Written: 8/4/2009
Rita Recovery - A Letter of Thanks
To God be the glory! It is with great joy that I announce that we have completed Hurricane Rita repairs. It has been an amazing journey that began nearly 4 years ago. Much like the Israelites, God guided us through the desert. He is our team leader and our source of strength.
There are so many people who have been a part of this accomplishment. We applaud the more than 8,000 volunteers from 38 states and Canada for your tireless efforts! With your help, we completed repairs on 721 homes. The money saved by using volunteer laborers as opposed to paid labor is estimated to be $5,429,187. We could not have done this without you!
Our sincere gratitude goes to the churches in the Southeast District for opening your doors and serving as hosts for the volunteers teams. You truly showed radical hospitality. We are also appreciative of the support shown to us by the leadership of the conference, district and local churches.
We also want to thank the faith-based organizations, government agencies, city and county officials and the many volunteers in the community who worked with us during the Rita Recovery years. We have so many new friends!
Special thanks to the awesome staff members. Your mission hearts and compassion have been a blessing to so many. You should be so proud.
We thank the homeowners for allowing us to serve them. It has been our joy and pleasure to be of assistance.
We still have much work to do. We continue with Ike recovery and are welcoming volunteer teams for the fall and winter months. We covet your prayers, as always.
And, we invite you to commemorate the completion of Hurricane Rita recovery work with us at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 20. A worship service of praise and thanksgiving will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont, with a reception to follow the service.
With much gratitude and praise,
Angela Baker
Disaster Recovery Director
For additional information, please visit http://www.umcortexas.com/.