Restoration now + Global Disaster response teamed up in 2021

Restoration Now and Global Disaster Response have been working together for years and now we’re officially a team! With GDR’s focus on immediate relief and RN’s focus on long term access to basic needs we are excited to come alongside communities to restore hope and empower people with creative and sustainable strategies for a higher quality of life.

What does teaming up mean? In Honduras, it means disaster preparedness training for our local partners to give them resources and education that will enable them to respond to events like hurricanes and flooding. In vulnerable places, disasters are far reaching and can have longer term physical and psychological effects. Local partners, Carlos and Anita, directors at the Arabu community center in La Ceiba, Honduras, are serving victims of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 who are still suffering from PTSD because of abuse during the aftermath of the disaster. We are working on ways to provide counseling training and resources. Local partners, Kike and Belinda are serving in the mountain villages outside Siguatepequa, Honduras, teaching WASH programs and will host a disaster training this May, 2022. Many of these villages suffer from flooding during hurricanes. We are also in conversation with our local partner, Zuriel, in the Philippines to support victims of Typhoon Rai, using the Heroes Tacloban church and community center Josh and Nicole helped build in 2014 as a base of operations. Zuriel’s desire is to focus on the Rai victims who are unaccompanied minors. We are excited to see how this partnership increases our resources and opportunities to help our local partners serve their communities.

Tom Felmley
GDR Director

God has called Tom to international missions for over 25 years, more than 20 of those in disaster response work. He has been to over 50 countries and has served and led short-term in 16 of them. He is an engineer, Emergency First Responder, and Chaplain, but mainly acts as team leader and field engineer for disaster response trips. He often leads the Advance Resource Assessment Team for the ministry. He owns Group 66 Designs, Inc. He is married to Annette Merlino Felmley, a dentist, and fellow world traveler and missionary. They have a daughter they adopted from Guatemala. He is Director of Global Disaster Response area of RN.

Christina Davies
GDR Ministry Co-Director

Christina is a dual British/American citizen and has lived in Europe for most of her adult life. She first served with MTW short-term medical teams as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). On September 11, 2001, Christina participated in the rescue and recovery operations at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks in New York. After becoming a Physician Assistant, Christina joined MTW's Global Disaster Response (GDR) Team in 2002 and is now the GDR Co-Director. She is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, certified in Disaster Basic and Advanced Life Support and has had additional training in hostile environment safety and security. Christina is married with four children.

Michael Behmer
Board

Michael’s twenty-year mental health career spans across multiple industries and therapeutic disciplines. From interpersonal engagement to team-building and treatment design, his singular focus is to create compelling and healthy education rooted in research. Michael and his team deliver an emphasis on overcoming crisis and the recovery of complex trauma, grief and loss in diverse populations. His work is guided by purpose, passion, simplicity, innovation and results. He has worked with dozens of groups including UNICEF, Faros, Team Rubicon, Samaritan’s Purse, TechStars, Crocs, Ridgeline Ventures, and Global Disaster Response.

Mark Thompson
Board

Mark served with Mission to the World since 2001. He and his family initially served as missionaries on the island of Guanaja, off the coast of Honduras. Their focus was to build relationships with a community that had been hit hard by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. They hosted short-term mission teams, held Bible studies, and helped run a full children's program. Mark has held numerous other positions over the years including Honduras Team Leader, Honduras Country Director, Global Disaster Response team member, Enterprise Partnership Administrator, and Senior Project Administrator Recruiter/Coach in MTW's home office. Mark also served as MTW's Director of Volunteer Ministries (regular short term mission trips, medical short term mission trips, and Global Disaster Response teams). He has been married for 31 years and has four children, and one grandchild.