2024 Recap & Update
On May 26, 2024 8 confirmed tornadoes touched down in Rogers, AR and the surrounding communities. In addition to tornadoes, straight line winds of 80 to 100 mph swept through the area. The Mid-South District office and our District Disaster Response Coordinator (DDRC), Janet Simko, in conjunction with our “DDRC in training,” Kurt Ludwig, were immediately in contact and waited further information from our LCMS pastors in these communities. Faith In Action Disaster Response Team was immediately notified and our Lutheran Early Response Teams in the district were put on stand by until the Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson and Janet Simko met with the pastors in the Rogers area to figure out what help was needed and what church could host volunteers. Over two dozen LCMS households in this community were affected and had tree damage. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Rogers, AR graciously offered to host and feed our LERT volunteers. This congregation became the camp for our LERT teams for 5 weeks.
The Rogers, Arkansas deployment began on June 3 and ended July 12, 2024. Our LERT volunteers completed 35 work orders for homeowners. The majority were members of the local LCMS congregations. They had 50 total volunteers that came from 9 different states. During the deployment our teams removed and cleaned up 315 trees. On average the people helped were quoted $2,500 per tree. Conservatively, that’s nearly $800,000 worth of work. For some of the trees they removed, homeowners were previously quoted $6,500 per tree on their property from tree companies and these were just the ones uprooted or already on the ground. They also removed numerous trees that were still standing, in addition to hangers and widowmakers. Our teams joyfully proclaimed God’s love in Christ Jesus to those affected by this disaster. Many thank yous go out to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, her pastors, and all the members who provided meals to our volunteers. Many more thank yous go out to those who donated to make all of this happen. They could not have done all of this without your support. Our LERT teams and congregations in the Mid-South District are now assisting across the southeast with recovery after hurricanes Helene and Milton. Stay tuned in the next article for how we are helping those impacted.
—Contributed by
Rev. Trae Fistler
Faith Lutheran Church Hopkinsville, KY
Mid-South District LCMS DDRC
Chainsaw and Heavy Equipment Trainer
Faith In Action Disaster Response Team
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