~ Disaster Relief...A message from Alabama District Supt. J. Stanley Davidson

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Note! I received the following in an e-mail and I am sure many of you did also. The severe storm system that devastated the southern states over the past few days has caused many deaths and numerous injuries. As you will read in the letter below some of our pastors and their saints have been affected.

Emphasis in this letter are mine; pictures, bold, underline and text color to highlight certain portions of this document.

The letter is as follows:

Friends,


It is still impossible to tell how hard Alabama has been hit with tornadoes and storms.  We know the massive storm that plowed through Tuscaloosa and Northern Birmingham was devastating, but other areas of the state have been hit hard also.  Cullman is once again reeling from natural disaster.  These are not the only places.  In fact, they are so numerous that we cannot mention them all here.

Reports from our pastors in these hard hit areas are not good.  There is still much death and devastation being found, and there are still many people missing in these areas.  Two deaths and several injuries were sustained by United Pentecostal people across the state.  At this point, it appears that there is no significant damage to our church buildings, but several of our members have lost homes.  The tornado that hit near Redeemed Apostolic (Pastor Matt Edmonson) in Tuscaloosa skipped over the building and there appears to be no significant damage.  Of course, there is still much to be discovered.  Please keep praying for our people and for the people in Alabama in general.

Rev. David Hall had surgery last evening to fuse some broken vertebra in his back. He lost his wife in the storm, which, to quote one of our area pastors, was not survivable.  I have seen pictures of his home and it is indeed a miracle that anyone could survive.  We really need to keep praying for him and the family in Moulton who lost their 12 year old daughter.  We also have some people hospitalized from injuries.

Relief efforts are under way.  Two relief groups from out of state that are either UPCI or connected with us are bringing truck loads of supplies into the state.  Our Disaster Relief Coordinator is Rev. Michael Markham.  Office Max has agreed to work in conjunction with us and will be supplying some relief for the area.  We are hoping to reach into Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Cullman with these goods.  We will need some manpower to help in distribution.  You can reach Bro. Markham at (205) 938-0182.  He is working diligently to arrange delivery of these goods at this time.  A special thanks to Reach Out America from Dallas, TX, a UPCI based Relief Organization, for a quick response.  We will give credit to the other sources as the information comes in.

Meanwhile, if you are aware of any area disaster that may have missed our notice, please let me know.  The high volume of calls may require a return call from me, but I want to be aware of any way that we can help our brothers and sisters in time of need.  There are severe power outages from Birmingham north and shortages of gasoline in some areas.  These power outages are expected to last from 7 to 10 days in most areas.  Please let us know if we can help in any way.

The Work Week for the Campgrounds scheduled for next week is still planned.  We can use as many workers as possible, but we make the disaster relief a priority.  We will take care of all essential maintenance issues and tackle the other issues based on available manpower.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support.  Our Disaster Relief Fund in the District is available to help purchase items needed if necessary.  Keep praying and supporting, and God will bring blessing out of the rubble of ruins.

J. Stanley Davidson

Please PRAY for all the people in every state that have been devastated by these severe storms which according to some news sources are the most severe in four decades; especially PRAY for those families in our United Pentecostal Churches who have suffered loss during this crisis.

**If there is any pastor or individual who would like to help please call Bro. Michael Markham at the number listed above and he will advise you on the best way to accomplish your desire.

Thank you for whatever you can do as it will be much appreciated.