Oklahoma Baptist
Disaster Relief
Unit Director
(Blue Cap)
Training Manual
 
 

  

Table of Contents

   

Section I
Biblical Foundations of Management	4
Section II
Dimensions of Leadership	4
Section III
Responsibilities of the Unit Director	5
Section IV
Review of the Units	5

 

Feeding
Communication
Clean-up and Recovery
Temporary Emergency Child Care
Shower
Water Purification
Chaplains

    

Section V
Incident Command System	7
Section VI
Alert System	7
Section VII
Onsite Setup and Reporting	8
Section VIII
Principles and Skills of a Situational Leader	8
Section IX
Interpersonal Skills Training	9

 

Stress Management in Crisis Situations
Clear Communication
Conflict Management
Crew Consensus

Section X
Managing the Unit	11

 

Responding to the Mission
Maintaining Balance
Making Decisions
Working Relationships and Resources

Section XI
Devotions and Daily Meetings	13

 

Daily Devotions
Prayer Concerns
Witnessing
Suggested Scripture Passages

Section XII
Recovery of the Unit	15

 

Recovery Decision
Emotional Issues
Packing the Unit
Travel Home
Debrief and Evaluation

 

Section XIII
Conclusion	16
Appendices

 

Appendix One: Master Volunteer List Form		17
BGCO Insurance Info Form		18
Appendix Two: Release and Indemnity Agreement		19
Appendix Three: Daily Unit Report Form		20
Appendix Four: Incident Report Form		22
Appendix Five: Vendor Form		23
Appendix Six: Shower/Laundry/Water Purification Report Form		25
Appendix Seven: BGCO Travel Reimbursement Form & Policy		26
Appendix Eight: ARC Reimbursement Form		28

 

Endnotes		29
I.	Biblical Foundations of Management

            

A unit director should be a person who is committed to “Serving Christ in Crisis” by sharing the love of Christ to disaster victims in a practical manner. The unit director must be skilled and experienced in his ministry area. He must be a spiritually mature individual who is willing to meet the spiritual needs of victims, rescue workers, and his team. Finally, he must be a wise manager of both human resources and equipment.
The unit director should look to the Bible as the source and guide to be a wise and productive manager. In a disaster the unit director must be a strong leader who can manage the team and the situation. The unit director should look to our Lord Jesus Christ as an example of a wise manager. Jesus was a servant leader. He was strong, kind, directive, corrective, wise, and loving.
The greatest example of the servant leadership of Jesus can be found in the passage shortly before the death of our Lord. Jesus had a desire to eat the Passover one last time with his disciples. In John 13:12-17, we find one of the greatest examples of a servant leader where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.
And so when He had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and reclined at the table again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you Truly, truly, I say to you a slave is not greater then his master; neither is one who is sent grater then the one who sent him If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
Jesus was a servant leader who would stoop to do the mundane, such as washing the dirty feet of his disciples. If the unit director will take the same attitude, he will be able to lead his people, help those in need, and truly demonstrate the love of Christ to a lost world.
II.
Dimensions of Leadership
Ken Blanchard of the Center for Faithwalk Leadership suggests four dimensions of leadership. 1
Heart – motivation or intent/leadership character
Head – assumptions and beliefs/leadership methods
Hand – application/leadership behavior
Habits – daily recalibration of commitment to mission and values
III.
Responsibilities of the Unit Director
As one considers the job description for the unit director, remember the four functions of a biblical manager. These functions are:

Planning - predetermine a course of action

Organizing - arranging and relating work so that people can perform it most effectively

Leading - causing people to take effective action

Controlling - assessing and regulating work in progress. 2

  

Job Description

·

Christian, spiritually mature

·

Member of a local Southern Baptist church

·

Completion of Involving Southern Baptist in Disaster Relief 3

·

Appointed by state disaster relief director

·

Completion of Unit Director (Blue Hat) Training Manual

·

Completion of state requirements

·	Demonstrates biblical management skills

 

·
Wise steward of resources
·
Demonstrates stress management
·
Mature adult

  

The unit director must have a complete understanding of the disaster relief organization at the national, state, and local levels. The director must know how he fits into the incident command system. The director must know Involving Southern Baptist in Disaster Relief as well as the manual of his specific unit.

 

IV.
Review of the Units

    

There are various types of disaster relief units: feeding unit, communications unit, clean-up and recovery unit, child care unit, shower unit, water purification unit, chaplains, and other specialty units. Each unit has its own specific mission and responsibility; however, the units work together during a disaster in the name of the Lord.
Feeding Unit
The primary mission of the feeding unit is to feed and serve victims and relief workers during a disaster. A hot meal and cup of water in Jesus' name may be the seed to the salvation of a soul. 4
Responsibilities: The feeding unit is to come to the disaster site with food. The unit director must have an arrival inventory. The unit director must evaluate space needs and set up the unit safely. They must follow safe food handling procedures and prepare the amount of food requested by the American Red Cross (ARC). Meals are five-part meals (meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, and drink). The feeding support unit in the job H.Q. will support the unit. The feeding support unit is made up of the SBC feeding coordinator, ARC mass care officer, and ARC logistical officer. The unit director must assign one person to be the supply person to maintain the daily inventory of the pantry. According to our Statement of Understanding (SOU), we can set up local support if necessary. A feedback loop will be established between the unit director and H.Q. to ensure good communications.

Communications Unit
 
The mission of the communications unit is to provide communication for the disaster relief effort.
 

 

Responsibilities:  The unit director should set up the unit on the high ground, observing safety procedures. Amateur radio (ham radio) may be the primary means of communications. The unit director must operate in accordance with FCC regulations. The communications unit will need to establish a communications network which will help fulfill its mission.

Clean-up and Recovery Unit
 
The primary mission of the clean-up and recovery unit is to assist individuals and churches in the initial clean-up after a disaster.

 

Responsibilities: The unit director should evaluate and assign all jobs. He must secure the proper authorization before beginning any work. The unit director should assign jobs to volunteers according to the competence and skills of the volunteer. The unit director makes sure all equipment is working properly and that volunteers follow and observe safety rules when working.

Temporary Emergency Child Care (TECC)
 
The primary mission of the TECC unit is caring for children when a disaster strikes. It is a ministry where children and parents are shown the love of Jesus at a time when care and attention are vital needs in their lives. This ministry is a tremendous channel of God’s love to a community trying to recover to an ordered lifestyle following a disruption of various degrees. This disruption could range from a single-family disaster to a larger scale catastrophic disaster.
 

 

Responsibilities: The unit director must find an appropriate location for the unit. The location must be a safe and secure place for children. The unit director must establish proper identification procedures for the children and insure that age graded material is used while teaching the children under their care. It is important to try to relieve the fears of the child. All equipment is to be cleaned and sanitized every day.

Shower Unit
 
The primary mission of the shower unit is to provide hot, safe, and refreshing showers for disaster relief volunteers. Furthermore, the unit is to function according to the   health regulations of the state in which it is operating.
 
Responsibilities: The unit director is to find a suitable level location with access to potable water and the ability to properly dispose of gray water. He is to insure that the unit can supply hot showers for the disaster relief volunteers. He is to clean and sanitize the showers daily and observe all local health regulations.
 

Water Purification Unit
 
The mission of the water purification unit is to provide the highest quality, safe drinking water feasible for use by disaster feeding units, volunteers, and the general public. This unit will operate according to the applicable regulations of the jurisdiction in which it is operating.
 
Responsibilities: The unit director is to find a suitable surface water supply from which he will be able to make potable water for the disaster relief units, volunteers, and the general public. The unit director must follow local health regulations. He is to maintain the daily maintenance schedule and keep an accurate record of all water tests and water samples.
 
Chaplains
 
The mission of the chaplains is to provide quality assistance to victims of disaster through a holistic program of health care and compassion.
 
The following can be the recipients of chaplain ministry during a disaster: victims; relief workers including ARC, emergency management agencies, firemen, police, etc.; disaster relief volunteers; and other caregivers, i.e., pastors.
 
V.  Incident Command System
 
We can no longer expect one man to manage the multi-ministry, complex disaster response that we are involved in today. In order for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to be wise stewards of resources and manpower we have adopted the Incident Command System (ICS) as the disaster management model. Key to understanding ICS is where the unit director fits into the system. The disaster response will always have an incident commander. In a larger multi-state disaster the ICS team will consist of operations, logistics, administration, public information and planning officers. Assisting these officers will be coordinators. The Unit director will be give information and contact numbers of his supervisor. Depending upon the size of the operation the unit director will answer to the incident commander, operations officer or a coordinator.
 
VI.  Alert System
 
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has three level of readiness. They are as follows:
 
Alert – There is a potential response for the unit. This is the lowest level of readiness. Contact is once a day.
 
Stand-By – There is a probable need that a unit will be needed to respond. Contact is maintained with unit twice a day.
 

 

	Go/No Go – The unit is ready and available to respond. If it is activated, the unit will maintain contact every four hours with the Disaster Operations Center (DOC) during a multi-state disaster response. If not activated, the unit will be moved to another level or stood down.

 
 
If you are asked to respond you will be given information to assist you to fulfill your mission and ministry. The following acrostic will be helpful:
 
S – Situation: specific circumstances at the location
E – Environment: location and how to get there or to the staging area
M – Mission: specific assignment of services
A – Administration: contact person, who to report to

 

C – Communication: report to state director and national offsite coordinator ever four hours en route. 5

    

VII.
Onsite Set-up and Reporting
The local director, state director, or national coordinator may activate the disaster relief unit. Once the unit is activated, the unit director will receive specific instructions as to the operation and onsite location. While in transit to the disaster site, the unit director must contact the unit's offsite coordinator. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the unit director to insure that contact is made with the national offsite coordinator or the DOC in transit during a multi-state response. Once a unit arrives and is assigned to a multi-state disaster response, it must work within the chain of command of the incident command system.
The unit director will be responsible for setting up the unit in the most ideal location to fulfill the mission of the unit. For example, a communications unit does not need to set up under a covered walk way. Rather, the communications unit needs the "high" ground and clear spaces for its antennas. Yet, a feeding unit should seek a covered walkway to set up and feed disaster relief victims. A clean-up and recovery unit, depending upon the nature of its assignment, could set up in either location.
In setting up the disaster relief unit the unit director will need to set up the unit in accordance with the specific policy and procedure manual for the unit. Some basic guidelines apply to all units:

1.

Set up the unit to make optimum use of its equipment.

2.				Set up the unit to make optimum use of the total site. (parking lot, office space, sleeping space, storage, garbage, drainage, etc.)
3.				Set up the unit in a safe manner where team members and non-members can safely work with and around equipment.

 

4.
Insure that the onsite coordinator is aware of your specific location and mission.
5.
Insure all team members are manifested and registered onsite.6

The unit director is responsible for the completing and submitting all the necessary paperwork and forms in accordance with the standard operating procedures. Furthermore, the unit director is responsible for daily reporting to the incident commander while operating in the disaster response. Forms to manage the unit and operation are found in Appendix One through Ten at the back of this manual.
 

   

VIII.
Principles and Skills of a Situational Leader
Jesus was a situational leader! He led as the situation dictated. If he needed to be kind he was kind, when He needed to be firm He was firm. Ken Blanchard writes, “As Jesus transformed and trained his disciples in the task of becoming fishers of men, He used a variety of leadership styles.” 7 Blanchard defines situational leadership as a “model for developing people over time so they can reach their highest level of performance on a specific goal or task.” 8
Three skills of the situational leader are:
Skill 1 – Diagnosis: Assessing an individual’s need for direction and support. Keys – competence and commitment.

 

o	The Enthusiastic Beginner
o	The Disillusioned Learner
o	The Capable but Cautious Performer
o	The Self-Reliant Achiever

o

Skill 2 – Flexibility – Using a variety of leadership styles comfortably. Keys – directive behavior and supportive behavior.

 

o	Directing
o	Coaching
o	Supportive
o	Delegating

Skill 3 – Partnering for Performance – reaching agreements on what the leader and the individual need from each other as they work together and then follow through on the agreement. Keys – agree on key responsibility areas, goals, and objectives.

 

o	Concerned about the development of people
o	Investment of the leader’s life into the lives of those who follow

 

IX.
Interpersonal Skills Training

The unit director should have good interpersonal skills in four areas:

 

·
crisis counseling
·
clear communication
·
conflict management
·
crew consensus

 

The unit director will be required to demonstrate these skills.

 

Stress Management in Crisis Situations

 

It is recommended that a unit director complete a course in stress management. H. Norman Wright defines crisis as:

 

A person's internal reaction to an external hazard. A crisis usually involves a temporary loss of coping abilities, and the assumption is that the emotional dysfunction is reversible. If a person effectively copes with the threat, he then returns to prior levels of functioning.

 

Wright says, “The Chinese character of crisis is made up of two symbols: one is for despair and the other for opportunity.”

 

The unit director's primary responsibility in stress management is to the team members. A team with all the proper training will still not be totally prepared for the reality of an actual disaster. As unit director you must apply your stress management skills toward your team members and help them as they view, assist, minister, and share with the disaster victims. While you can use your skills to help disaster victims, your primary responsibility is the team.

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Clear Communication

 

Confusion, disorder, panic, and shock are all a part of a disaster. In the midst of the disaster, communication often is lacking or misunderstood. The unit director is responsible to make sure that every team member understands the mission of the unit and the specific job assignment.
Communication takes on two basic forms: verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication involves all that we say and write. This form of communication must be very clear. The unit director must be able to verbally instruct his team and share information with the team. An important part of verbal communication is to be a good listener. One writer wrote, "God gave us two ears and one mouth on purpose." Thus, the unit director must be willing to listen to his team and other disaster workers. The unit director must be careful of not only the words he uses but also the tone of his voice when speaking to the team. The writer of Proverbs says, "A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger." (Prov. 15:1) Anger is the last thing we need in a disaster. Nonverbal communication involves facial expressions and body language. If your voice says one thing and your body language something else, you will communicate two different messages. The result will be misunderstanding and confusion. The key is to make sure your communication is clear to all team members.

  

Conflict Management

   

Because of our sinful nature, we as humans are bound to have conflict. Conflict can be either good or bad. Conflict between two people proves that both individuals are deeply concerned about a specific subject or action. Love and hate are basically similar emotions at two ends of the same spectrum (the opposite of love is not hate but apathy). When conflict arises the unit director must act to manage conflict so that the results will please our Lord and help fulfill the unit's mission. Anger results if conflict is not managed properly 9 . Most people handle anger either by venting (I just blow up and then I'm okay) or by withdrawing (I will just ignore it and it will go away). Neither of these methods will resolve the problem! The conflict must be resolved!
Timing is essential in conflict management. Because of the nature of a disaster, the unit director may have to postpone handling the conflict. If this is done, the unit director must choose a suitable time for both parties to work through the conflict.
There are four steps to resolving conflict.

 

1.
Sharing thoughts and feelings. Allow the parties to share their perspective of the problem and their feelings (perspective is reality).

 

2.
Listening to the other person's view. Listen from their viewpoint. We must face the fact that the other person may have a valid point. Give the other your undivided attention. Do not plan your rebuttal mentally while someone else is speaking

 

3.
Define the problem or issue. Each party understands the issues from their perspective. Defining the problem will often suggest a workable solution.

 

4.
Find possible solutions and try one. Pick the best solution and see if it works. Be willing to try another solution if the first attempt does not work.

    

Proper conflict management allows the team to build unity. Team unity is facilitated when individuals know that problems are dealt with in a proper manner (and problems will arise).
Crew Consensus
Crew consensus is a means to bring about team unity. The best method of bringing about crew consensus is the team meeting. There should be at least two meetings a day with the team. The morning meeting (devotional, details, concerns, jobs, and prayer) will set the pace and agenda for the day. The evening meeting (reflection, renewal, rest, debrief, scripture, and prayer) will allow the team to debrief build crew consensus. Section XI gives specific outlines and suggestions to use for the team devotions.
X.
Managing the Unit

 

Responding to the Mission

  

Your unit will have a specific responsibility in a disaster. As the unit director, you will have to be able to adapt to your mission. The key is to be flexible, open, listening, and decisive. The mission might change during the operation and the unit director will have to respond to the changes.
Each unit (feeding, communications, clean-up/recovery, etc.) will have special concerns that need to be addressed. The feeding unit’s incoming supplies will be a constant concern. The unit director will need to assign a team member to take care of the supplies. For the communications unit, traffic volume is a special concern to the operators. This task will have to be well-managed for the unit to function effectively. It is important that the unit director insure that the operators get proper breaks away from the equipment. The clean-up/recovery unit will have a primary concern about damage assessment. How bad is the disaster? The danger is that the team members will be as overwhelmed as the victims. The unit director will have to make sure that those doing damage assessment are emotionally able to face the destruction and only make promises that can be fulfilled. The child care unit’s primary concern is providing appropriate safety and security for the children entrusted to their care.

 

Maintaining Balance

 

No one is an island or superman. This simply means that as a unit director you must realize that you are not alone and that you can not do all the work yourself. That is why you have a team. You must maintain balance. There are three areas that need to be considered: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

 

1.
Physical Balance – You and your team must get enough rest. We realize that during a disaster the hours will not be 9-5, but they should also not be 23 ½ hours! When people are physically tired, mistakes are made and accidents happen. A physically tired person will also become strained emotionally and spiritually, which could jeopardize our ministry.

 

2.
Emotional Balance – In order to maintain emotional balance, crisis situations in the team must be relieved, misunderstandings cleared up, and communication must be clear. Emotional balance means being able to think clearly in the midst of disaster. Another way to establish emotional balance is to allow team members to share their feelings daily—the evening team meeting is a good time to do this. Finally, emotional balance is allowing team members to express their emotions (sadness, anger, hurt, guilt, etc.) in the protected environment of the team meeting.

 

3.
Spiritual Balance - the unit director should set the example in his daily quiet time and team devotions. We should never lose sight that we are in the disaster area because of the love of Jesus. We must draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to have the grace to minister during this difficult time. Maintaining your quiet time will insure that you will be able to maintain your spiritual balance. There is nothing better than a moment to read the Word of God and to pray to the Father for personal spiritual refreshment. Remember when David had a disaster at Ziklag10 (city on fire, everyone and everything taken, men wanted to stone David)? What was David's response? He encouraged himself in the Lord (1 Sam 30:6). He took the time in the middle of a disaster to maintain spiritual balance. Afterwards, he could fulfill his mission to defeat his enemies and recapture that which was taken from him. A special effort will have to be made to maintain your spiritual balance during a time of disaster.

 

Making Decisions

 

Decision making is a skill that every unit director must practice. There are five types of decisions:

1.

Choosing between alternatives (for or against).

2.		Accidental (i.e., drifting to a decision).
3.		Based on insight (through experience).
4.		Progressive decision (mulling over the problem for awhile).

 

5.
Based on evidence.11

The decision making process can be broken down into three major operations:

 

·
attention phase
·
analysis phase
·
application phase

   

Attention Phase: The first task of the unit director is to find out what the problem is. The problem must be defined. This is usually a statement of symptoms—something is wrong, a situation needs correction, or someone is unhappy.
Analysis Phase: Once the problem is defined, you enter the next phase, which is analysis. This step is often neglected. Sound decisions follow intelligent analysis. To analyze the problem you must have the facts. Get as many of the facts as possible. Once you have the facts, list possible solutions. Brainstorming possible solutions will help make a decision. List the various options that might solve the problem.
Application Phase: Then you move to the final phase, which is that of application. Make a decision and act on it! Ask yourself several questions as you make your decision. What steps need to be taken and when? What are the difficulties? What could go wrong? By anticipating possible sources of trouble, the unit director will plan to avoid them and ensure success in his decision making. 12 Remember to rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. Our Lord sent Him to us to help us in these situations.

 

Not only should the unit director make decisions, but he must also clearly communicate his decisions to the team. The team meeting is the proper place to share decisions. At times a decision will need to be made which may not be fully supported or understood by the team. In these times the unit director should postpone discussion of the decision until the appropriate time. Ultimately, all final decisions rest with the unit director. It is understood that he will make some wrong decisions. When this occurs, the team should practice forgiveness and reconciliation as taught in the Bible. Likewise the unit director must have a forgiving heart and understanding spirit when wrong decisions are made.

 

Working Relationships and Resources

   

The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units have working agreements with several different organizations including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Mercy Medical Airlift, the International Mission Board, and Homeland Security. The unit director is responsible to insure that the unit is operating within the standard operations procedures of the partner they have been assigned to support. It is vital that we demonstrate our integrity by following the procedures that we have adopted.
If the unit is a part of a large scale response, it may be one of many different units operating in the disaster area. It will be vital to the smooth running of the operation to understand the chain of command. While the unit is onsite, the unit director will answer to the incident commander or his designated ICS officer or coordinator. The unit director will be told to whom he needs to report and will be given a contact number for support and reporting purposes.
XI.
Devotions and Daily Meetings

 

Daily Devotions

 

Daily devotions are vital to the spiritual well-being of the unit director and the team. You must set an example by having a daily quiet time. It is important to set the tone of the day and focus of your ministry during the daily morning devotion. The North American Mission Board has published a booklet, Spiritual Preparation for Disaster Relief 13 . The booklet contains three sections: preparation, participation, and process. Each section has seven devotions using the Seven Realities of Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing The Will of God. Section one is the preparation series and should be used by the unit director to prepare the team to go into the disaster area. Section two is the participation series and contains devotions that can be used onsite during the daily devotion times. Section three is the process series and are designed to be used during the debriefing when the team returns from the disaster area. The booklet gives the unit director material to help his team prepare the disaster setting, a series to use onsite, and a series to help the team as they process the experience after the operation. The unit director is responsible to lead the devotions or have one of the team members lead the devotion. Remember, as the unit director you are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the team. The team should have two devotional times during the day. The morning devotional time should take place during the morning team meeting and should help set the spiritual tone for the day. The evening devotion should take place during the evening team meeting and could very well become a powerful spiritual experience as team members share how the Lord worked during the day. Below are suggested devotional plans and resources.

Morning Devotion Plan

 

	Praise chorus
	Welcome
	Scripture/devotion (brief, about five minutes)
	Prayer requests and closing prayer

Evening Devotion Plan

 

	Praise choruses
	Thank the team for work
	Scripture (read morning scripture again)
	Sharing experiences (Did you see God's power at work? What did the Scripture mean to you today? How did you experience God's presence today?)
	Prayer requests
	Closing prayer

 

Prayer Concerns

 

Many Christians neglect prayer and wonder why they have no power with God or no real peace from God. The primary reason is prayerlessness. During a disaster, the unit director needs to spend much time in prayer. Be sure to write down prayer requests and answers. Remember, Jesus was known as a man of prayer. Prayer should be done regularly and often. Prayer is the source of our daily power. If we are going to have the strength to face the disaster before us, we will need to spend time in prayer. The unit director must be the prayer leader of his team.

 

Witnessing

  

We are in the disaster area because of the love of Jesus. We must never forget that fact. The unit director must realize that he and his team will always be a witness for Christ. You and your team will either witness for or against Christ. By your actions, attitudes, words, and deeds you are witnesses. The question is not if you are going to witness, but rather what kind of witness will you be. Remember that communication is as much nonverbal as it is verbal. You should not say one thing and do something else—your witness should be consistent. Actions and words should match.
God wants each of us to be ready to give an answer of the hope that is in us. One of the best ways is the simple Romans Road to Salvation (see Hope in Crisis tract).

 

Romans Road

 

All have sinned – Romans 3:23
Wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23
Christ died for us – Romans 5:8
Confess and be saved – Romans 10:9-10; 13
Another good way to witness is your personal testimony. Use the following points to build your testimony and invite someone to know Christ:

 

·
what my life was like before Christ
·
how I met Christ
·
how Christ changed me
·
what a difference Christ has made in my life
·
Would you like to meet Christ?

The key is to have a way to share the good news of Jesus Christ as often as you can during the disaster.

 

 

Suggested Scripture Passages

 

Praise and Proverbs Project – Read five Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs every day. Use the day of the week to pick the Psalms (every 30 psalms, skipping Psalm 119) and chapter of Proverbs to use. For example, on the 5th of the month, read Psalms 5, 35, 65, 95, 125 and Proverbs 5. On the 31st of the month, read Psalm 119 and Proverbs 31.
Other Suggested Scriptures:

Luke 15:11-32      John 15

 

Matthew 5-7
	James 1

 

John 6:5-14
	Matthew 17:1-9

   

Acts 2
	Hebrews 11

 

1 Kings 18
	1 Samuel 17

Genesis 1-2      Psalm 47

  

Psalm 1
	Psalm 100

 

XII.
Recovery of the Unit

 

Recovery Decision

  

One of the most difficult decisions that will be made is to recover the unit. Many factors must be considered before the decision is made to recover the unit. This decision should be under the direction of the incident commander, the affected state DR director, and any partner we are working with. If the unit is to be relieved, you will need to know whom your relief is and when will they be on site.
If you feel that you need to recover the unit, remember that this decision is a difficult one to make because of the real needs that exist. There are several considerations that you must weigh. Do you have the manpower to continue? Do you as unit director have the strength (physical, emotional, spiritual) to continue? Has the mission been accomplished? Should the unit director and members be relieved and the unit remain? Do you have the material resources necessary to continue the mission? The unit director should be in constant contact with the incident commander until the final decision is made. Under no circumstances should the unit director make the decision to recover and close the unit without checking with the incident commander.

 

Emotional Issues

  

In a disaster our emotional state will have to be monitored closely. We will experience the highs and lows of those we are ministering to. The long hours may be taking their toil on us and we simply cannot continue. Yet, we feel like we must. The unit director will need to allow each member to express his/her emotions about the recovery of the unit. The best time for this is the evening meeting before the unit is packed up. Allow time to share inner feelings. Understand that there may be tears and sorrow over having to leave. Allow these emotions to be expressed and remember to turn to God's Word for strength and help during these times.
Packing the Unit

 

Every unit should be packed in accordance with their policy and procedures manual for the unit and the unit’s standard operations procedures. The unit director is to make sure that all equipment is packed properly. He will insure that all team members have packed their personal items and that all have transportation back home. The unit director should inspect the area where the unit was set up to make sure all trash and garbage is removed and that the site is clean. Pack the unit at the direction of the incident commander. Once the unit is packed and you are ready to depart, you must have authorization from the incident commander to leave the disaster area.

 

Travel Home

 

Once your unit is packed you need to contact the Disaster Operations Center with your ETD, ETA, and contact numbers. The DOC will track the unit until it returns home.

 

Debrief and Evaluation

  

After the team has returned home, you need to debrief with the state disaster relief director. The state disaster relief director will debrief the entire team, making a written report for the file. This is important to help the team members to adjust after returning from a disaster area. As the unit director, you should share freely with the state disaster relief director your feelings, concerns, actions, and corrections that need to be made before the unit has to respond again. You need to make sure that the whole team has been debriefed.
Once the debrief is complete, the unit director and the state disaster relief director should file a written report of the operation. This report will help the local and state disaster relief organization be better prepared for the next disaster. If the unit was involved in a national operation, a written after action report should be sent to the national disaster relief director.

 

XIII.
Conclusion

The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief motto is “Serving Christ in Crisis.” As the unit director you are directly responsible for the smooth operation of your unit in such a way that the people around us will know that we serve a risen and living Savior. Remember, we are working to show a lost and dying world a Savior who loves them dearly. We can as we take our motto to heart!

Appendix One

No	Name (Please Print)	Phone #	Date In	Date Out	Available	SBC/ ARC/ Other

 

Destination: __________________________ Nature of work: __________________
 
Date of departure from home: ________________  Date of return: ______________
 
 
Team Leader: ______________________________  Cell phone: _________________
 

Name – list all team members including team leader	Date of Birth	Beneficiary

 
 
Fax to Mary Stephens at 405/516-4941 or email to mstephens@bgco.org .
 
In order to be covered by insurance as you travel, send information before you leave.
 
I do hereby represent and acknowledge that I am entering upon a missionary venture with others, and that as a volunteer am paying my own expenses, including insurance, for the purpose of helping in times of disaster for the glory of God and to demonstrate my faith in Christ; that the work may at times be hazardous and somewhat arduous and will be performed by trained, concerned disaster relief volunteers and qualified professionals; the vehicles transporting said volunteers will be operated by volunteers who may or may not be professional drivers.
 
I recognize and acknowledge the potential for accidents at the disaster site, in or about the living, sleeping and eating areas of the disaster relief team, or involving motor vehicles. I am fully aware of possible injuries to members of the disaster relief team, including myself.
 
Therefore, I desire to protect, release, acquit, indemnify and hold harmless from any and all claims, injuries, damages, losses, expenses or attorney fees incurred by me, my heirs, administrators, executors or assigns.
 
For and on behalf of myself, my heirs, administrators, executors, assigns and all other persons, firms or corporations, I do hereby release and discharge from liability all other persons on the disaster relief team with me, those who notified, selected or assigned me to the said team, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, the Partnership and Volunteer Missions office, the Southern Baptist Convention, their employees and representatives, successors or assigns from any claims, demands, damages, actions, causes of actions which I, the undersigned, have or may hereafter and on account of, or any way growing out of injuries or damages both to persons or property resulting or that may hereafter result from the voluntary venture.
 
I further state that I HAVE CAREFULLY READ THE FOREGOING ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND UNDERSTAND ITS CONTENTS, AND I VOLUNTARILY SIGN THIS RELEASE AS MY OWN FREE ACT. THIS IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE SIGNING IT.
 
 
Witnessed my hand on this, the ____________ date of ___________________, 20 _________.
 
PRINT NAME ______________________________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE _______________________________________________________________________________
TEAM _____________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _________________________________________________________________________________
CITY _____________________________________ STATE ________________ ZIP _____________________
EMERGENCY CONTACT _________________________________ CONTACT # _______________________
 
IMPORTANT: Please have 2 witnesses observe your signature, and have them sign below. They must be at least 18 years of age and should not be relatives.
 
Witness ________________________________      Witness ________________________________
Address ________________________________      Address ________________________________
City ___________________________________      City ___________________________________
State and Zip ____________________________    State and Zip ____________________________

Appendix Three                Day # ______

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Date ___________________________ Time ______________________________
 
Name of Unit ____________________________________ Unit # _____
 
Type of Unit ______________ Location ____________________________________
 
Name of Reporting Individual ____________________________________________________
 
A. _____ Number of team members at start of day
B. _____ Number of new team member arrivals today
C. _____ Total number of team members on-site today
D. _____ Number of local community volunteers who worked today
Add line C _____ to line D ________ = total volunteers who worked today
E. _____ Number of team members who departed today
 
Meals Prepared (A)    Serving Line (B)      ERVS (C)
 Breakfast_____    Breakfast _____    Breakfast _____
 Lunch _____    Lunch   _____    Lunch _____
 Dinner _____    Dinner   _____    Dinner _____
 Total (A) _____    Subtotal (B)_____    Subtotal (C)____
 
A. Number of jobs completed to date (from beginning)  __________(A)
B. Number of jobs completed today.        __________(B)
C. Number of jobs remaining.          __________(C)
 
Total number of children served __________________
 

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Total number of showers _________

Total number of laundry loads _________

Problem Report

Staff Meetings And Debriefings

 
 
 
 
Suggestions/Concerns
(List any questions, suggestions or concerns about the operation.)
 
 

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Incident Report
 

 

Appendix Five

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Vendor Form
Date: ____________
 
Open Account  In-Kind  Rental
 

Account Information
Type of Account:
Purpose of Account:
Person(s) Allowed to Use Account:

Organization Opening Account:
 
In-Kind Information
Type of In-Kind Donation:

Office Use
Unit Assigned To:
Name of Responsible Organization:
Name of Individual Responsible:
Address:
City:
State/Providence:          Zip/Postal Code:
Phone:            FAX:
Cell:              Pager:
 

Shower/Laundry/Water Purification Report
 

 

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
American Red Cross Reimbursement Form
 
 
 

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