Stories tagged with: hurricane maria
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'After Maria': Puerto Rico remains changed by storm
GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico (BP) -- "Before Maria and after Maria" is the word on the streets of Puerto Rico. "That's how life changed," native Puerto Rican and Southern Baptist minister Jonathan Santiago told Baptist Press a year after the hurricane.
Send Relief photoIn Santiago's observation, churches including Southern Baptist congregations lost about 35 percent of their attendance. Congregational financial giving is down because many members still on the island lost their jobs. Several schools remain closed. Homes still need repairs from storm damage. Many people are hopeless, resorting to suicide in greater numbers and affecting an official death toll already near 3,000. Read More
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Puerto Rico hurricane toll 'a miracle' at 2,975
PUERTO RICO (BP) -- It's "a miracle" Hurricane Maria's death toll in Puerto Rico is not even higher than the new official total of 2,975, a massive jump from the long purported 64, a Southern Baptist disaster relief leader told Baptist Press.
Screen capture from MSNBC filesThe new count, based on an independent study that the territory commissioned from George Washington University (GWU), makes the hurricane one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
David Melber, president of North American Mission Board's Send Relief arm, is in the territory today (Aug. 29) and sent BP a comment. Read More
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In Puerto Rico, Baptists gear up for hurricane season
PUERTO RICO -- With the beginning of the 2018 hurricane season, Puerto Rico is bracing for what could be more rough weather while in the midst of a recovery from last year's devastating storms. The North American Mission Board (NAMB) and its Send Relief outreach are expanding their mission work on the island, including disaster response readiness and church planting.
Photo by Casey Jones"Since Hurricane Maria hit last fall, Send Relief has been active in Puerto Rico with recovery efforts and seeking to create new church-to-church partnerships between Puerto Rico and the mainland," said David Melber, president of Send Relief. Read More
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3rd Virgin Islands crusade to continue imparting hope
ST CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands (BP) -- Devastation and suffering among Hurricane Irma and Maria survivors in the U.S. Virgin Islands were palpable to Florida Baptist Jeffery Singletary, who led a mission trip to the islands months before the storms.
Photo from Feeding the Five ThousandHis heart's response was a series of "Feeding the Five Thousand" crusades that reaped 620 decisions for Christ and fed thousands both spiritually and physically, Singletary, a regional catalyst with the Florida Baptist Convention, told Baptist Press. A crusade on St. Croix Jan. 28 -30 will be his third.
"I knew they had four great needs -- food, clothing, shelter and hope," Singletary said. "Red Cross could help provide food and clothing. FEMA could help provide shelter. But only the church of Jesus Christ can provide real hope." Read More
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Puerto Rican evacuees aided by Fla. Baptists
ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) -- More than 200,000 hurricane survivors from Puerto Rico have trekked to Florida for refuge, with several Baptist churches in central Florida at the forefront of ministering to their needs.
Screen capture from the Orlando Sentinel"The Florida Baptist Convention is excited to partner with the churches in the central Florida region as they respond to the needs of the Puerto Rican community moving into the area," said Tommy Green, the convention's executive director.
Another 100,000 Puerto Ricans are projected to arrive in Florida in the coming months as a result of catastrophic damage from Hurricanes Maria and Irma last September across the U.S. territory. Read More
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Puerto Rico missionary's relief aid opens hearts
COMERÍO, Puerto Rico (BP) -- Even in the aftermath of Puerto Rico's devastation from Hurricane Maria, church planting missionary Jorge Santiago has been experiencing the truth of Romans 8:28 that all things can work together for good.
Photo from FacebookIn July, Santiago and his wife Rebeca moved to Puerto Rico with their two children, Sebastian and Sophia, to serve as North American Mission Board church planting missionaries in Comerío, a municipality of 20,000 about 30 miles south of San Juan.
"Right after the storm," Santiago said, "we just focused on helping people. We started looking for resources, food and water so that we could take it to Comerío." Read More
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Puerto Rico relief needs ongoing volunteers, funding
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (BP) -- Southern Baptists continue to serve Puerto Rico's residents after Hurricane Maria's devastation in September, creating a nationwide response from the ground up.
Photo courtesy of Sam Porter/NAMBSam Porter, national director for disaster relief for the North American Mission Board, has spent several days in Puerto Rico in two separate trips to assist disaster response coordinator Jack Noble in facilitating the large-scale response by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) and Send Relief. Read More
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Puerto Rican pastors 'not forgotten' by SBC
SAN JUAN, P.R. (BP) -- The "heart and spirit of Southern Baptists" are evident as churches and leaders help Puerto Rico recover after Hurricane Maria, pastor Jorge Alvarez said Nov. 11 in San Juan.
Photo by Bobby SenaAlvarez, executive director of the Convention of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, was among 150 local pastors and guests who attended an appreciation dinner held in their honor. The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and the North American Mission Board sponsored the event. The Hispanic Baptist Pastors Alliance (HBPA) and LifeWay Christian Resources also supported the event, held at the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel. Read More
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Send Relief 'pastor packs,' SBDR help Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (BP) -- When people started showing up seeking food and water after Hurricane Maria, pastor Johnny Baez knew he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Photo courtesy of Sam Porter"People around my church started asking me for water to drink and food to eat," said Baez, who serves at Iglesia Bautista Familia Santurce (Baptist Church of the Family Santurce) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "So, I asked pastor friends for a [water] filter, and they let me use one. I asked another pastor for a gas stove and another pastor for a gas tank. Now we are cooking Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday." Read More
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'Like a warzone' conditions for Ky. DR team
ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS (BP) -- Nineteen Kentucky Baptists arrived in St. Thomas on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 8) to face some "extremely challenging" working conditions on the tiny Caribbean island, devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Photo courtesy of the Western RecorderThe disaster relief team of 19 that will be serving through Oct. 29, is partnering with nine Baptist churches in the Virgin Islands. They will be feeding those affected by the storms and doing chainsaw and flood clean-up. Read More
