By Rev. Mike Love
First United Methodist Church, Burleson
On May 2, 2010, seven people from First United Methodist Church of Burleson set out for Galveston to Crocket Place United Methodist Church, a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) facility set aside for the restoration and recovery program for Hurricane Ike.
Hurricane Ike struck Galveston in September 2008. Thousands of houses were damaged by flood. In many cases, homeowners were prevented from moving back in after the Hurricane.
Such disasters hit news headlines and peak our interest for only a few days. So we often forget that it takes years for an area to recover. The United Methodist Committee on Relief, UMCOR, is working hard to coordinate this effort in Galveston, and there is still much work to be done.
To-date, UMCOR-sponsored restoration has helped 93 homeowners move back into their homes. More than 1500 homeowners are still displaced from their homes. UMCOR is at work. Tools, facilities, and funding for materials are in abundance awaiting volunteers. Our seven from Burleson were able to finish out the dry wall, texturing, and painting for the inside of the home of a 70 year old widow.
The teams coming after ours will finish out the house with an anticipated move-in date in July. Mission teams from all over the United States are rotating in and out of this area working together through the coordination and direction of UMCOR construction managers.
Crocket Place UMC is one of the facilities set aside to house mission workers. It has bunkrooms, including bedding, for upwards to 30 people. It has 12 showers and four full bathrooms. It has a full kitchen, a kitchen table large enough to include everyone, a nice gathering area for evening conversation, and outdoor grilling facilities as well. The sanctuary provides opportunity for morning and evening worship.
Our team simply supplied its own transportation and food. One of our team members said upon reflecting on the experience, “I left with people I knew in my congregation, I came home with very close friends. We worked, ate, and shared together.”
To set up a mission trip to the Galveston area, contact Verronda Flanagan at
vflanagan@txcumc.org. Her cell phone is (832) 370-3099. Our construction manager at Crockett Place UMC was Sandy Langston (832) 795-1202. In addition, the construction director is Alan Miller (713) 202 8563. For more information about our experience, contact Mike Love (817) 295-1166.