The Earthquake in Nepal . . . How Can You Help?

As I'm sure you've heard by now, a massive earthquake hit Nepal yesterday, and tremors have continued to cause damage and delay relief efforts. Recently, Hubs and I have become friends with two international students who are from Nepal. What could have easily been "just another disaster in a faraway place" has instead become quite personal for us. Thankfully, our friends' families were not injured or killed, but they are sleeping in the streets as a safety precaution due to the tremors that continue to occur.

Often, I'm at a loss for what I can DO. You see, I'm a bit of a "fixer," and in situations like this I often  end up feeling a bit helpless. No, I can't go to Nepal and start cleaning up rubble. But I can offer financial support to enable those who are able to physically be "boots on the ground" and provide physical relief and comfort to those who have been affected. Two organizations that I trust implicitly are Samaritan's Purse and Baptist Global Response. We have given to both of these organizations multiple times and have always been impressed with how they have worked through existing partnerships in places where emergency assistance is needed. Please don't feel pressure from me to give or do anything. I just wanted to post these links in case you were feeling like me (you know, needing to do something, anything) and not really sure which organization(s) to trust.

And if you're wondering where God is in all of this or need some help processing the tragic nature of the situation, here are a couple of resources from David Platt, a pastor / teacher whose sermons have impacted my life over the past several years. These two sermons were preached in response to different natural disasters but are still very relevant in this situation.

• How Do We Respond to Natural Disasters?
• Tornadoes and the Trustworthiness of God

Photo 1: Credit  | Photo 2: Credit  | Photo 3: Credit

What Is Love?

Don't you love hearing what kids think about things? Samaritan's Purse asked kids to answer the question, "What is love?" I think you'll agree that their answers are too cute . . . and pretty insightful!

Happy Valentine's Day!

GIVEAWAY | "Operation Christmas Child" by Franklin Graham

It's National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child (November 18-25). Since I'm encouraging all of you to give a little, I thought I'd give one of you something too! How about a copy of Operation Christmas Child: A Story of Simple Gifts by Franklin Graham.

(You can read about my family's involvement with Operation Christmas Child and how you can help here.)

About the Book

It was a simple idea that became the worldwide ministry of Operation Christmas Child—to minister to children in war-torn and famine-stricken countries.  In just two decades it has inspired everyday people to provide more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in 130 countries. This beautiful book weaves the moving, God-saturated story of the ministry’s beginning with the soul-stirring, Christ exalting stories of lives that have been forever changed by a simple shoebox.

Operation Christmas Child is filled with full-color photos of children whose smiles help tell what is a thoroughly hopeful story. Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham provides insight as the incredible stories of life transformation are told.

Proceeds from the book go to support the ministry it seeks to celebrate and honor.

Sneak Peek from the Book

In an excerpt from his new book, Operation Christmas Child: A Story of Simple Gifts, Franklin Graham talks about the beginnings of what has become a worldwide ministry that has delivered over 100 million shoeboxes to children in over 130 countries.

BIG TROUBLE, BIG TASK, BIG THANKS

Days before Thanksgiving my secretary came through the door with a look on her face that I knew very well. “Do you remember that man from Britain that called you back in the summer asking for shoeboxes? He’s on the phone asking when you’ll be sending them—he’s leaving for Bosnia soon,” she stated with an air of “You’re in big trouble!” I had forgotten about it and now the Christmas season was fast approaching.

I picked up the phone. “Mr. Graham, how many shoeboxes have you collected?” I couldn’t let him down. His cause was worthy, so I said, “David, we’re working on it; I’ll get back to you.” He was thrilled and I was, well, in trouble.

“We’ve got to collect some shoeboxes—fast!” I said. We threw some ideas around and then called Ross Rhoads, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. As always, Ross was glad to help and said, “Tell me what to do.”

“Get a shoebox and fill it with some little toys for kids—maybe some toothpaste and a toothbrush, a hair brush, and sock,” I suggested. “Take it to the pulpit on Sunday and show your congregation. Ask if they will help us collect shoebox gifts for the kids in Bosnia. And by the way, tell them to put a note inside with their picture so the child will know who the box is from—maybe some of the kids will write back.” Ross enthusiastically agreed. Then I called Sean Campbell, our executive director in Canada. “Sean, see what kind of response you can get from a church up there.”

I hung up and forgot about it again, until a few days after Thanksgiving. My secretary walked into my office and announced a call from Ross with that “you’re in trouble” look on her face. “Ross needs to talk to you.”

Picking up the phone, I heard his voice filled with troubled excitement. “Franklin, you’ve got to send someone down here to pick up all of these shoeboxes!”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, we’ve got shoeboxes stacked up in the gym, in the foyer, and in Sunday school rooms—they’re in the way.”

“So you’ve really been able to collect a few hundred boxes?” I asked.

“A few hundred?” Ross answered. “How about eleven thousand!” I was stunned. Ross had a big church, but eleven thousand in two weeks? He said, “Franklin, this is obviously something the Lord has blessed.”

Reflecting years later, Ross said, “All I did that Sunday morning was to show the congregation a shoebox Carol had packed and asked them to do the same. That afternoon, a member of the church with the Bible Broadcast Network (BBN) interviewed me and gave me the chance to tell about the project. We did not solicit for boxes nor was the church address given. Over the next several days, however, people began bringing shoeboxes to the church and deliveries were made daily by the post office and courier services. The church was known for ‘sending help,’ but ‘receiving’ was not something we were set up for.”

I said a great big thank you to Ross and then placed a call to David and reported the big news. Immediately, I sent my projects director (now vice president of projects and government relations) Kenney Isaacs to Charlotte to assess the situation. He called and said, “Franklin, you’re not going to believe this. People are really excited!”

This response was so overwhelming that Ross suggested I come on Sunday, December 12, to preach and thank the congregation.

HYPHENATED BY THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

That was twenty years ago. Two decades have passed—hyphenated by the turn of the century. Not every generation experiences living from one millennium to another. We have now surpassed that milestone and have come into the second decade of the twenty-first century, marking one hundred million shoebox gifts collected and delivered, representing an even larger number who have heard God’s message. When I look back on this project—Operation Christmas Child (OCC)—I think of the Scripture that says, “Oh, what God has done!” (Num. 23:23)

The Lord has blessed this outreach in numbers—monumental numbers. But more important, He has blessed it by changing hearts, one at a time. And in the twentieth year of Operation Christmas Child, we delivered the one hundred millionth shoebox!

There are miles of smiles that tell stories about changed lives, miles of oceans away. But it all started with:

One phone call
One request
One shoebox
One church
And one message about the Christmas Child
For one heart at a time

We pray that the heartbeat of the Gospel will stir the hearts of hundreds of millions more.

Come with us on this journey as we tell you about one profound truth that changes one life at a time.

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of Operation Christmas Child: A Story of Simple Gifts by Franklin Graham. Giveaway open to US residents and ends December 14. Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
*** All participants must be 18 years or older. The winner will be contacted via email. Once contacted the winner has 72 hours to respond with the required information. If the winner does not respond within the timeframe specified, another winner will be chosen. I am not responsible for shipping mishaps. Void where prohibited. ***

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child

I'm sure you've heard of Operation Christmas Child before. I didn't realize until recently that this ministry is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. During the past 20 years, Operation Christmas Child has provided more than 100 million shoeboxes to children in need around the world! Wow! That's a lot of children who have been helped through the years! (In case you're wondering, if you stacked all those boxes on top of each other, that would be more than 26,000 times taller than the Empire State Building!)

Hubs and I packed our shoeboxes over the weekend and had a great time doing it. It's so much fun to shop and try to think of little things that might bring a smile to a child's face or just let them know that someone, somewhere is praying for them. This week is National Collection Week (November 18-25), so you still have plenty of time to pack a box and drop it off at one of the collection sites around the country.

I know sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to try to figure out where to start, so I thought I'd give you a step-by-step for what WE did to give you a few ideas. Of course, feel free to do whatever works best for YOU!

Here are some really simple steps on how to pack a shoebox, complete with gift suggestions (and a few restrictions).

We decided to pack 4 boxes total—2 boys and 2 girls, ages 5-9.

We went to the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart to get everything we needed. You could probably get everything at one place, but both stores were a little picked over. See the pics below to see exactly what we got where. :)

 We started with the basics: washcloth, toothpaste, toothbrush, bar of soap, comb.

Then added a few school/art supplies: pencils, pencil sharpener, stickers, construction paper, crayons, colored pencils

Then we added in some purely fun stuff: candy, puzzle, bouncy ball, yo-yo, play dough, plastic spoon and fork, headbands (for the girls), Hot Wheels (for the boys).

We then wrote a quick note to let the child know that we were praying for them and wanted them to know the love of Jesus (including our address, so they can write back if they like!), tucked in a picture of us, and closed up the box.

We went online to pay the $7 donation per box to help it get where it needs to go. The online payment option allows you to track your box and see where it ends up. Very cool! Once we paid, we printed the label, taped it to the box, and put a rubber band around it. And then we delivered it to one of the collection centers near us. (Here's a complete list, searchable by city/state or zip code.)

Pretty simple, right?! This is a fairly simple and inexpensive way to give to those in need this Christmas. If you want more information, check out the Operation Christmas Child site.

And if you'd like even more info, here's a FUNNY video from Uncle Si (who doesn't love Duck Dynasty?!) with a few more tips on packing a box. (And here are more videos from Uncle Si.) Enjoy!

Blog Action Day 2013 | How Can YOU Help?

Blog Action Day is a one-day international event that brings thousands of bloggers together to talk about an important issue. Throughout Blog Action Day, participants help raise awareness and money for charities and social causes. This year I'm blogging on behalf of Samaritan's Purse.

The focus of Blog Action Day 2013 is on human rights. Samaritan's Purse would like to draw attention to the crisis situation in Sudan and South Sudan that has been caused by brutal human rights violations carried out by the Sudanese government and its president, Omar al-Bashir.

This is the third of three posts today to bring awareness to this situation. If you missed the previous posts, you can read them here and here.

The Underlying Problem

The root of the refugee crisis is ongoing government-sponsored violence against Sudanese citizens. While Samaritan’s Purse is committed to meeting the urgent needs of refugees, the underlying problem can only be addressed with broader issues of governance and constitutionality. We encourage Christians to:

• Pray for the violence to end and for comprehensive peace for all of Sudan. 
• Give as God calls to help meet the needs of displaced people living in South Sudan. 
• Spread the word to raise awareness of the problem and encourage others to get involved.

Ways You Can Help

Here are some of the areas that need your prayer and support ...
 

Displacement

• The Need: Approximately 190,000 refugees populate camps in northern South Sudan. These refugees fled across the border as Sudan’s government troops conducted aerial bombings, ground raids, and orchestrated famine – atrocities that continue to this day. 
• The Response: Samaritan’s Purse works with partners inside the refugee camps to meet basic needs in Jesus’ Name, including food, water, and medical care.

Hunger

• The Need: Many children arrive in the refugee camps suffering from moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Families cannot provide food for themselves because the violence forced them to leave their farmland.  
• The Response: Samaritan’s Purse screens and treats children for moderate to severe acute malnutrition with outpatient therapeutic feeding programs. We partner with the World Food Programme to conduct routine food distributions inside the camps.

Scarce Medical Care

• The Need: Bunj Hospital is the only healthcare provider to offer specialized surgical care, at-risk childbirth intervention, and life-saving nutritional programs in Maban County, a large border region in northern South Sudan.
• The Response: Samaritan’s Purse began operating Bunj Hospital, in partnership with the UN High Council on Refugees, in January 2012, and since then more than 600 life-saving surgeries have been performed. We are currently expanding to meet increasing demand.

Lack of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

• The Need: Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene is always a challenge in refugee situations.  
• The Response: Samaritan's Purse supplies the majority of clean water access in Yida refugee camp. In August, we produced approximately 13,605,000 liters of water, built 173 latrines, and trained 1,900 people in health and hygiene.

If you would like to contribute financially to the ministry of Samaritan's Purse as they assist in meeting needs in Sudan and South Sudan, you can donate here.

Blog Action Day 2013 | A Photo Essay

Blog Action Day is a one-day international event that brings thousands of bloggers together to talk about an important issue. Throughout Blog Action Day, participants help raise awareness and money for charities and social causes. This year I'm blogging on behalf of Samaritan's Purse.

The focus of Blog Action Day 2013 is on human rights. Samaritan's Purse would like to draw attention to the crisis situation in Sudan and South Sudan that has been caused by brutal human rights violations carried out by the Sudanese government and its president, Omar al-Bashir.

This is the second of three posts today to bring awareness to this situation. If you missed the first post, you can read it here.

Nurse Erin Whitehouse examines a child at Yida refugee camp’s Stabilization Center. Many refugees arrive with malnourished children who need immediate care. Mothers throughout the camp know to bring their children to the center if they become ill or need medical attention.

When roads are flooded during the rainy season, the only way to get food to the refugee camp in Yida is to drop it by plane.

Samaritan’s Purse has established nine water points throughout the Yida refugee camp, providing clean water for more than 20,000 people per day.

Yida refugee camp’s most vulnerable women, including widows and mothers who are heads of households, are learning income-generating skills like sewing, jewelry making, embroidery, and weaving. They can sell or trade the goods in the marketplace.

Dr. Evan Atar is on call 24 hours a day at Bunj Hospital in South Sudan. He is the only full-time surgeon in an area where more than 200,000 people live, including over 110,000 refugees who have been driven from their homes in Sudan.

The food laid out here will only feed 250 families for a month.

Choirs sang the national anthem of South Sudan at the Independence Day ceremony on July 9, 2011. Part of the lyrics include: “Oh God! We praise and glorify You for Your grace on South Sudan; Land of great abundance, uphold us united in peace and harmony.”

If you would like to contribute financially to the ministry of Samaritan's Purse as they assist in meeting needs in Sudan and South Sudan, you can donate here.


Photo Credit: Samaritan's Purse

Blog Action Day 2013 | Human Rights for Sudanese Refugees

Blog Action Day is a one-day international event that brings thousands of bloggers together to talk about an important issue. Throughout Blog Action Day, participants help raise awareness and money for charities and social causes. This year I'm blogging on behalf of Samaritan's Purse.

The focus of Blog Action Day 2013 is on human rights. Samaritan's Purse would like to draw attention to the crisis situation in Sudan and South Sudan that has been caused by brutal human rights violations carried out by the Sudanese government and its president, Omar al-Bashir.

This is the first of three posts today to bring awareness to this situation.

Background Information
In July of 2011, after decades of civil war between the Arab-dominated northern Sudanese and the predominantly African and Christian people of the south, the Republic of South Sudan was born. The new nation of South Sudan celebrated its first independence day on July 9, 2011. Most of the people in the areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile are African but are located north of the newly recognized boundary between South Sudan and Sudan. Although they also fought for freedom and dignity, the government of Sudan, led by President Bashir, continues to wage war against the people of those areas.

More than two years later, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir continues to attack thousands of his own citizens with aerial bombings, ground raids and orchestrated starvation. Hundreds of thousands of victims have fled into refugee camps in South Sudan.

Samaritan Purse's Involvement
Samaritan’s Purse began working in Sudan in 1993. Our work in Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan began in 1998, and we conducted extensive humanitarian aid operations in those areas until the Sudanese government cut off international humanitarian access in June 2011.

In 2012, Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham called for strong action by international leaders while affirming his humanitarian commitment, “The United States government and our allies need to increase the pressure and force a regime change to allow an opportunity for peace. Until then, I remain committed to meeting critical needs of those who are fleeing for their lives into South Sudan.”

In July of 2013, Samaritan’s Purse Vice President of Programs and Government Affairs Ken Isaacs testified at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington, D.C. A transcript of the testimony can be found at samaritanspurse.org.

If you would like to contribute financially to the ministry of Samaritan's Purse as they assist in meeting needs in Sudan and South Sudan, you can donate here.


Photo Credit: Samaritan's Purse