I think by now we’ve all had to have been hiding under a rock to not know what has been going on in Haiti and the devastation from the earthquake and all of its aftershocks. I feel like my heart is bleeding watching the news and all of the updates, and I feel so helpless. I was completely taken aback today when I was watching 2 of my friends on CNN this morning and heard the statistic of 1.2 million orphans in Haiti-and that was before the earthquake ever happened. What will it be now? As I started thinking about it, I realized I don’t even know what the orphan statistic is for here in the States. The only number I could find was approximately 100,000, but I’m not sure if that’s right or not.
Anyway, I am desperately searching and asking, “What can I do to help?” What I have found out is that the biggest need is funding so that they can get food, water, and start to rebuild in Haiti. There are different ways you can do this.
1. Go to www.helphaitishirt.com and buy a shirt (or more than 1) for $25. 100 % of the funds from the shirts go towards a few organizations. One of them is Heartline Ministries. You can check them out at http://heartlineministries.org. Another way to support just Heartline Ministries is to go to http://haiti-relief.com.
2. If you are in the Austin area, there is a benefit concert taking place on January 18th. It’s $10 to get in and doors open at 6. The concert starts at 7pm. It’s at The Parish. All proceeds benefit Real Hope for Haiti. You can check them out at www.realhopeforhaiti.org. It should be a great concert and an easy way to help make a difference.
3. The Red Cross says you can do 3 things to help: * Donate now (see a theme?), *Volunteer, and *Give blood. You can check them out at www.redcross.org.
4. Perhaps the biggest thing you can be doing is praying. Pray for the relief efforts and supplies to get into Haiti with no difficulties. Pray for a huge response from those of us not in Haiti. Heartline ministries says financial support is already starting to slow down and they still need over $100,000 to achieve the rebuilding they need to do. Pray for protection from more aftershocks, and for peace to reign on those in Haiti trying to deal with the aftermath, and for those here who are waiting for news on their loved ones.
If you are interested in the CNN interview from this morning, check out http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/15/am.intv.adopted.son.in.haiti.cnn
My heart is heavy right now as I said before, but I rejoice because I know my Lord and Savior still sits on the throne! He is and was and continues to be the great I AM.
Staring Up,
KP