01/16/10
A Message from Nolan about Haiti
If you’ve looked at the news at all this week, you’ve probably seen and been horrified by the reports coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake there. I have seen one estimate that suggests as many as 100,000 people may have lost their lives. The search and rescue continues, but the way forward for the people of Haiti will be long and difficult.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. The earthquake is not all that is causing trouble for them. Before the earthquake hit, more than 80% of the people in Haiti lived on less than $400 per year. The earthquake has made a terrible situation even worse.
Several people have asked what WordServe’s response will be to this crisis. I’m not sure long-term how we might be involved, but there are a few things that the people of WordServe can do today to help care for those whose need is far greater than anything we can ever imagine. Here are three options:
Pray. This may seem like too small an action in the face of the devastation, but God working and moving through the Haitian people and the recovery efforts can affect far more than you and I can. Pray that God would "heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). Pray that God would save lives, aid rescue workers, comfort the grief-stricken, and bring glory to Himself through this. Would you take a moment right now and say a prayer for Haiti and its people?
Give. As we learned last week in our first installment of "The Office" sermon series, one of the reasons that God has us work is to have money to share with those in need. Many of us make well more than 100 times what a Haitian makes in a year. Out of our abundance, you may feel led to give toward the recovery efforts. In the next few weeks, if you’d like to give an offering for Haiti relief, you can make a check out to WordServe, clearly mark it as "Haiti Relief," and put it in the offering basket on Sunday morning or mail it to PO Box 787, Fulshear, TX 77441. We will make sure that the total amount contributed goes to reputable recovery efforts. If you’d prefer to give directly online, here are three organizations that are worth considering for your gift:
Serve. Perhaps we’ll get the chance to send a team to Haiti to help in the relief efforts. Right now, we would be in the way, and people like UMCOR, Living Water, and World Vision--organizations with existing relationships and specialized skills are needed more. We can serve by assisting those on the ground. One way is through making hygiene bags. This is a easy project that anyone can do and will help a person in need. See the information below.
Thank you for voicing your care and concern for the people of Haiti. Thank you that your heart breaks for the things that break God’s heart. Thank you for following the call of Christ to care for those in need.
May God bring peace and wholeness to the people of Haiti.
Instructions for Hygiene Bags:
Please follow the directions exactly. Include all items; do not add items that are not on the lists. Extra gifts, though given with the best of intentions, render a kit unusable and must be removed. Note: All items must be new.
Place the following items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag:
1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27")
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
1 large tube of toothpaste (4.5 oz. or larger)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
You can bring these bags to WordServe worship on Sunday morning and we’ll help get them to the right place.