Pasadena, California – Eaton Fire PPR (Personal Property Recovery)

Our CBDR team has been very busy working and serving at the site of the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, CA. Our first team left Colorado on February 14th and arrived in Pasadena on the 16th. Their work has been non-stop. Our second team in now on site to replace some of our volunteers after their two weeks of ministry. The team returning home on February 28th will be bringing back our recovery trailer as there is not enough space at the small church sites and recovery sites for the units. March 14th will be the last day at the site for CBDR as our volunteers will have assisted with deployment for one month. Please be in prayer for those that are traveling to and from California and for safety on the job sites.

Here are some of the stats for the work done after the first 12 days:

  • 73 Volunteer days
  • 402 Work hours
  • 20 Bibles distributed
  • 19 Property Assessments
  • 18 Crisis Buckets distributed
  • 23 PPR (Personal Property Jobs completed)

Thank you for your prayers for all those who are volunteering and for those that have lost their homes.

Roswell, New Mexico

On November 6th, our first team headed down 1-25 towards New Mexico and got snowed in for two days once reaching Las Vegas, N.M. While at this location our team continued to minister to those staying at the hotel where we were stranded at by shoveling out vehicles, talking and ministering to the guest as we all watched the snow fall and the winds blow. We had several opportunities to let our light shine for Jesus.

We finally arrived at FBC Roswell on Friday evening but were late for the team’s dinner at the church. So, we stopped to eat in town and visited the sights of all those “little green men” that we have heard so much about.

On Saturday morning, we began working on an old home that had been flooded by the high waters of the storm and overflow of the rivers. This job lasted for three-days and had lots of mud, mold, floor, and wall removal. As the week continued the remaining jobs were about the same kind of damage and then some got even worse!

Four states were on site when we arrived and then a couple team left. Our team of 10 continued to work hard and very determined to do the best job possible. Long hard hours and sore bodies were the results from this work. On November 14, four of our team members departed to head back to Colorado which was followed by our second team arriving for the final week of work. SBDR New Mexico will be shutting down the operation on the 23rd, hoping to have most of the job requests completed.

CBDR and WYDR (our partners) volunteers have done a great work in Bringing: Help, Hope and Healing to those in need! With three days left to serve, the teams have completed 583 hours of work completing 5 homes and presented several Bibles and shared Jesus with serval owners. On the first day, one of our newer volunteers presented the gospel to a neighbor of the home we were working at, and he accepted Christ!

Please pray for the present team as they finish their work in Roswell and begin to head home and for safety as they travel.

CBDR Director

Las Vegas, New Mexico

Snowed in, but still Bringing Help, Hope and Healing!

Mass Evacuation Exercise in Pikes Peak Region

Always ready to Bring Help, Hope and Healing. This week CBDR Feeding Team helped at a mass Evacuation exercise with the Office of Emergency Management and Sheriff’s offices in Pikes Peak region.. Way to go – TEAM!!!

Alexander Mountain Forever in Our Prayers

CBDR will be closing our work in the Alexander Mountain fires this Saturday, September 21st. Our CBDR volunteers have worked very hard and put in long hours under some difficult conditions. The teams have been dedicated to Bring: Help, Hope and Healing to those we ministered. We did not get to meet all the property owners that we sifted and cleared their properties, but everyone has been so gracious and thankful for the work that has been done.

There are so many great stories to tell about the very fruitful time during this recovery and clean-up in the mountains of Drake, Colorado.

David and Gail Hoffman, who were great hosts, allowed us to stay at their home and use the lower area of their

property for volunteers’ campers. Can you imagine having up to 12 people at your home that you have never met and make sure they are fed 3 meals a day for four weeks? They did a fantastic job of making us feel welcome! The community, our hosts, and the Serve 6.8 Ministry provided food for all our meals the entire time. We are so thankful for how all these people came together to make it easier for us to complete the clean up of the 28 properties we worked on.

Thank you for your prayers as our CBDR Volunteers ministered to those in need! Many of us will need to get some rest after this long deployment.

Fire Clean-Up (Ash Out Recovery) Process

CBDR Volunteers are working hard to clear the properties in the recent fire on Alexander Mountain. Here is what the process looks like. Foundations are full of ash; volunteers sift for personal valuables for the homeowners; then the ash is bagged and hauled away. At that point the property is cleared and ready for rebuild. CBDR Volunteers, thank you for serving and bringing Help, Hope and Healing to those on the “hill.”

CBDR Highlighted by Colorado VOAD

This October, Colorado Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (COVOAD) has a special COVOAD Member Spotlight of the Colorado Baptist Disaster Response (CBDR) Program led by Dennis Belz. This spotlight highlights the incredible CBDR team, an exemplary mitigation and volunteer training project they completed this summer, and the passion and dedication they bring everyday to serve and support our communities across Colorado through every phase of disaster.

2023 Larry Loser Volunteer of the Year Receipent

Each year the faithful service of a CBDR Volunteer is award the “Larry Loser Volunteer of the Year Award.” The 2023 recipient is Jerry Percell. Jerry has excelled in serving during deployments, assisting with maintenance and moving of vehicles and resources, leadership and training. Thank you, Jerry, for your dedication in bringing help, hope and healing to those who have suffered loss.

First Deployment in Maui

CBDR has deployed our first volunteer (Tory Keller) to help with Personal Property Recovery from the destructive wild fire in Lahaina, Hawaii. She will be serving with local Hawaii Pacific Baptist Church volunteers along with other SBDR Region 1 (Western Region) states in ash-out and sifting through the debris.

Update: Tory reports she has teamed up with a team from California, who has lovingly nicknamed her “CAL-orado.” They gear up and walk a distance uphill to their assigned property. Please continue to pray for Troy and our DR workers as they Bring Help, Hope and Healing in Lahaina.