Why Not Minot

Dear Friends & Family,

We have been serving in Minot, ND since 8/18 and we plan to be here to close down the operation at the end September. Randy is serving as the Incident Commander and Ronda is serving in Administration, for the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief response. We are supporting the Dakota Baptist Convention at the request of the North American Mission Board. Several thousand homes were flooded when the Souris River ran over its banks after heavy rains and a lot of snow melt in Canada. We are only 50 miles or so from the Canadian border. Canada received torrential rains and were forced to open flood gates and release additional water which came down the Souris into Minot.

We have a Disaster Relief Feeding team and kitchen from Kansas/Nebraska and Arkansas cooking food for the Salvation Army who have been delivering it throughout the affected areas in their Canteens. We are supporting a Red Cross shelter with a water tanker, shower unit, and laundry unit manned by a two person team from Oklahoma. Our recovery teams are doing mudout for the homeowners in which water levels were as high as the rafters in some homes. Mudout involves removing all the contents including appliances/cabinets and taking up the carpets and flooring. The sheet rock and insulation is removed from the walls. Most of the homes have a basement that has to be mudded out also. The last step involve pressure washing the inside of the house and then spraying it down with a mold remediation concentrate. It can take up to 300 man hours to complete a large home.



Our days are long and we have been stretched physically by mere exhaustion. Our faith is growing as we realize that our weakness is an opportunity for God to move and do the impossible. Our teams rotate every week or 10 days and we have met some great servants and labors of God who have blessed our lives. We have morning devotions with all the volunteers during breakfast and this keeps us focused on the real mission for the day. Our small Incident Command team of (5) meet around 7:00 pm for a debriefing along with devotion and prayer.



Our volunteers have completed 150 homes. They have prepared 127,611 meals for the Salvation Army, done 3,475 laundry loads, and 3,400 showers. Our Chaplains have done a terrific job of ministering to those without hope and encouraging the saints. Twenty five state conventions have responded and we have had 60-100 volunteers on site each week. All of this work is done in the name of Jesus by Disaster Relief Volunteers at no cost to the homeowner. This earns us the right to share the Gospel which is priceless. To date there have been 75 professions of faith for which we give God all the praise and glory.



God has called us to Minot to lead our DR teams to the finish line. Why not Minot, since we would rather be in God's will than any other place. We would ask you to pray for us, specifically that we would have spiritual wisdom and physical strength to finish the race strong and that Jesus's footprint will be evident throughout the town of Minot, ND until He comes again.

We love each of you!

Randy and Ronda Corn
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Incident Command Team
Minot, North Dakota