Relief Continues in Bahamas
General Overseer Tim Hill (center, blue shirt) is joined by Assistant General Overseer David Ramirez, Secretary General John Childers and Bahamian church leaders (click photo to enlarge)
As reports continue to stream in on the level of destruction and loss in the Bahamas due to Hurricane Dorian, Church of God leaders and relief agencies are continuing to ramp up efforts to assist as the situation evolves.
General Overseer Tim Hill, Third Assistant General Overseer David Ramirez, and Secretary General John Childers, arrived in the disaster zone on Wednesday where they met, prayed, and fellowshipped with most of the Bahamian Church of God pastors and leaders. Hill presented a check to Bahamian Overseer Moses Johnson on behalf of the Church toward relief and restoration. First and Second Assistant General Overseers Raymond Culpepper and J. David Stephens are scheduled to arrive in the country on Friday.
Culpepper, who also serves as liaison to the Division of Care for the Church of God, reported the following received from David Lorency, director of Operation Compassion earlier this week:
• We are working with the Bahamian Church of God Overseer. He has obtained a government Commitment that shipments will be duty-free and protected from confiscation or seizure. Initially this process is approved by submitting Bills of Lading of each container being sent. Eventually the government will issue a NEMA certificate simplifying the process.
• We have connected with Abaco Relief Mission Project one of our network of our disaster relief partners who has arranged for container barges, carrying 20 cargo containers each, to transport relief-aid products to the Bahamas. We are assisting by providing semi trucks of relief goods. They have already scheduled 5 barges for delivery, carrying 100 cargo containers filled with relief-aid products. Also, partners will be using helicopters and planes in the Bahamas to shuttle product, once delivered, to remote areas of the islands for distribution.
• One of our church partners has offered us a partnership in the use of a boat with 45,000 square feet of refrigerated storage and 45,000 square feet of dry storage, allowing us 90,000 square feet of warehousing storage to aid in the logistical process of distributing relief-aid.
• We have been in contact with Dennis Harris of the Church of the Highlands Disaster Response Relational Network, of which we are part, and he is sharing our projects with them. Several charities have offered their assistance including truckloads of products for the Bahamas relief effort. Other National Charities such as Feed The Children are also donating semis of relief goods.
• We are working on a joint project with Mercy Chefs to provide thousands of hot meals a day in Nassau. Thousands of Bahamians where relocated from the destroyed areas and moved to a tent city. We are providing sleeping bags, semis of food, water, clothes, sheets, blankets and other staples.
Updates on the continuing situation in the Bahamas will be monitored with updates as warranted. To contribute to the effort, please operationcompassion.org.
