Mark Becker, a ruling elder at Christ Church PCA, Katy, TX, was recently added to the South Central Region staff as the Associate Regional Specialist. He brings a wealth of experience in management and organization which proved itself when he completed a stint as the site manager at our Disaster Response site at Bethel PCA in Lake Charles, LA, following Hurricane Laura’s destructive path through southern Louisiana followed by major flooding from Hurricane Delta. He organized and supervised teams in felling trees, removing debris, gutting out Bethel PCA, and building Sheds of Hope. He was greatly aided in this effort by his wife, Suzan, who took care of the volunteers, prepared donated casseroles, cleaned the bunkhouses and shower trailers as well as helped to clean the church. They make a great team. They have also traveled to our Dallas Depot several times to help organize and clean the warehouse to better enable us to respond in the future.

Contact him at mbecker@pcanet.org or call 225-456-4977 or me, Rick Lenz, rlenz@pcanet.org or call 817-690-8107 if you need help after a disaster, like to pray for us, seek to volunteer with us or wish to contribute to our ministry.

To contribute to Mark’s ministry, text MNA 1866 to 76959 or go https://give.pcamna.org/to/1866/.

To contribute to Rick’s ministry, text MNA 1340 to 76959 or go to https://give.pcamna.org/to/1340/.

Our Disaster Response Depot in Dallas is up and running! Located just a few blocks south of Love Field, the Depot is being organized and equipped. We have two 12 person bunkhouse trailers, two shower trailers, a mini Bobcat, two flat-bed trailers, and four utility trailers to respond quickly in setting up volunteer sites in disaster areas. We also have such supplies and equipment as generators, fans, flood buckets, hygiene kits, trash bags, dehumidifiers, Sheds of Hope, tools, roofing tarps, etc. We will soon have an open house where you can meet us and see the capability we have.

We are in the middle of a very busy hurricane season with what looks like more storms to come. Right now we are watching Marco and Laura which look like they’ll deliver a one-two punch to LA and TX! If you are affected by a disaster, please contact us!

We need volunteers in S TX to address staggering needs resulting from Hurricane Harvey!  Soon we will need people with experience to install, tape and float drywall. Consider assembling a team now to come to Grace PCA, The Woodlands or Christ the King PCA, Houston. We have housing and showers at both locations. Both are close to stores and restaurants so don’t bring huge amounts of food or water.  We also have tools but we can discuss when you sign up your team. Go to MNA Disaster Response at today to pray, give and or go!

Devastating flooding and water rescues continue in S TX as water from reservoirs is released after the flooding from unbelievably heavy rains. We have prepositioned equipment and will be receiving flood buckets and hygiene kits soon for distribution. We are meeting with leaders from PCA churches in the area on Tuesday to discuss volunteer sites, those needing help and how we can best respond. One PCA church was flooded and approximately 50 families had flood water come into their homes.

SAVE THE DATES!!  Fun for the whole family! Food, great information, some giveaways! Free Disaster Response Workshop Friday and Saturday, Apr 17-18, 2015, Bethel PCA, 17990 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75287. Topics to be covered:

• Equipping your church to respond to disasters
• HAM radio and social media during disasters
• Preparing your family for disasters
• Building Sheds of Hope
• Assembling your 72 hr family kit
• Introduction to CERT
• Teaching children to prepare for disasters through interactive activities
• Responding to disasters

REGISTER NOW!! Click here to register for the free BBQ dinner and presentations. Child care upon request.

Contact Rick Lenz at rlenz@pcanet.org or 817-690-8107 for more information

MNA Disaster Response is conducting a special Care and Comfort training event at Grace PCA, Dalton, GA, on Oct 17, 2014. It is intended for all who are called to serve Christ through mercy ministry (that’s all of us!).  This one-day event will provide training on how to best compassionately and appropriately share the love and hope of Jesus Christ in a tempest-tossed world. Go to http://www.pcamna.org and click on Disaster Response to learn how you can be part of this great opportunity!

We are building a national MNA disaster response warehouse in Dalton, GA, for pre-positioning equipment and supplies, training and housing volunteers, and generally building our capability to respond.  We can start the building but need your help to complete the structure and outfit it with equipment, shelving, furniture, etc.  Go to the MNA Disaster Response website at http://www.pcamna.org to donate. Do it today!

We’re still building Sheds of Hope in Moore, OK until the end of August 2014. Currently we have about 180 sheds built. Help us get to 200 sheds built for tornado victims and for God’s glory.

We are still working in the Moore/OKC area building Sheds of Hope. We have built over 170 sheds and have at least 7 partially built sheds in N TX!  We will be building through August 2014 when we transition to follow up with shed recipients. VOLUNTEER today to help build sheds!!  We would really like to train church teams how to build the sheds and get a commitment from them to build a couple sheds within the first week following a disaster. If we can do that, we could have sheds on the ground when the sheds are most urgently needed. Interested?  Contact me today!