2014 Pateros Fire Relief Effort

 Thank you all you volunteers!  Leon Jameson, from King’s Orchard, has taken over the coordination of volunteers from the King’s Orchard church to serve at Pateros during the continuing disaster relief effort.  Please offer your volunteer services to Leon at church or call him at (360)460-9426 or e-mail: leonjameson@yahoo.com.   

21 August, 2014

It’s been one month since the Carlton Complex wildfire swept through Pateros. Volunteers fought the fire and volunteers have responded in the recovery from the fire. Fire, in and of itself, is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, it’s how people respond that’s important.

The night of the fire, July 17, I got a phone call from Dale Linge saying he had called the folks at Disaster Relief and that they would have a truck on the road within 24 hours. I was elated that help was on the way but concerned that we would be facing an overwhelming task, for which we were ill prepared. My fears were unfounded. The truck arrived on schedule, the fork lift was there and church and community members swarmed the trailer to start unloading. It was a humbling experience.

Since that Tuesday, when the truck arrived, we have dispersed all the contents of that truck, all of the following truckload of water and more. Over and over again, we have heard heart-felt thanks from victims, prayed with the distressed and comforted those who lost everything in their homes. The outreach crossed community lines and reached over 150 families and nearly 400 people.

We are still helping people restart their lives.

Words cannot express the gratitude we have for the team at Disaster Relief, for the churches across the state and for the good people of our communities. We believe that God is good, all the time and that God is able, Amen. We have witnessed the best of hearts and minds transformed by the challenges of our moment.

We are eternally grateful and humbled to have been a part of a transformative event, one that will shape our future and that of our community.

We praise and thank all who have contributed to this effort and we praise God for his never-ending grace.

Pateros and the church of Christ,

Jeff Walter

 

. . .That’s why I believe so much in the local church, because every now and then a disciple breaks out, and a disciple still can capture the world’s imagination.

God can use our ministry to help the world get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus. He can use our ministry to help heal a hurting world.

But even if He does not. . .

Exert from: Kent Brantly: Every Now and Then a Disciple Breaks Out, blog post by Jonathan Storment

 

Our sister Blanche Brown went home to her Heavenly Father on Monday, August 25, 2014. Her granddaughter, Kimberly Matthews, was by her side on her final journey through this life. Please keep Kim and her family in your prayers during this time of grief. There will be a grave-side service for Blanche on Friday, August 29 here at Wenatchee City Cemetery at 2 p.m.

Let's help kids get back to school in the Pateros area after the devastating Carlton Complex Fire. "A Pack for Pateros" event will help gather school supplies for elementary, middle school, and high school students so they can start the year off right. This program will run until September 1st, where we will deliver the packs to the school districts at that time. 

Here is the lists (1 for elementary, 1 for high school and middle school) we've gathered from the Pateros School District Web Site.

1 backpack
3 pkg. No. 2 pencils
1 pkg of erasers
6 glue sticks
1 pkg of colored pencils or crayons (no markers please)
1 pair of scissors
1 ruler (metric and inches)
2 boxes of tissue
2 single subject notebooks (wide ruled)
2 pocket folders or portfolios

High School and Middle School 
1 backpack or book bag
3 pkg. No. 2 pencils
1 pkg of erasers
1 pkg of colored pencils or crayons (no markers please)
1 pair of scissors
1 ruler (metric and inches)
2 boxes of tissue
3 packs of lined paper, college ruled
3 three ring binders
Dividers/sheet protectors
Calendars or small planners
3 packs of pens
1 small stapler
2 packs of staples
3 pocket folders or portfolios

Nice to haves for high school/middle school:
Regular or Scientific calculator
Gift cards to Office Depot or Staples for printer supplies. (Wal Mart works too.)



Once you've filled your pack with these items (you don't need to get all the items on the list. just get what you can), you can drop it by or send it to theKing's Orchard Church of Christ (1610 Orchard Street, Po Box 1019, Wenatchee Wa 98801) We will deliver these packs along with the Pateros Church of Christ to the school districts in the area on 02 September 2014. 

If you want to drop off a pack at King's Orchard Church of Christ, please note that the office hours are as follows:
Tuesday - Wednesday : 9am - 3pm
Thursday - Friday : 8am - 11am
You can also drop off packs during any service time:
Youth Group Time - Wednesdays 7pm - 9pm
Sunday Mornings - Sundays 9:30am - 11am
And feel free to stick around with us if you'd like to!

Let's kick this into high gear and help a child go back to school fully equipped!

 

Thank you all you volunteers!  As of 7 PM, Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 108 Families have been helped by the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort from the Pateros church building.  Of these families, 44 suffered a total loss of their homes and of those, 38 families have no insurance!  A total of about 290 people have been helped from the building.

The city has running water now and electrical power, thanks to the utility crews from Grant, Chelan, Douglas, Yakima, and Okanogan Counties.  We are starting to see people come back to their homes to start cleaning up spoiled refrigerators and freezers.  We are soliciting for trash bags, rubber gloves, sponges, baking soda and vinegar.  The fervor has begun to die down from the initial rush and now begins the arduous process of rebuilding lives.

This is a wonderful volunteer effort!  A total of 57 people have volunteered their services for one day or more:  8 from the Pateros church, 26 from the Kings Orchard church, 12 from the Cashmere church, and 9 from other churches.  The total number of volunteer hours as of 7 PM, Wednesday, July 30, was 1,107.5 hours.

Next steps

1. Continued support for Jeff and Audrey Walter, Betty McKee, and others at the Pateros church of Christ.
   
   
2. Follow-up Volunteers are needed beginning Sunday afternoon, August 3, going out from the Pateros church building, to follow up with those families that need help, especially those that have lost everything in the fire and have no insurance.
   
   
3. Survey those families that lost everything, and that have no insurance, for their needs for shelter.
   
   
4. Leon Jameson, from Kings Orchard church, (Laura Jameson’s son), is taking over the coordination of volunteers from the Kings Orchard church to serve at Pateros during the continuing disaster relief effort.  Please offer your volunteer services to Leon at church or call him at (360)460-9426.  Thank You!  Mike McKee, reporting