Officially Ground Zero has been sanctioned off as a military crime scene. CNN
recently reported New York's Mayor Giuliani as saying it might take up to a year
to safely remove the estimated one million tons of twisted debris still at the
disaster site. So far more than 135,000 tons have been cleared by New York police,
New York fire fighters, police and firefighters from across the country, as well
as rescue and steel workers, EMS, and other dedicated volunteers. Many of these
individuals have been coming to Rhema Ranch Ministry's Texas barbecue, located
at the Jacob Javits center -- Ground Zero's volunteer coordination and duty assignment
command center.
With a desire to help the rescue effort in some way, Rhema Ranch's director Rusty Fleming and 30 people hitched up his cooker, and filled trucks with ribs, steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh corn, beans, and pork chops. Giving back to the "community" would be important to these volunteers. They were former substance abusers which were helped by Rhema Ranch Ministry.
People That Care director and OBI's Dallas outreach center leader Bruce Phillips heard of Fleming's plan, and in order to get Rhema Ranch into the right place in New York acted as liaison between them and the New York Christian Resource Center director and OBI's New York outreach center leader Jim Esposito. Soon Rhema Ranch, OBI, and People That Care were bringing good food to relief workers.
On Friday, September 21st, Rhema volunteers began working twelve hour shifts. They sometimes serve more than 3,500 meals each day! "This Texas BBQ is a smile from God during a very sad time - - how they got here, what they're doing and the impact they're making. They're so popular that other feeding station inside the Jacob Javits center closed down because so many of the volunteer rescue workers are heading to 'Texas' for their meals ," said Jim Esposito.
While in New York to make sure everything was running smoothly, Bruce had many one-on-one conversations with grateful relief workers. One NYPD officer came up and shared, "I know you've probably heard this many times, but I just wanted to say thank you for coming to help."
"We are showing the love of God in a time that is needed," relayed Bruce.
Hickory chips will be burned for at least ten more days down at the Jacob Javits center. Thank you, OBI partners for your continued support of the humanitarian effort in New York and Washington, DC!
OBI's Complete America In Crisis Coverage...
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