In September, Mission to the World sent Global Disaster Response teams to the Bahamas to survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Dorian. The teams met with Julian Russell, pastor of Covenant Life Presbyterian Church (PCA), New Providence, and Gabe Swing, pastor of Kirk of the Pines (Evangelical Presbyterian Church) in Marsh Harbour.

The teams determined that the most pressing need is trauma care for survivors and first responders. MTW plans to send teams with the expertise to counsel and provide train-the-trainer counseling instruction to pastors, laypersons, social service workers, school counselors, and emergency workers. The Global Disaster Response team wants to ensure the support and health of the emergency responders as they continue to serve in the middle of the disaster area.

Other pressing need are roofing and mold remediation. The MTW team has identified a community on Grand Bahama for the initial rebuilding efforts, which will be done working closely with Gregory Bowe, pastor of Community Bible Church. The rebuilding efforts will require both skilled and manual labor, and could be done using either local workers or the Global Disaster Response team. Once roofs have been replaced and damaged drywall removed, short-term church mission teams can assist with manual labor. But as of November 2019, the ground situation did not yet support sending church mission teams.

Because the Bahamas are islands, damaged areas often have nothing in place to support relief crews. The only way to access the disaster sites is by water and air, and commercial flights from the U.S. flying into Grand Bahama or the Abaco Islands just resumed in December.

MTW asks for donations to its Compassion Fund to help the Global Disaster Response team respond quickly to disasters with God’s grace and hope.