GALVESTON, Texas (BP)—A Southern Baptist disaster relief feeding unit stationed in Galveston, Texas, has passed the half-million mark for meals prepared for residents and workers in a region heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.

LONG BEACH, Miss. (BP)—After Hurricane Katrina wiped out its downtown campus, First Baptist Church in Long Beach, Miss., began planning its new complex with an eye toward the future.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—After driving 2,400 miles round trip, toiling 10-to-12 hour days in the searing, arid and windy Texas heat for more than three weeks, a caravan of weary Florida Baptist disaster relief workers returned home Oct. 2, having provided sustenance and the Gospel in word and deed to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast region.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Florida Baptist volunteers injured while responding to hurricane relief needs in the Gulf Coast looked beyond their difficulties to encourage those that served with them.

GRACEVILLE (BCF)—Brent Gay, a student at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville, was part of the Emergency Communications (EmComm) unit for the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team which was activated to respond after Hurricane Ike tore through Galvaston, Texas in early September.

HOUMA, La. (LBC)—Gary Jones stands in his yard watching as a team from Florida cuts and hauls away piles of branches in his yard. A heart attack three years ago prohibits him from doing heavy manual labor for longs periods of time.

GILCHRIST, Texas (BP)—Arlis and Wanda Russell made a list of the folks who were present for the last service of their home church, knowing it might be the only membership roll that exists.

HOUSTON (BP)—Classes resumed Sept. 22 at Houston Baptist University, eight days after Hurricane Ike caused an estimated $8 million to $10 million damage to the campus.

TEXAS CITY (FBW)—When a hurricane the size of Texas threatened the Longhorn State earlier this month, Baptists from the Sunshine State, took to the highway with an “Armada” of 16 vehicles and 40-plus volunteers.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Even as Cuban government officials warned Sept. 18 of a severe shortage of food during the next six months, Florida Baptists were exploring ways to ship food and building supplies to aid its decade-long partner, the Western Cuba Baptist Convention.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Even as Cuban government officials warned Sept. 18 of a severe shortage of food during the next six months, Florida Baptists were exploring ways to ship food and building supplies to aid its decade-long partner, the Western Cuba Baptist Convention.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)—Churches in southern Louisiana that weathered Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita and three years later Gustav may have been done in by Ike’s onslaught Sept. 13.

TEXAS CITY, Texas (FBW)–Blonde hair tucked under a bright yellow visor and her Florida Baptist Disaster Relief t-shirt sleeves slightly rolled, Patty Pennington is ready for another shift on the food line in Texas City.

HOUSTON (BP)–Houston. Baytown. Texas City. League City. Pasadena. Livingston. Port Arthur. Huntsville. Lufkin. Tyler. Since Tuesday, Sept. 16, Southern Baptist volunteers in these Texas cities have provided more than 321,000 hot meals for thousands of victims of Hurricane Ike. But they’ve only just begun.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–Churches in southern Louisiana that weathered Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita and three years later Gustav may have been done in by Ike’s onslaught Sept. 13.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Less than 24 hours after Hurricane Ike pounded Texas Gulf Coast towns with Category 2 storm-force winds, Florida Baptist disaster relief workers arrived in Beaumont, Texas, Sept. 14, awaiting their assignment to the ravaged area.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FBC)—”I have seen a lot of heartache in Haiti. It is hard here even in good times but today we saw the worst,” said Craig Culbreth Sept. 11 from Haiti as he oversaw Florida Baptists’ second distribution of rice to this desperate nation.

GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP)—Hurricane Ike recovery is underway with Southern Baptists of Texas Convention volunteers clearing trees and debris in the piney woods of East Texas, but the physical damage to churches along the Gulf Coast was harder to assess early Monday with the Galveston and Bay City areas near Houston without electricity and phone service.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH (FBW)—When Randy and Paula Crowe evacuated the Bahama Islands ahead of Hurricane Ike, they flew their newly-purchased 30-year-old private plane to New Smyrna Beach, where he had previously served nine years as pastor of First Baptist Church.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—A Southern Baptist disaster assessment team will enter Cuba the week of Sept. 15 to consult with local Baptist partners about relief efforts needed in the wake of two hurricanes striking the island nation.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)-Just a week after activating their units for a possible strike in South Florida, Florida Baptist disaster relief volunteers are being deployed to provide relief in Texas where Hurricane Ike will make landfall as an expected category 2 storm on Sat., Sept 13.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FBC)—“I have seen a lot of heartache in Haiti. It is hard here even in good times but today we saw the worst,” said Craig Culbreth Sept. 11 from Haiti as he oversaw Florida Baptists’ second distribution of rice to this desperate nation.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Keeping one eye fixed on Florida’s Panhandle where there was still a slight possiblity as of Sept. 8 Hurricane Ike could “hook” and strike during the week, Florida Baptist Convention officials are preparing to send help to regions in the United States and Haiti already affected by Hurricanes Hanna and Gustav.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FBC)—Mudslides, washed-out roads and massive flooding hampered Florida Baptists’ efforts to feed the hungry in Haiti where three tropical storms in as many weeks have killed at least 150 persons and destroyed crops and livelihoods.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BP)—Michael Desmond begins to cry when he tells the story.

HOUMA (FBW)–It had been nearly a week since Brett Morin, 66, left the comfort of his home in Lutz for a 15-hour trek first to Baton Rogue, La., and then to Houma Sept. 8.

PENSACOLA (FBC)—Evacuee Jamie Ferrier sits in the gym of East Brent Baptist Church with time on her hands, anxiously awaiting news, desperate for any information about the damage her hometown sustained after Hurricane Gustav tore through the Gulf Coast region on Sept. 1.

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—Since Hurricane Gustav, good news has been arriving to cell phones of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary families through NOBTS’ new priority text messaging system.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW) – Keeping one eye fixed on Florida’s Panhandle where there was still a slight possibility as of Sept. 8 Hurricane Ike could “hook” and strike during the week, Florida Baptist Convention officials are preparing to send help to regions in the United States and Haiti already affected by Hurricanes Hanna and Gustav.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FBC)-Mudslides, washed-out roads and massive flooding hampered Florida Baptists’ efforts to feed the hungry in Haiti where three tropical storms in as many weeks have killed at least 150 persons and destroyed crops and livelihoods.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC) – Only a few hours after Hanna bypassed the state, Florida Baptist disaster relief teams are ramping up for Hurricane Ike, which forecasters warn could land in South Florida as a Category 3 storm by Tuesday night.

JACKSONVILLE (BP)–Now that Tropical Storm Hanna is no longer a threat to Florida, Fritz Wilson, state disaster relief director for the Florida Baptist Convention, and his team are turning their full attention to Ike — the next hurricane in what seems to be a never-ending string of storms tearing across the Atlantic toward Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (FBC) -Mudslides, washed-out roads and massive flooding hampered Florida Baptists’ efforts to feed the hungry in Haiti where three tropical storms in as many weeks have killed at least 150 persons and destroyed crops and livelihoods.

PENSACOLA (FBC)-Evacuee Jamie Ferrier sits in the gym of East Brent Baptist Church with time on her hands, anxiously awaiting news, desperate for any information about the damage her hometown sustained after Hurricane Gustav tore through the Gulf Coast region on Sept. 1.

CLINTON, Miss. (BP)–The night’s warm breeze gave way to a drizzle as Kentucky Baptist disaster relief units rolled out of Camp Garaywa, a Woman’s Missionary Union camp located in this small town west of Jackson.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–The most extensive damage from Hurricane Gustav’s winds in Louisiana is in a triangle formed by Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Lafayette, according to Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptists’ disaster relief coordinator.

NEW ORLEANS (BP)–Since Hurricane Gustav, good news has been arriving to cell phones of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary families through NOBTS’ new priority text messaging system.

NEW ORLEANS (BP)–New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary suffered only minimal damage as Hurricane Gustav pushed through about 70 miles southwest of the city Sept. 1.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Fay saturated the state from the Florida Keys to Pensacola, Florida Baptists stood ready for the possible threat of another storm as the Witness went to press Aug. 29.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–The American Red Cross and Salvation Army asked Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers Aug. 29 to prepare for the worst.

UPDATED: 12:30 p.m. Sep. 1

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)-With an estimated 2 million having fled Louisiana while Hurricane Gustav continued its head-on collision course near New Orleans, Florida Baptists stood ready with warm beds and meals for those displaced by the storm.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)-With an estimated 2 million having fled Louisiana while Hurricane Gustav continued its head-on collision course near New Orleans, Florida Baptists stood ready with warm beds and meals for those displaced by the storm.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Fay saturated the state from the Florida Keys to Pensacola, Florida Baptists stood ready for the possible threat of another storm as the Witness went to press Aug. 29.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)—The American Red Cross and Salvation Army asked Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers Aug. 29 to prepare for the worst.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Florida Baptist Witness is asking readers to send in basic information about damaged sustained as a result of major storms impacting Florida. The Witness would like to receive information about damage in your area, damage to churches, disaster relief efforts on the part of Florida Baptist Disaster Relief crews or churches, associations or individuals—and photos to go along with the information.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW/FBC) – Moving at a snail’s pace while dumping heavy rain and pushing strong winds in an erratic pattern through Florida, Tropical Storm Fay – or “Fickle Fay” as it has been called – finally headed out of state Aug. 24 after making a historic four landfalls in Florida.

BAREFOOT BAY (FBW)—Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team volunteers from throughout Central Florida descended into Barefoot Bay in south Brevard County Aug. 21—an area devastated by a tornado Aug. 19.

DAYTONA BEACH (FBW)—Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from Halifax Baptist Association assisted a Daytona Beach family Sat., Aug. 23 after Tropical Storm Fay continued to dump rain in the area, where earlier in the week its unpredictable nature caused one newscaster to refer to it as “Fickle Fay.”

DAYTONA BEACH (FBW)-Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from Halifax Baptist Association assisted a Daytona Beach family Sat., Aug. 23 after Tropical Storm Fay continued to dump rain in the area, where earlier in the week its unpredictable nature caused one newscaster to refer to it as "Fickle Fay."

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–On the Monday morning after slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay soaked and wind-whipped the state, Florida Baptists’ disaster relief teams continued to assess damage and set up relief points in affected areas.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW) – Tropical Storm Fay continued to meander its way westward toward Florida’s Big Bend and Panhandle Friday, wreaking havoc as far north as Jacksonville where 100 patients were being evacuated from a nursing home by Jon boats as floodwaters completely surrounded the facility.

BAREFOOT BAY (FBW)-Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team volunteers from throughout Central Florida descended into Barefoot Bay in south Brevard County Aug. 21—an area devastated by a tornado Aug. 19.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)-After rushing the Florida Keys Monday night and making a second Florida landfall at 5 a.m Tuesday south of Naples, Tropical Storm Fay finally made it to the Atlantic coast Wednesday but has stalled in the Cape Canaveral area, lowering the chance it will be become a hurricane when it tracks through northeast Florida.