What Makes Praisegod Praise God?

Lots of things, but one person in particular… My wife Tracy is a beautiful, incredible, devout, pious, intelligent, industrious, godly woman. Allow me to say a little something about Tracy's ministry. She's the lead volunteer for the Temporary Emergency Child Care ministry of Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief. I did one week at the Astrodome for Hurricane Katrina working under Tracy—Tracy did three weeks there, followed immediately by three weeks at Lumberton, TX, for Hurricane Rita. The TECC ministry is a sight to behold. Up pulls a trailer, and within an hour anything from a Sunday School classroom to a warehouse can be transformed into a state-licensed fully-functioning day care operation. The volunteers take care of displaced children while their parents fill out FEMA and Red Cross paperwork, but they do much more than that—they help children to process the experience of having been through a disaster and minister the love of Christ to them. At Houston, the unit had to move several times as the population shifted between the various buildings around the Astrodome. At one point, the unit had to move into what had been the medical quarrantine area just minutes before. The TECC unit did such an exceptional job sterilizing the area and setting it up for child care that the CDC has begun to sing the praises of Tracy's unit at national disaster conferences. Under her leadership the TECC ministry has developed an international emergency child care program, with resources packed in a manner such that volunteers can check them as baggage on international flights. This development will enable the TECC unit to respond anywhere around the world (previously they have been limited to places where they can tow a trailer). Tracy has also helped to develop a curriculum (she has a Masters in Educational Administration) for "trailerless training" for the TECC ministry. All of these things Tracy does while caring for our two preschoolers (and our one thirty-seven-year-old Baptist pastor) at home. Also, there are the myriad unwritten responsibilities of the pastor's wife, all of which she accomplishes with grace and aplomb. She's a remarkable, incredible woman. So, here's to all the volunteers for Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief. In anticipation of the National Disaster Relief Roundtable next week, I want to say that you represent Southern Baptists well. I'm proud of you all. Especially one particularly cute blue-cap from Texas.