STORIES FROM OUR TEAM
In 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit Waveland, Mississippi.
I was asked by my Pastor at the time if I would be interested in going to help with clean up and rebuilding in the area. I jumped at the opportunity to help folks out. When we were turning off I-10 there was a two story home that had a water line level with the eaves of the house. This was the first devastation of this magnitude I had ever seen to that point. As we drove closer to the beach the shear devastation was heartbreaking.
There were large X's with different symbols painted on the outside of buildings. One of the markings stood for how many were found in the house alive and another one for how many were found deceased. That’s when it occurred to me that there had been entire families wiped out; families that went to bed the night before, had plans for the next day, and would never get to see those plans fulfilled.
I was reminded of my own childhood when one night I went to bed with all any 9 year old could ever want and waking up the next morning to a house that had been destroyed by fire.
God gave me a vision at that moment to have cargo trailers loaded and ready to go at a moments notice to respond when folks are in need.
For the next 14 years or so we continued responding to disasters on a micro level. Basically one man and a pickup truck type of stuff. But God keep the vision in the forefront of my mind. In a church board meeting one night I presented the vision to the Pastor. He was excited and presented the idea to the district board The board passed on the idea due to liability issues but encouraged us to seek out our own 501c3.
This was the absolute best thing that ever happened to this ministry. We formed a board of directors and started the process.
Now, nearly 5 years into being a stand alone ministry, we’ve made a few changes to the board but the vision has remained stead fast in helping those in need during man-made and natural disasters.
Our response area is Alabama and its bordering states, and Louisiana. We partner with other ministries on the ground when disasters strike outside of our response area.
Last year alone we were able to impact lives from Florida to Virginia. From Hawaii to Israel. All thanks to wonderful donors that have come alongside this ministry.
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May God bless each of you.
Rick Crowder
Director
My name is Lacey Russell, and I am honored to serve on the board for DRE. This ministry means the world to me. I don’t just support what we do—I live the reason behind it. I come from a family marked by man-made disasters. I lost my sister to a fentanyl overdose, and my other sister has battled her own storms for years. Pain, chaos, and brokenness are not strangers to me. I know what it feels like to watch the people you love be swept away by circumstances they can’t outrun. But what many don’t know is that I’ve also survived a natural disaster—one that forever changed the way I look at life, purpose, and ministry. On January 19, 2018, I was caught directly inside an EF-2 tornado.I had been at the casino in Wetumpka, Alabama. The day was strangely calm—pretty, even—though rain had started. As I walked to my car, tornado sirens went off. My heart jumped, but then they suddenly stopped. I honestly thought they must have just been testing them. I got into my vehicle, still thinking everything was fine, and started driving home. My 8-year-old son was waiting at my aunt’s house, and all I wanted was to get back to him. I remember sitting at a red light and looking ahead. The sky in front of me was pitch black—thick, heavy, and terrifying. I actually said out loud, “Man, I’m glad I’m not headed that way,” and when the light turned green, I turned left. But the moment I turned, everything changed. A sheet of plywood slammed into the side of my Ford Expedition. In that instant, I knew exactly what was happening: I had driven straight into the tornado. I panicked. I pulled over, shaking, and all I could think was, I’m never going to see my son again. The tornado lifted my SUV like it weighed nothing. Like it was a soda can. Every window exploded. The pressure inside the vehicle dropped so fast it literally tried to pull me out of the window. I was fighting with everything in me just to stay inside the car. Those 3 or 4 minutes felt like forever. When the tornado finally threw us into the trees, it dropped us hard—but we were alive. A state trooper who had seen the whole thing on his dash cam rushed over. He said he was certain he was walking up on dead bodies. He couldn’t believe we had survived. My only injury was a bruise across my thighs from the steering wheel pulling against me. My passenger had a broken rib from holding onto me during the fall. But we survived what should have killed us. So when I say this ministry is important to me, I’m not saying it casually. I have lived through disaster—man-made and natural. I know the fear. I know the helplessness. I know what it feels like to wonder if you’ll make it through. And I also know what it feels like to be rescued. That is why I love DRE. That is why I serve. That is why I show up. Because I’ve been there. And now, I get to help others when disaster strikes—whether it comes from the sky or from the broken places of life. I’m thankful. I’m blessed. And I’m grateful to be part of a ministry that brings hope in the middle of the storm.