Church groups comes to aid of flood victims

A team of six people from Graham recently traveled to Baton Rouge, La., to help with relief efforts in the wake of the flooding that took place last month. Amanda Allen and Melissa Croxton, Loyall Watkins, Stan Edwards, Joe Contreras and Ricky Croxton, all of Oak Street Baptist Church in Graham, made their way to the ravaged streets to lend a hand. Though there doesn’t seem to be much news coming from the area, it continues to be among the worst disasters ever to occur in the U.S. People in the thousands are now beginning to dig out, clean out and assess the damage to homes, schools, businesses and churches, and life in general. Some schools were delayed in starting while one school will not start for an estimated six months. According to one local pastor as many as 250,000 people have been displaced. Many are living with other families or in hotels and some have had to leave the area to find a place to stay. More than 100,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Several local churches that missed the flooding are serving as help centers in various ways. Woodlawn Baptist Church is one church doing a lot to help with the effort: housing teams and people who come to help, providing three meals daily, using their facilities as men’s and women’s dorms, and organizing work assignments as well. The Alabama Baptist Men have provided a shower unit equipped with laundry facilities. For the rest of this story, pick up a copy of Saturday's Graham Leader, or subscribe to our online edition.