Sunday June 7th The Swan River Valley including Minitonas received over 70mm of rain in a matter of hours causing flash flooding. Many in Minitonas had their homes flooded, roads were washed out and the town is now working to rebuild and recover.
In the middle of all this one of the MBA’s churches First Baptist Church was also hit by flooding. Both the church building and parsonage had water in their basements and are in the process of being gutted so repairs can start. In addition to those buildings, First Baptist also runs an outreach thrift store in town called The Oasis that was flooded and will either need extensive renovations or potentially a rebuild. As a praise item, the seniors home run by First Baptist only had minor water damage and the seniors living there are being well cared for and the carpets that got damp are drying quickly.
Prayer Requests and Needs
After talking with several people in Minitonas there are several prayer requests but also already some big praise items!
Prayer Requests
- Encouragement and Energy. Its been a long week and there is still much work to do. Pray that those whose homes were flooded and those working to clean up would not get discouraged. Pray for rest and energy to keep going when there is still much work to do.
- Discernment and clarity. Life has been disrupted and things like VBS, Summer Camp and other programs coming up might need to look a little different after the flooding. Pray that church leaders would know how best to love their community and meet the needs of those in their congregation and in their town/community.
- For favour with insurance. As all of the damage to the church itself, the parsonage and Oasis thrift store get assessed pray that the insurance sees the damage clearly and there are no delays or hiccups in receiving the funds needed for rebuilding.
- For The Oasis Thrift Store. The store was flooded out and building damaged. Pray for the future of this community outreach that its home would be either repaired or replaced and that the ministry of providing for the community would be able to continue.
Praise Items
- Praise for the ways Christian aid organizations have been showing up to help with rebuilding.
- Praise that the Seniors Home was spared from the flooding and didn’t need evacuation.
- Praise for how God has used The Oasis to build connections. In the aftermath the Oasis has provided its inventory free to the community to come and take as anyone has need. as a result several bibles have been given out in addition to blankets, and clothes.
Ways to Help
- Lending a pair of hands. As this is still the early days of recovering, if you have the ability to go and help gut, clean and generally help with the clean up Minitonas could definitely use a hand.
- Because things are in their early days so many of the financial or material needs are still being determined. At this time we’re in a holding pattern waiting to hear of specific items or financial needs. As needs arise the MBA site will be updated so make sure to check back.
