MODR) volunteers is to always “Be Flexible”. That has certainly been the case with response to Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida over four months ago. MODR volunteers initially responded by providing chainsaw teams, mass feeding teams and shower and laundry units to Augusta, Ga., in a matter of days. To that end, MODR volunteers completed 52 days of service, helped complete 477 chainsaw jobs, helped … [Read more...]
Missouri DR’s Ann Stevenson receives national award
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Anyone who knows Ann Stevenson is used to seeing her with a chaplain’s shirt and badge—accompanied by her trauma-trained dog, Steele—as she visits with victims of disaster. Or maybe they’ve seen her provide key leadership in MODR childcare. However, Stevenson recently took versatility to another level when she coordinated two disaster relief responses in Pulaski County, where she lives, within seven months of each other. That’s just one of the reasons she was … [Read more...]
Southern Baptist DR exemplifies national cooperation
JEFFERSON CITY – The Apostle Paul explains in 1 Cor 12:12, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” He goes on to say in verse 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” So it is with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Some volunteers are chaplains, some maintain the shower and laundry units, and some prepare meals. In the meantime, others provide flood recovery or operate a chainsaw. In … [Read more...]
Missouri DR volunteers help IMB missionary after tree falls on stateside home in Georgia
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Hurricane Helene was described by one official as a 400-mile-wide tornado, … which isn’t too far from reality. So, even though Asheville, N.C., has gotten much of the media’s attention, there’s been no less damage in neighboring states. That’s certainly the case in Augusta, Georgia — just 180 miles from Asheville — where volunteers with Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MODR) have been working since Sept. 26. “I would describe it as one big debris field,” said Toby Tucker, … [Read more...]
Missouri DR teams respond to Hurricane Francine
BATON ROUGE, La. (MODR) – Even though Hurricane Francine quickly subsided to a tropical storm after it made landfall in Louisiana, that doesn’t mean it didn’t have a devastating impact on hundreds of southern Louisiana residents. Having come onshore as a Category II hurricane on Sept. 11, it still left hundreds of people without power or with damage to homes and property. In response, Missouri Disaster Relief (MODR) teams arrived in Louisiana within 24 hours of landfall with two of the … [Read more...]
