MCKEE, Ky. (LEX News) — Disaster relief volunteers from the Kentucky Baptist Convention have been involved in cleanup efforts places like Madison, Meade and Clinton Counties following last weekend's deadly flooding. This week, a group is in Jackson County to help McKee Baptist Church, which was flooded on June 27.
The church sits on Water Street, an area that was covered in water running down the road during the flood. Inside the church basement, the floors were covered in mud and around eight inches of water, according to Pastor Ron Maharrey.
“You stand there watching it and there's nothing you can do about it, you know what's coming,” Maharrey said. “We’ve been through it before, not to this extent, but we've been through water before, so we kind of knew the steps to take after the water got here.”
On Monday morning, disaster relief volunteers arrived at the church to begin cleaning in the basement.
“We often say this is the hardest work you'll ever love, but we do it because the Lord has called us to do it,” said Ron Crow, disaster relief director at the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
The cleanup process is expected to take a couple of days to get the church to the point where they can begin to rebuild in their basement.
“We've taken everything out that's salvageable,” said Tommy Floyd, a missions strategist with the Lake Cumberland Baptist Association. “We're taking off the trim that's got wet. We're taking down paneling that got wet. We'll be taking out drywall.”
“We're here to help them do the demolition work and do the clean out and we're going to power wash that and do all the sanitization,” Crow added.
The basement included a kitchen, where a number of appliances were ruined. The basement was also used for small groups and Sunday school classes.
“We'll have some construction work to do after they get gone, so it might not be usable for a couple weeks,” said Maharrey.
“We're here for the long haul,” Floyd said. “Whatever it takes to get it finished and help McKee Baptist Church. I think it's a fulfillment of Scripture to help your brother, so that's why we're here.
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