Seventh-day Adventists and their neighbors are teaming up to provide relief and comfort to victims of Hurricane Charley, which struck Aug. 12 in Cuba and the next day, Aug. 13, in Florida. At least 22 people are confirmed dead in that state, with another
Seventh-day Adventists and their neighbors are teaming up to provide relief and comfort to victims of Hurricane Charley, which struck Aug. 12 in Cuba and the next day, Aug. 13, in Florida. At least 22 people are confirmed dead in that state, with another five reported dead in the Caribbean. Estimates of property damage are in the billions of U.S. dollars, as the hurricane flattened entire communities.
“We plan to be here for three weeks at least and plan to rebuild people’s lives here,” said David Canther, senior pastor of the Mt. Dora Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mt. Dora, Florida, a community near Orlando. He is coordinating a relief effort that has already established three “chuck wagon” feeding sites. An estimated 3,500 meals are being provided daily in Punta Gorda; and one and one-half tractor-trailer loads of ice are being dispensed there and in Port Charlotte every day.
It’s expected that power will be restored to almost the entire area by Aug. 30, Canther said, and after that, emphasis will shift from cooking meals to helping with home repair and restoration. In the meantime, Adventist volunteers have covered the torn-up roofs of 150 homes with tarpaulins to protect against the elements; materials to cover another 150 homes are on hand.
According to Rich Bradley, a lay member who is coordinating relief efforts, Adventist-owned Florida Hospital is also participating.
The institution, Bradley said, “contacted me yesterday and they are sending two groups of contractors and all supplies to work on homes for private citizens in the [Punta Gorda] area. Canther noted that a hospital-sponsored truckload of supplies has already arrived.
“People are so filled with thankfulness,” Canther told ANN in a telephone interview. “We’ve been feeding meals every day, and the people who can’t cook, they’re just so grateful.”
Canther said one goal of the feeding sites is to alert residents to the aid available at the main Punta Gorda Seventh-day Adventist Church campus. The sanctuary, though damaged by the hurricane, is where food baskets are being assembled; the neighboring community services building is now a miniature building supply store, offering materials to those in need.
“We tell people who come and eat [at the chuck wagon] that they can come to the distribution center,” Canther said. “We invited them to come, receive building supplies, and get more food. We try to tie them back to the main campus, so that we’re not just giving them a hot meal, but telling them where the main distribution center is.”
The efforts have been warmly received by residents and area officials, he added.
“The city mayor from Punta Gorda has been so thankful,” Canther said. “We’ve been feeding police and [people from] different agencies. City leaders now see us as being a real blessing to their community. It’s impacting the community leaders, but it’s impacting our neighbors now.”
Part of that blessing sometimes involves sharing the overflow of supplies with other agencies. Canther said the Adventist Church plans to share extra refrigerated meals with The Salvation Army relief effort, which is getting underway.
He added that a real benefit of the disaster relief work is seeing God’s hand in the action: “The greatest encouragement of faith is to say today, ‘we do not have what we need, but God will provide,’ and to watch, one day at a time, what God will bring. It’s a neat revelation of seeing God miraculously work. When we say we need it, another truck drives up.”
According to Don Noble, president of Maranatha Volunteers International, Hurricane Charley had a severe impact on that group’s church construction work on the island of Cuba.
“The work of Maranatha has been impacted by [Hurricane] Charley,” Noble wrote in an e-mail message. “Our office in Havana is without electricity, water or telephone with no idea of when those services might be restored…. Please pray that we can continue to provide church homes for the people in Cuba despite the impact of Charley.”
