Southern Baptists Pledge Help to Puerto Rican Churches Still in 'War Zone'

CBN's Heather Sells talks with David Melber of SEND Relief about Puerto Rico and positioning churches to be centers of care in their communities after Maria.

David Melber, the vice president of SEND Relief for the Southern Baptists' North American Mission Board, is no stranger to helping those in need but after visiting Puerto Rico this week he says "the situation is honestly beyond words."

Nine in 10 people on the island are still without power and don't expect it to return for months. One-third of the island lacks clean running water and less than 10 percent of the roads are passable.

Melber described traveling at night and not seeing lights anywhere. Most roads, he says, have downed trees or power lines and flooding continues on many main roads, both from ongoing rain in the current rainy season and from ground that is still saturated from the storm.

"It's a place that needs hope right now," said Melber, "that needs help beyond anything they've ever experienced before."

Southern Baptists are working to position churches on the island as centers of care. They're building infrastructure to distribute food and mobile kitchen equipment to 15 separate feeding sites that are connected with the island's 70 Baptist churches.

Melber described pastors on the island as tired and emotionally heavy with the suffering they're witnessing. At the same time, said Melber, they're filled with hope. "They're equally excited for the church to really be the church for the people of Puerto Rico," he said.

Churches could emerge from the disaster with newfound positions in their communities. "People are going to naturally be drawn to where the resources are at and they're going to see that as connected with the church," said Melber.

The state of Florida says that 20,000 Puerto Ricans have fled to the Sunshine State since Maria struck. Other states with large Puerto Rican populations, like New York and Connecticut are also experiencing an influx.

Congress passed a $36.5 billion multi-state disaster package this week that includes help for Puerto Rico but officials warn that more will be needed.