You Can Help

It is so heart wrenching to see the images, and hear the interviews, of people who have been ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.  It is now known as Tropical Storm Harvey.  But no matter what you call it, in Texas today, there are hundreds of thousands of victims of its power and destruction.  It is terrible seeing the devastation and watching the rescue of little ones, and the elderly, and single mothers with children, and people with their beloved pets, from flooded homes and from cars trapped in flooded streets.  It can surely make anyone watching feel helpless.  But the truth is we aren’t helpless.  

These and the following photos look like pictures from a war torn third world country.  They are from Texas.

First and foremost we can pray for all those whose lives have been turned upside down by this storm.  And then we can get to work, either by showing up at a shelter if you live in or around the areas effected, or by donating to reputable charities.  We want to help you, help others today.

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Samaritan’s Purse

Headed by Franklin Graham the ministry known as Samaritan’s Purse seeks to do more than just meet emergency needs:
“Go and do likewise,” Christ commanded after explaining the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. So we do. Samaritan’s Purse travels the world’s highways looking for victims along the way. We are quick to bandage the wounds we see, but like the Samaritan, we don’t stop there. In addition to meeting immediate, emergency needs, we help these victims recover and get back on their feet.

Donate here:  https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/history/

Amazon/ Red Cross

Amazon has teamed up with the Red Cross and agreed to match all donations made to the Red Cross through Amazon.com up to $1 million.  Or you can use Amazon.com to purchase goods from a posted list of necessities needed immediately by victims of Hurricane Harvey

Donate here:   https://www.amazon.com/l/16927356011

YouCaring – Kindness Is Powerful

Organized by the Houston Texans football player JJ Watt to help those in need in his hometown of Houston:
“We must come together and collectively help rebuild the aspects of our community members lives that were damaged or lost. Any donation that you can spare, no matter how large or small, is greatly appreciated. We will come out of this stronger than ever. We are Texans.”

Donate here: https://www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey-915053

No matter what you choose to do we can all do something to help ease the pain and suffering of others.  In a time when all we hear and see is how divided we are as a nation, NOW is the time to overcome our differences and come together.

One lady on the news who was being evacuated from the Houston area put it like this:
“Houston is the 4th largest city in the country and one of the most segregated. I live in the black part of town. My brother lives in the white part of town. My sister lives in the Hispanic part of town and my mother lives in the white part of town. Yet no one cares where anyone lives right now or what color their skin is. We just all want to help each other. I really, really hope the rest of the country helps us too and doesn’t use this as a chance to politicize the situation to make their points. We just need them to care and to pray.”

No matter what the size of the gift do what you can to help.  Being generous and showing kindness is the best expression we can think of for love, joy and abundant living!