MNA Sheds of Hope is preparing to send additional Hope to the the tornado-crushed communities of Nashville and Cookeville Tennessee. Folks in both areas are attempting to recover from the March 2-3 EF0 – EF4 tornado outbreak that slammed their communities in the middle of the night, a frightening event to experience. Twenty-six people were killed and more than 300 suffered major injuries, while hundreds of commercial properties and residences were catastrophically damaged or destroyed. MNA Disaster Response (MNADR) has been in several meetings and discussions with Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregations within Nashville Presbytery, and a long-term recovery plan is developing. Next week additional planning will take place in Nashville and Cookeville.

The local PCA churches have been spontaneously responding on their own without robust denominational help, with enhanced ability to help since damage to PCA families has been minimal. However, over the next few weeks MNADR expects the local leadership will settle on a long-term recovery plan that may include traveling volunteer team mobilization to assist in the efforts. Meanwhile, our Rome Warehouse has already transported supplies and equipment to standup the local churches in their efforts, including flood buckets, hygiene kits, dehumidifiers, box-fans, generators, tarps, paper products, diapers, water, hand sanitizer, wipes, etc.

MNA Sheds of Hope and the MNA Charles H. Jones Family Disaster Response Center in Rome Georgia have been preparing for this event, along with a growing number of relief providers. The Rome Warehouse had thousands of relief kits and massive quantities of supplies and equipment ready to ship. Pray for wisdom, and that good organization will take place in the next weeks, and that Sheds of Hope is invited to take part in the long-term recovery plan, providing much needed storage for recovered homeowners recovered personal property. Pray especially that “..and that our service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints” – Romans 15:31

The Rome Warehouse has 32 Sheds of Hope pre-built and ready for transport, providentially just 3 hours from Nashville and Cookeville. In January of this year, Marty Huddleston, MNADR Specialist, with the help of Evergreen PCA Sevierville TN, began shrink-wrapping the pre-build Sheds of Hope prepositioned at the Rome Warehouse. Formally, we used stock readily-available but expensive tarps that didn’t fit well, were actually dangerous to install…since climbing on tall stacks of Sheds was required, were hard to keep secured in place during windy conditions, and required removal before transport. Now, after the initial equipment investment, the cost to shrink-wrap a Sheds of Hope is less than using a tarp, and the SOH is in better condition when eventually placed with a homeowner. Our hope is that we can soon duplicate this same process for Sheds stored at the Dallas Depot, and the Mid-Atlantic Depot in Smithfield Virginia.

Thanks for continuing to support your Sheds of Hope ministry, your partnership keeps this vital ministry out there helping disaster displaced families. No other disaster recovery agency, faith-based or otherwise, that we know of, is active in the robust provision of storage solutions for disaster-displaced families. MNA Disaster Response Sheds of Hope has provided more than 1,600 Sheds since 2006, a huge milestone by all accounts.