If you have followed the news, whether on TV, radio, Internet or any other means, you no doubt have heard about the massive devastation in the Phillipines that was caused by a typhoon. Yesterday, throughout the past night and no doubt now as I write, the death toll has risen to over 10,000 people. That is, 10,000 people are believed to be dead. Many, many people have lost their homes and their jobs or businesses, going without food and water in waiting for help. There are many people who are still missing. Over 1,000,000 people have been affected by this killer typhoon. This adds up to many grieving families, many families who are anxiously waiting for word about missing loved ones, and devastated individuals crying out for relief. This killer typhoon has been much worse, in terms of the extent of damage and lost lives, than any storm that we have suffered in the US, including Hurricane Katrina. (I'm not talking about the impact on individual lives from any weather disaster as one life lost is one too many). If you can help at all, you are encouraged to do so.
As Christians, we know that countless brothers and sisters in Christ are now suffering immensely and many have, sadly, slipped into eternity without Christ. This worst storm that has ever hit our Planet, can provide a tremendous opportunity for Christ-centered relief efforts, so that many people, in their great crisis, see their need for God. We Christians can support the work of those Christian relief workers who are seeking to bring food, clothing, shelter, emotional and spiritual support and all in Christ's Name. Every Church should take up collections, keeping in mind that the need will remain for weeks, months and yes, years to come. We all can and should pray. Supporting Christ-centered relief work through Christ-centered nonprofits like Compassion International is an example of backing up those who can provide direct aid to those who need it most and meet not only the basic material needs of the people, but their need for Christ as well.
Sadly, since I wrote this short post a couple days ago, there has been more devastating storm damage. There have been one or two hurricanes that have hit specific areas in the country. The latest hurricane is estimated to be even more devastating than Hurricane Katrina. It has been impossible to get aid to many of those in the Philippines because that country consists of remote islands. All the additional damage adds up to, you have guessed it. Many more lost lives. Many more lost homes, jobs and businesses. Much more trauma and fear. In all of this, countless children have been affected. So many have had their innocence taken away from them by what they are suffering. Many have lost loved ones, many may be orphans. Saddest of all, many of those killed by the typhoon and by later hurricanes have been children. Their need seems so overwhelming, with the difficulty of getting aid to these unfortunate victims insurmountable. But we can all do something. We are not being asked to save them all, or even most of them. But there are options for helping in small ways that should be far more accessible to us. We just need to know what our options are and be open to them.
Here are some options. Educate yourself about the crisis at "http://www.cnn.com/"/> at CNN News or at some other trusted news source. Then spread the word, using all means available to you. You can give. No amount is too small to help and no amount is too large, either. You can sponsor a child in the Philippines. Yes, I know that this is the end of the year, meaning a strain on financial resources, because of preparing for holiday festivities. Yet despite our financial pressures, we often can cut out some of our wants to free ourselves to give to help meet the dire needs of these typhoon and hurricane victims. If such a disaster happened to us of the magnitude of its impact on the Philippines, wouldn't we want people to come to our aid in any way that they are able?
You can educate yourself at CNN News.
You can visit here to find out more.
Yes, we can and we need to pray for all those affected as well as for all those involved in the massive relief effort.
The first photo at the top of this post is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.
The first photo at the top of this post is by mensatic.
The first photo at the top of this post can be found here.
The second photo at the top of this post is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.
The second photo at the top of this post is by jclk8888.
The second photo at the top of this post can be found here.
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