Sunday Message- Disaster

My message today is, do you read the news?  Typhoon Haiyan went into the record books this Friday as the strongest storm ever to make landfall.  When it hit the central Philippines, it had winds estimated at 195 MPH with gusts well over 200.  In other words, people who lived in anything from concrete buildings to mud huts sat through a 12-hour long F4 tornado.

In the coastal city of Tacloban, the local officials estimate 10,000 dead IN THE CITY ALONE.  The strongest point in the city, the airport, looks like Joplin after their storm.  Many have described the damage as reminiscent of the Banda Aceh, tsunami, because a 10 to 13 foot storm surge came at least a mile inland.

The city at ground zero, Guiuan- a town of 47,000- hasn't been reached yet and at last report is STILL underwater.

I don't have to tell you that even now horror stories are trickling out of an area where even hardened relief workers are saying the damage is "off the charts", "apocalyptic", "the worst I've ever seen".

There are a lot of ways to help.  The organization I sponsor a child through, Children International (Children.org) has a page for donations, as does, I believe, Save The Children.

If worship is putting faith into action and giving your best, as Dr. Jeremiah pointed out this morning, here is a chance for you to do just that.  A fallen world, fallen because of the sin of man, brings forth disasters.  Faith doesn't go around crying, "Why does God allow such things to happen?"  Faith gets up and does something about it.  Even if what that entails is getting your blessed, dry, and healthy butt off your wallet to share your bounty.  The estimated (close to ) half-million displaced men, women, and children now have nothing.