Baptists put their faith to good works

Several local Southern Baptists are returning to Utah and Idaho this weekend from an unusual "vacation" spent clearing branches and trees in Oklahoma.

After 10 days of working on the chain saw brigade, the team of 21 has decided "it's the best vacation we've ever had," according to team leader Dave Zortman. The group was dispatched nearly two weeks ago to help with cleanup of branches and trees felled by ice storms in the Midwest, Jan. 12 and 13.

They've spent the past 10 days working sun up to sundown in four Oklahoma towns: McAllister, Checoah, Disney and Monkey Island. Zortman said the crew was so eager to continue their work each morning, "I had a hard time keeping some of them in their beds to get enough sleep." Often they were up and after the task by 5 a.m.

Wade Gayler, director of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief for the church's Utah/Idaho Convention, said the local volunteers comprised two chain saw units and manned three skid-steers — small tractors with a grappling hook on the front for picking up branches.

The ice storms not only downed power lines and cut electricity to tens of thousands in Oklahoma and Missouri, but the weight of the ice also felled branches and trees as it swept over the Midwest, crushing roofs, blocking entrances and driveways and stranding sick and elderly residents.

Gayler, who spent time working with the crews earlier in January, said much work remains to be done, but he doesn't anticipate the local group will be called out again. "They'll get (Southern Baptist volunteers from) Oklahoma and the surrounding states to continue the work."

Each of the 41 regional Southern Baptist Conventions across the United States has its own volunteer disaster-relief team, he said. Workers typically sleep in a church or one of the Southern Baptist camps established in the disaster region, and "work pretty much from sun up to sundown." The church provides meals while volunteers are on site, but workers must pay for their own transportation, he said.

Peggy Colbert, administrative assistant with the volunteer mobilization center for the North American Mission Board, said a total of 25 volunteers from the Utah/Idaho Convention have been involved in the cleanup. The local crew has been a part of the 4,400 Southern Baptist volunteers that, as of Wednesday, had completed a total of 1,835 "jobs" — locations where they've cleared trees and branches, mostly for those who were unable to help themselves.

She said there is no "typical" volunteer profile. "We have people of all ages who have been trained to be on a recovery team, specifically trained to be on a chain saw," which is usually their own equipment, she said.