FORT PIERCE (FBW) — President George W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush rolled up their sleeves to stand side-by-side handing out bags of ice and words of hope Sept. 8 to residents of Fort Pierce. The coastal city, about 120 miles north of Miami is one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Frances—the huge storm which hit the east coast of Florida in the early morning Sept. 5 and traipsed across the state, creating wide-spread power outages and dumping water from east to west and then across the gulf to the Panhandle.

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President Bush and Gov. Bush flew into St. Lucie County Airport on Marine One and traveled by motorcade to Longwood Stadium in Fort Pierce, where the American Red Cross Disaster Relief organization set-up a drive-thru relief stop for ice, water and other supplies.

The Bush brothers walked out from the motorcade to shake hands with volunteers and then stood alongside those workers to shake help distribute bottled water and 20-pound bags of ice to many who had been without supplies and electricity for four or more days.

Florida State Senator Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, watching for the Bush motorcade, told Florida Baptist Witness he believes the President Bush’s visit to the area underscores the importance of the serious nature of the situation in the Senator’s multi-county district.

Pruitt, a member of Treasure Coast Christian Church in Port St. Lucie, said the President’s visit shows the “magnitude of the disaster” and offers “a ray of hope.”

“This is an event that is cataclysmic in nature and catastrophic in such a way that people’s lives have been torn apart,” Pruitt said. “He’s letting us know, ‘look, I’m here, I’m going to back you up.’”

The President’s visit indicates that he is “hands on” and also sends a message to both the faith-based organizations and the government-backed organizations that the mobilization of volunteers and help is on the way, Pruitt said.

“His visit here not only signifies hope but it also provides us with that tangible relief that is so desperately needed right now,” said Pruitt. “He understands that we can’t depend on government for everything, and that there are the private and religious organizations out there that can also do the job as well--and that we need to be able to turn to everybody. Government can’t do it all. Governent is important and it’s the fabric that kind of puts us all together, but it’s the religious organizations that really tie it all together.”

About Gov. Bush, Pruitt said he has acted admirably in the face of both Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.

“They both have been a source of inspiration at the time when we needed it most,” Pruitt said of the Bush brothers, acknowledging that he and his constituents know everything can’t return to normal all at once.

“But what we are looking for is to do this over a period of time and they are providing that much needed hope that we so desperately need right now,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt also was optimistic about all of the efforts of volunteers to provide assistance in the area.

“There’s no way that we can just do it all by ourselves ,” Pruitt said. “It moves you to see all these private groups that are coming in--to include the religious organizations—and provide that helping hand.”

Pruitt said he is a man of prayer and believes his family has been sustained by prayer throughout this ordeal.

“There’s nothing that replaces the power of prayer and that’s why we are asking everybody to be patient,” said Pruitt. “Patience is truly a virtue.  It’s going to take some time, but everything’s going to be okay.”

Just a few miles down the road at Westside Baptist Church, Fort Pierce, Pastor Dale Ingersoll told the Witness he also believes patience is a good thing.

“I think the expectations are greater than the availability,” Ingersoll said. “A lot of people have been hit hard, and the damage is spread from the east to the west coast and from the north to the south.”

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers began setting up a feeding site at Westside Baptist and currently are host to about 25 volunteers from Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief and workers from the American Red Cross who are working together to cook meals and distribute them to those in need.

The church also has begun collection and distribution of commodities and food to those in need. They will also distribute food cooked by the disaster relief units in a drive-thru set-up under a huge tent on the 47-acres campus.

Ingersoll said a Florida Baptist Convention Disaster Relief coordinator asked him if the church would be open to hosting the Virginia team and a Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief unit which is schedule to arrive in the evening, Sept. 8.

The Virginia team cooked 3,000 meals of beef stew and fruit for distribution for lunch Sept. 8.  They planned to also serve up 3,000 meals for supper if a tanker truck of water arrived in time for food preparation. By Sept. 9, the volunteers plan to cook 14,000 meals the Red Cross will distribute to those in need.

Marie Lawrence, assistant director for Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief, said some of the Virginia team has been on the job since they deployed to First Baptist Church, Punta Gorda, days after Hurricane Charley tore through that area of the state Aug. 13.

“We are in the middle of rotating crews right now,” Lawrence said. “But everyone is happy to be here and just wants to help in any way they can. It’s very hard when people have such basic needs of food, water and electricity.”

Lawrence joked that many of the team’s members, well past their fifties, call her simply, “the blue hat,” and don’t know of any other job title to use for her. In turn, she refers to the Virginia volunteers as the “Lawrence Tour Group” in reference to the teams’ deployment, then pull-out to safer ground in Georgia, then deployment back to Florida.

“We’ll stay until it’s finished,” Lawrence said of the group.

Ingersoll said the church will make the volunteers as comfortable as possible in the large air-conditioned church facility which also has a gym and showers.

Inside the facility Westside Baptist church members were making phone calls to let people know of the church's plans for Sunday worship services and to see how they are faring.

Outside, under the hot Florida sun, the disaster relief volunteers were setting up for dinner—and joking around with each other.

“I didn’t do it,” one sheepfaced man said to one of the older women workers.

“I’m going to get me a ride home if you don’t leave me alone,” the woman smiled, brandishing a spatula.

“Does your wife allow you in the kitchen when you’re cooking?” another woman chimed in.

Pauline Inboden, 85, a member of Westside Baptist, who was making phone calls inside the church said she was excited to hear of the President’s visit to town.

“It’s terrific,” Inboden said. “I wish they would have stopped here. I would love to meet him.”

Inboden said she believes the president has a hard time ahead, but will hang on.

“I give him a lot of credit,” Inboden said. “He’s trying to help all he can.”