OREGON CONFERENCE
IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS
Find Shelter in Hope Valley
MISSION AND OUTREACH
WHEN FIRES RAGED ACROSS OREGON IN SEPTEMBER, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BEGAN TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES. BUT WHERE COULD THEY GO TO ESCAPE THE FLAMES?
As the evacuees arrived, they found a whole community of people rallying to support their needs. Chris Cakes NW brought a pancake truck to serve pancakes. Kona Ice, local coffee shops, donut shops, food carts and many others brought food and goodies for the evacuating guests. World Central Kitchen provided two hot meals each day for guests and volunteers alike. Dozens of volunteers rallied to the site, while pastors from across the Oregon Conference were called in to serve when
As the Riverside Fire was accelerating toward towns southeast of Portland, Laura Pascoe received More online at a call from Clackamas County officials, asking, NWADVENT.ST/115-6-OR-1 “Could the Oregon Conference open the Gladstone Campground for evacuees?” Pascoe had spent years developing relationships with the county and other disaster response organizations as the former Adventist Community Services and Disaster Response coordinator for the Oregon Conference. She quickly connected the county with her successor, Andy Villanueva. Within hours, RVs were rolling into the valley at the Gladstone Campground. Usually tasked with helping camp meeting campers find their sites, volunteers were now cheerfully greeting those fleeing wildfires and helping them settle in. 24
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
