Thank you, Bitterroot Star, for your heartwarming and soul restoring lead story of March 7: Valley Heeds Call for Help.
Thank you to the members and leaders of the Stevi United Methodist Church and the Stevi LDS Church, who led the valley-wide inter-denominational outpouring of Christian love and action. I was part of the sorting, boxing and labeling of the many, many boxes of aide being prepared for delivery to our Blackfeet brethren in their hours of need, due to weeks of blizzard conditions.
Thank you to the Red Cross for helping the Blackfeet United Methodist Parish establish an emergency shelter in Browning. Thank you to our Governor for declaring a State of Emergency, thus sending in much needed snow plows to open, and keep open, roads, thus permitting rescues and aide delivery in the face of 20’ drifts and 60 MPH winds.
Donations came in from churches from Darby to Stevi. The 20 or so volunteers (including our UMC Pastor and the LDS Stake President), readied and blessed the aid which began its journey on Friday, March 7. The happy workers on Friday were about half Methodist and half LDS, and it made no difference. We were all doing what Christ taught us to do, with the joy that comes from knowing we were working together in His name and as He instructed.
Thank you to the Catholic and Presbyterian Churches for their generous donations. Thank you to Stevi merchants, Burnt Fork Market, Super 1, Exit Realty who offered discounts and services.
It took the Stevi UMC and LDS Churches, working together, less than one week to plan and execute this effort. Apologies to other churches or organizations who would have participated had they known what we were doing, but time was critical. Apologies to donors I may have forgotten to thank.
Again, thank you, Bitterroot Star, for this good news coverage and publicizing what is still needed and to whom additional aide may be offered. The crises east of Glacier is not over.
Claire L. Kelly
Stevensvillle