Everyone knows that when a hurricane strikes the Red Cross is there to deliver meals to hungry people who have lost everything. A little known fact is, in many instances the food the Red Cross delivers is prepared by Southern Baptists.

In 2005 Southern Baptists prepared more than 13 million meals in response to the un-precedented 2005 hurricane season. In 2004, Southern Baptists prepared only 3.5 million meals. Today kitchens staffed by

Southern Baptists continue to operate in New Orleans and Southern Baptist feeding teams continue to staff one of the Salvation Army kitchens in New Orleans as well.

On Feb. 28 Suwannee Association Director of Missions Dr. Fritz Fountain held a Disaster Relief Rally at Wellborn Baptist Church to pass out awards to the many local people who volunteered to work in disaster relief last year. G.H. Murrah, an integral part of the Southern Baptist effort last year, passed away recently. He was honored as well as his wife, Julia, for the part he played in setting up the relief effort and designing the program currently in place.

“When Wilma came across Florida I got a call from my dear friend G.H. Murrah,” said Pasco Jarvis, one of the award recipients and a deacon at Wellborn Baptist. “He wanted us to go to LaBelle. Twenty-three of us went, 13 from this area. We found out real quick what we were going to have to do. People were just wandering around like they didn’t know what to do. It was so depressing.”

Jarvis and his wife, Loretta, received one of the Southern Baptist Convention G.H. Murrah Awards for service above and beyond. Julia Murrah, John Foley, Bill Dickson and Jay Dresser also received this newly created award.

Certification is becoming essential to all hurricane and disaster relief volunteers. At the awards ceremony there were many certified and uncertified people who had helped out with the hurricanes in 2005. There are six areas of certification currently being offered by the Southern Baptist Convention; feeding, clean up, emergency communication, emergency services chaplains, water purification and child care. The Florida Baptist Relief Ministry has set up a training date for local folks wishing to become certified in one of these areas so they can volunteer in the future.

On April 1, First Baptist of Live Oak will host a training clinic. For a cost of $20, anyone wishing to receive certification may attend and do so. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and classes run until 3 p.m.

Murrah figured out that to man a 25-man kitchen for any hurricane/disaster relief effort, 100 trained people were needed. This is because on short notice, only one of four will be able to leave their lives and go help. The same equation applies to clean-up. There is a need for 60-100 trained people to field a crew of 10-25 on short notice.

If you’re interested in serving your fellow man in this way, look into attending the certification training at First Baptist on April 1. For more information, call the Florida Baptist Men’s Department at 800-226-8584, ext. 3121 or email disaster@flbaptist.org.

Janet Schrader may be reached by calling 1-386-362-1734 ext. 134 or by emailing janet.schrader@gaflnews.com.