July 6, 2010 -Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico..[Libna Stevens/IAD]
Days after TropicalStorm Alex slammed into northeastern Mexico, dumping torrential rains andkilling 12 people in the state of Nuevo Leon, the Seventh-day Adventist Churchis mobilizing to lend a helping hand to those in need.
“The strength of theflooding waters has damaged the highways and swept away cars and debris in itspath,” says Miguel Patino, communication director for the church innortheastern Mexico, headquartered in Monterrey. “Our nation’s presidentvisited the region and declared it a disaster.”
“We have some of ourbrothers and sisters who have lost everything they own,” Patino explains.
Although no deathswere reported among church members, Patino says church leaders have not yetbeen able to gather complete information on damage to church members’ homes andthe more than 75 churches in the territory. Minor damage was reported at threeprimary/secondary Adventist schools in the region.
According to Patino,more than 300 young people were organized to distribute water and help clean updebris and muddy roads throughout the affected communities. Adventist Churcheshave become collection centers, as well.
“Young people havebeen organized into different teams to support in the different effortsthroughout the city,” says Arnulfo Gallegos, Adventist Development and ReliefAgency coordinator in Northeastern Mexico.
Soon after Alex hit,Pastor Arturo King, president of the church in Northeastern Mexico, sent avideo message from Atlanta, where he was attending the General ConferenceSession. He applauded the work of the young people in the video, saying”We want to express our sincere appreciation to our youth in ourterritory. We are so proud to see them extend a hand as soon as the needarose.”
In addition, PastorKing appealed to local church members to donate blankets, non-perishable fooditems, water, and clothes. He also appealed to Adventist professionals to joinin the efforts so that the church can serve the communities affected by thestorm.
Beforemaking landfall, Tropical Storm Alex was a category 2 hurricane at itsstrongest point while in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reports say that theState of Nuevo Leon had not been hit this hard since Hurricane Gilbert, acategory 5 storm that brought widespread destruction to northeastern Mexico in 1988.
