Urgent Prayers and Support Needed for Haiti

On Tuesday evening, Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, a city of over one million people, was hit by a devastating earthquake.  Tens of thousands are dead, and possibly hundreds of thousands more are in immediate need of food, water, clothing and shelter.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti. This Sunday, the Blue Ridge Church of Christ will be taking a special benevolence contribution for HOPEworldwide, the charity affiliated with our family of churches, in its relief efforts.

What You Can Do

Learn.  All of the news media outlets are providing coverage of the earthquake’s aftermath and ICOC Hot News (NOTE: website down since Saturday 16 January) is being updated regularly with news specifically from the Port-au-Prince church.  Fifty disciples and forty of their friends are currently living in the rubble of their church building and will run out of food and water on Saturday.

Pray.  ”The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.” (Zephaniah 3:17)  Pray that the way for the supplies may be cleared, that the harbor and roads leading into Port-au-Prince may be passable.  Pray for the orphans and widows that have lost everything to be comforted and cared for.  Pray for the Pray for God to move powerfully to work miracles in the middle of tragedy.  Pray for the disciples in the Port-au-Prince Church of Christ to receive much-needed food and water, and to represent our God, as they already are doing.

Give.  HOPEworldwide is preparing an emergency team to bring relief to the Port-au-Prince church and is accepting donations.  Our benevolence contribution this Sunday will go towards their efforts.  Tom and Vanessa Carpenter of the Roanoke Valley Church run Angel Missions Haiti which planted three clinics in the country in 2008 and is organizing a medical supply shipment to Haiti.  Disciples in the Dallas-Fort Worth Church formed Haitian Support after the last major disaster in 2004 and are also preparing an emergency shipment.