The most requested thing for dinner around here? Noodles. With butter.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Voluntourism, part 3




Operation Christmas Child is only one of the ministries at Samaritan's Purse.   They are involved in disaster relief both home and abroad, AIDS education and relief in Africa, life-saving surgeries for children in remote areas like Mongolia, and other outreach efforts.  So on our recent trip to Boone, NC to work at the OCC processing center, we also made time to take a tour of the U.S. Disaster Relief center in Wilkesboro, NC.

This is one of the places where they store the stuff they use to help out after floods, tornados, hurricanes, ice storms, etc.  There was equipment, tarps, tools, and all sorts of things that might be needed.  Most impressive was the fleet of 18-wheelers- fully equipped and ready to show up at any disaster.
The building used to be a Coca-Cola distribution center.  Coke gave it to Samaritan's Purse.





Inside the front part of the truck- the sides slide out and there is enough room for a command center office that can monitor the weather and traffic for the operation.

The truck has an upstairs that houses the heavy equipment.

The downstairs of the truck has cabinet after cabinet of vital equipment.




Many of the smaller vehicles were out on the job in Illinois after the wave of tornados.
Be sure to visit the Samaritan's Purse website to see great pictures, video, and stories of how their help has benefitted many.