Asbury UMC BBQ Cook-Off

CFC teammate Alan Weeks has alerted us to a benefit being run at Asbury UMC in support of missions.  And specifically, an Asbury UMC ERT team component of our Cutters for Christ disaster response ministry mission is going to be an "entrant" in the BBQ Cook-Off Challenge! As you can see in the "call for entrants" poster below, the event will be held at Asbury UMC - 6690 Cahaba Valley Road in Hoover - on Saturday, April 9, beginning at 11 AM.  You can attend anytime between that hour and 4 PM when the cooking will be officially judged.

The Asbury ERT team is gunning for the big prize, of course!  Proceeds will go to help support the Asbury UMC ERT team's activities and will help to keep their skid steer, Abel, running in tip-top shape. You can help and support them and make them winners whether they're awarded the big prize or not.  Adults (ages 13 and up) will pay $10 for a "grazing ticket," good for as much as you want to eat(!!!); tickets for kids aged 5-12 will go for $7 and you'll be able to feed the under-5-years-old members of your family for free!  (And if you haven't eaten your fill at the Asbury UMC ERT booth, you can always move on to other competitors and try their entries - just be prepared to pay the grazing fee again at each separate booth!) Alan has requested that CFC teammates come out wearing our yellow logo t-shirts and black logo baseball hats to show even more support for the Asbury UMC ERT. So...if you can be there - Alan says they'll be roasting a whole pig! - come enjoy some great BBQ and leisurely fellowship on a sunny and warm (let's hope!) Saturday with your CFC teammates.  And, oh yes...you will NOT need to bring any chainsaws, gasoline, bar oil, water, electrolyte replacement, pickle juice or PPE with you!  Just your wallets and your appetites. See you there!

In His Service, Bob

JCVOAD Requests CFC Assistance

Just 4 days after our in-the-rain-and-cold workday in McCalla two and a half weeks ago representatives of the JCVOAD (Jefferson County Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters, of which we are participating members) gathered at the Jeffco EMA office in downtown Birmingham to assess everyone's response to that tornado and to discuss readiness plans for the next one, whenever that should occur.  We were alerted following that meeting that a Hueytown resident had called the Jeffco EMA with a request for assistance in removing the limbs and trunk of a downed tree in their yard, which probably was the result of the winds from that same storm.  JCVOAD asked us to consider the job and, if it fell within our mission and scope of capabilities, could we assist this resident with the removal of the debris in their yard. Team member Ken Clements traveled to the address to assess the job for us.  He took pictures and considered the problems we might encounter - chain link fencing, a TV satellite dish in the path that Abel would have to travel, the availability of space at the curb to stack the debris, the actual size of the tree itself and its position relative to the house and shed which it fell between, whether or not there was insurance in place that could pay for a commercial removal of the debris, who the actual owner of the property is, etc.  Once all the logistical problems were overcome and we determined that it fit our mission and our capabilities, we agreed to undertake the job.  After all, it was essentially just one tree that had fallen.  It was on the ground and had already been cut loose from its root ball by the neighbor who, having insurance in place, contracted with a tree service to cut up and remove the canopy portion of the tree that fell on his property (and, unfortunately, through his roof, too!). So this morning, Tuesday, March 22, a team of 8 CFC volunteers arrived at the Hueytown job site.  The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the temperatures were perfect for a day of chainsawing!  Quite a different workday from two and one-half weeks ago.

Our Hueytown team consisted of (kneeling and seated in the foreground, left to right) Henry Averyt, Bob Thompson, Alan Weeks, (standing and seated in the background, left to right) Boyd Martin, Tim Smith, Ray Miller, Jim Pressler and Bob Nabors.  Not pictured, but very much needed and a part of the team today, Asbury UMC's skid steer Abel.

Our assignment was at the home of Bruce Findley - that's Bruce to the left.  (Bruce tripped and fell against a portion of the tree while watching us do our work and ended up requiring 4 stitches in his right temple.  He reports that he broke no ribs but he also did suffer some significant abdominal bruising.)  The job looked easy, but we quickly found out that this oak tree was REALLY BIG - 37" in diameter at its base (as shown in the image below) and almost 50 inches across where the tree branched out between two forks (shown below being lifted away and to the debris pile at the street by Abel).

Here are three views of what we found when we arrived at the job site and how it all looked when we departed.

Before: After:

Before: After:

Before: After:

As always is the case with us, the root ball gets to stay there as we do not have the capability of pulling it out when it's so big.  Nor do we have the stump grinding equipment that would be needed to pulverize it into sawdust. We ran through chain after chain as the dense wood dulled them quickly.  Our usually efficient 28" bar Stihl chainsaw went through 3 chains alone!  But fortunately, between the 6 chainsaws the team used throughout the morning, the job was accomplished in time to leave for us to enjoy a team lunch at Bob Sykes Bar B-Q in Bessemer, located just a few blocks away.  Between our 8 volunteers, some 46 hours were committed to this assignment.  (The City of Hueytown required that we cut the tree trunk sections into 3' lengths and the branches into 6' lengths, so that really was why the job took just a bit longer than we normally would take to cut up even this big tree - we needed to make many more shorter trunk lengths than we normally would drop at the curb.) Here are just a few more pictures of the job in progress.  Note how fortunate Mr. Findley was to have the tree fall so "conveniently" between his house and his shed.  Note also how unfortunate his neighbor was (the blue-tarpped roof), however.  The last image is of the debris pile Abel created at the curbside, dropping the lengths over the chain link fence.  NOw it's up to the City to lift all those sections into their debris removal vehicles and take them away!

We're expecting bad weather again in our area toward the end of this week, so if we're needed again, we'll be ready.  As we requested in our last workday report, please continue to pray for our safety as we work to clear storm debris fields and please especially pray for the survivors of the storms who we will be serving. And as always, please read our blog at cuttersforchrist.bolgspot.com whenever you can!

In His Service, Bob

News story from last Thursday's trip to McCalla.

McCalla Tornado Cleanup

A little rain and cold was not enough to keep a 12-person CFC team from responding to two requests for debris removal in McCalla/Bessemer following the EF2 tornado that struck the Bent Brook golf course area on Tuesday, March 1.  Actually, it was more than a little rain, but we were prepared for the inclement weather and so we were able to quite expeditiously handle the two work orders presented to us by Oasis of Praise Church of God on Pocahontas Road. We arrived at our host church and volunteer sign-in center before 8 am and were welcomed with hot coffee and donuts provided to us by the church.

Embracing our rain soaked workday the 12 members of our McCalla/Bessemer team consisted of (kneeling, left to right) Alan Weeks, Buddy Williams, (standing, left to right) Henry Averyt, Ken Clements, Jason Cannon, Boyd Martin, Tim Smith, John Calhoun, Bob Nabors, Drew Charles, John Boettner and Bob Thompson.  And in the background, our 13th team member: Asbury UMC's skid steer Abel.

Once the team participants were all assembled we headed out to our first assignment on Dickey Springs Road.  Homeowner Lee Davis had several trees come down around his home, some of which fell across the cars that were parked on his tract of land.  Several cutters began to cut the limbs while the remainder of the team served as pullers and stacked the cut limbs in several piles awaiting their removal by Abel to a HUGE debris pile in a remote section of Mr. Davis' property.  When the weather clears and the debris pile dries out Mr. Davis will be able to host a great marshmallow-roasting party for his neighbors!

Mr. Davis: The team at work:

Before: After:

Abel at work: Job done - all clear:

Our second job was further to the east also on Dickey Springs Road, at the home occupied by Mr. Gene Hocutt.  Mr. Hocutt is a survivor of now two separate tornadoes!  In 2011 he lost his home in Fultondale to the "Tuscaloosa Tornado" that rumbled through his neighborhood to the north of Birmingham as it came through our area, and now his Bessemer home was buried two days ago by the giant tree that was pulled up and toppled from its roots on his neighbor's property, crashed through the fence that separated their properties and ultimately came to rest on the roof of his home.  While we were at Mr. Hocutt's home Marlei Martinez, a reporter for WVTM Channel 13 NBC TV, and her cameraman, stopped and filmed our work and interviewed us for a piece that aired on the channel's 5 PM newscast.  Her report was extremely complimentary of our mission and highlighted the faith-based focus of our coalition disaster response ministry.

Mr. Hocutt: The debris pile at the curb after removing the tree from Mr. Hocutt's roof and yard:

Before: After:

Before: After:

Following job #2 we returned to Oasis of Praise Church of God to dry out and share in the lunch prepared for us by the church members.  Once out of our wet rain suits and warmed by the gas fireplaces they turned on for us in their fellowship hall, we then enjoyed homemade vegetable soup - particularly good and hearty on this cold, damp day - lasagna, cornbread and sweet tea, all of which perked us up and readied us for an afternoon of additional work.  The rain outside had not let up so we were not particularly disappointed at this point to learn that there were actually no other work orders pending for us today.  According to Pastor Allan Kendrick, he did not believe there would be much, if any, further work for us in the Bent Brook area, what with most properties being well insured, but we assured him that if others do come forward in the future, we would be prepared to return to assist further.

We're entering the season of severe storms, so as we prepare to deploy again in the weeks and months ahead we hope many of you reading this will come work with us if you are able.  And even if you can not, may we ask that you pray for our safety as we work in the fields and that you especially pray for the survivors of the storms who we will serve, that they will know that our Lord Jesus Christ will never forsake them, and that He will always love them and lift them up with hope no matter how devastating the storms may be. As always, please remember to stay in touch with us by reading our blog at cuttersforchrist.bolgspot.com from time to time!

In His Service, Bob Bob Thompson Cutters for Christ Disaster Response Ministry Deployment/Team Coordinator

Finishing Up in Midfield and Sapps Community

Over the past three weeks several CFC teams have been working in and finishing up our service commitments in West Birmingham's Midfield neighborhood (following the EF2 tornado that hit there on Christmas Day in 2015) and in the Sapps Community, northwest of Aliceville in Pickens County, where an EF2 tornado struck on February 2nd.

MIDFIELD The team in Midfield on February 9, working a total of 40 hours, consisted of (left to right; standing) Bob Thompson, Mark Martin, Ken Clements, (kneeling/sitting) Ray Miller and Jim Pressler.

We finished up 3 jobs in Midfield to conclude our work assignments there:

Job 2 - Before Job 2 - After

Job 2 - Before (alternate view) Job 2 - After (alternate view)

Job 3 - Before Job 3 - After

SAPPS COMMUNITY Several different teams worked for 5 days over three weeks in Sapps Community.  Although the commute time between Birmingham and Sapps Community was between 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours each way depending upon where each participant was departing from, the commute was made each day.  A total of 222-1/2 hours were committed by CFC volunteers over the 5 day work period in Pickens County. Day 2, February 8, volunteers consisted of Boyd Martin, Buddy Williams and Tim Smith.  Day 3, February 9, participants were Boyd Martin, Bob Suellentrop, Buddy Williams, Henry Averyt and Jason Cannon.  Day 4, February 10, volunteers were Alan Weeks, Boyd Martin and Buddy Williams.  (Unfortunately we do not have team photos of any of the first three participant groups in Sapps Community!)  Clean-up Day 5, February 23, participants consisted of (left to right; standing on the toppled tree) Jim Pressler, Kent Clements, (standing on the ground) Bob Thompson, John Calhoun, Boyd Martin, Buddy Williams, Tim Smith and John Boettner.

Of interest, the tree above (and shown "full sized" below; note the size of the humans in relation to the rest of the tree!) was reckoned by its owner, Mrs. Lois Bruce, to be more than 100 years old.  She recounted for us stories about the folks who owned the property before her playing as children under the shade of that tree.

Mrs. Bruce befriended our deployment teams in Sapps Community by home cooking wonderful lunches for us at the volunteer fire house.  We spent time on Day 4 helping to clear debris from her property although this downed tree will remain there as a souvenir of the tornado and a reminder that by God's grace not one life was lost in the storm that evening. Here are a few pictures (the aerial view from teammate Jason Cannon's drone) at the ground zero touchdown site of the tornado in Sapps Community on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.  The photos show the kind of damage experienced by property owners.  Some mobile homes were torn from their base frames and ended up lodged high in the trees in nearby woods!  And note the power of this tornado that even caused a chain link fence to lay down - which is all holes, of course; something that wind should just pass through! - by bending over the slender metal fence posts holding up the chain link.  We've never seen that before!

Immediately next door to Mrs. Bruce was property occupied by a 90-year old resident. His brother, Ronnie Cummings, served as his spokesman and thanked us profusely for moving accumulated debris some 500 yards from the piles near his home to the main street at the end of his long driveway.

Before After

Special thanks, of course, go out to our Asbury UMC skid steer partner, Abel, which contributed the heavy lifting we needed to help move Mr. Cummings' debris.

Many other property owners were served by CFC team members during our 4-day commitment to assist this community in rural Pickens County.  In Sapps Community it was our privilege to share the love and joy of Christ a bit farther from our normal home working territory and to help restore Hope in Jesus' name to those seeking the reassurance that He has not forsaken them.

In His Service, Bob Bob Thompson Cutters for Christ Disaster Response Ministry Deployment/Team Coordinator _________________________________________________________