The headline today came from my scheduled reading last night before I went to bed. I read it after watching news reports of the terrible devastation from the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The headline is a direct quote from the first verse in chapter three of St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy. It reminded me of Jesus’ words regarding the end times in Matthew 24:7…

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Media coverage of relief efforts for Haiti will most likely focus on government funds and promises of aid from around the world. However, as is normally the case, much of the work on the ground will be done by Chrisitan volunteers, Christian relief organizations and missionaries. I hope their demonstrations of love and sacrificial giving will also be reported.

You Can Help
Contact your local church to find out what’s being done. In addition to your congregation and/or denomination, some of the most significant work will be performed by Christian groups that are already on the scene or will be shortly. They need our financial assistance. Please contact and give to them directly through their websites:

ACT International
Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Baptist World Aid
Catholic Charities
Catholic Relief Services
Church of the Nazarene Disaster Relief
Disaster News Network
Florida Baptist Disaster Relief
Lutheran World Relief
Medical Mission Exchange
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)
Practical Compassion
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Salvation Army USA
Samaritan’s Purse – Franklin Graham
Southern Baptist Cooperative Program – Love in Action
United Methodist Committee on Relief
World Relief – National Association of Evangelicals
World Vision

According to news reports this morning, the five-story U.N. building in Haiti is one of the many structures that collapsed during the earthquake. Read current reports on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and Voice of America.

Photo by Brian Wagner, Miami

  The American Red Cross has a video report on Youtube here: