Directors of Hawaii Baptist Disaster Relief - John and Gay Williams

HPBC Annual Report for 2021-2022

This has been an excellent year for Hawaii Pacific Disaster Relief. We have conducted inperson training on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Big Island. We have certified 97 volunteers that are ready and able to support the ministry. We have deployed globally with SEND and the IMB and have a team currently deployed in Florida.

By way of introduction, we moved to Oahu in January 2019 from Colorado, where together we served for over ten years with Colorado Disaster Relief. John served as Assistant State Director, and Gay served as Chaplain. We have deployed both nationally and internationally. We are very excited to serve HPBC and have long felt called to serve the Lord through Disaster Relief.

SEND Ministries We are excited about a new Disaster Relief partnership between Hawaii Pacific Baptist DR, HPBC, and SEND Relief. SEND Relief is a collaboration between the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board to provide a platform for Southern Baptists to bring practical help and the hope of Christ in compassion ministry across the globe through crisis response and community development. This working covenant supports Indochina, which includes Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

The IMB requested us to come to Thailand to train local churches how to minister during the flooding they experience annually. We trained 33 leaders representing 11 local churches in Northern Thailand on Spiritual and Emotional Care and Flood Recovery. Within days of the training, flooding occurred in Northern Thailand, and the local church was able to respond, praise God for His timing. While in Thailand, we served alongside Martin and Carrie Chappell in their work with refugees. Seeing the churches of HPBC meeting needs in so many ways is a blessing.

HPBC DR is partnering with SEND ministries to pre-stage 2600 gap-feeding meals. This will enable DR to rapidly get help to those in crisis should the need arise. Partnering with SEND allows DR to have a broader reach and continue our mission of “Bringing Help, Healing, and Hope” to those in need.

VOAD Our partnership continues with the county and state VOADs (Volunteers Active in Disaster). This allows us to build relationships with other disaster relief partners and connect with the State and County Emergency Management and FEMA. When a major event occurs in Hawaii, these relationships will be invaluable in bringing the support and the love of Jesus to those affected. Gay serves with the Emotional Spiritual Care sub-committee and the VOAD liaison to the Office of Emergency Management. John serves as the Work Groups sub-committee chair. HPBC is a major partner with VOAD in Hawaii.

SBC and DR Roundtable We attended the Southern Baptist Convention and bi-annual Disaster Relief Round Table meetings. At the DR Round Table, we participated with DR, NAMB, and IMB leadership to discuss partnerships, logistics, and resource sharing. We also participated in updated

40

training on mass feeding, recovery, and church disaster preparedness. We feel this is especially important for the many churches we serve in our convention.

Volunteer Training Praise the Lord! We have resumed in-person training and are so encouraged by the volunteers’ response and our pastors' support. Since May, we have conducted Disaster Relief training in person, and 97 volunteers have been trained and certified. Some are recertifying, but most are new to the ministry. The training was conducted three times on Oahu, once on Maui, once on Kauai, and twice on Big Island.

Shower Trailer The trailer has four shower stalls and three washer/dryer units. Connections Church used the shower trailer again this year in May when a team came from Texas to support their church plant. The shower trailer was parked at Ewa Beach Baptist Church. We used this opportunity to train and deploy DR volunteers to support this effort. We are very thankful for the volunteers who served.

It is truly a blessing to serve our Lord through the HPBC and Disaster Relief; thank you for your continued support.

41