One of our Partners is the disaster relief arm of the Baptist Convention of New York, called "Send Relief." Here is an excerpt from a recent update about the efforts after the earthquakes in Puerto Rico:
When the final rumblings of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Puerto Rico subsided last Tuesday morning, the island residents' challenges were just beginning. One week later, the ground still shakes as tremors and aftershocks—some as high as 5.9 on the Richter scale—have plagued the area each night since the original quake. The need for volunteers and generous givers to Send Relief's earthquake response for Puerto Rico won't dissipate for quite some time.
Jonathan Santiago, a friend of mine while he lived in Syracuse, NY, has become Send Relief's missionary to Puerto Rico. John has repeatedly described the mood of Puerto Ricans as being "on edge." Many are even sleeping in their cars or outdoors in fear of further seismic activity. "As long as the ground is shaking, people are not going home," Santiago said recently in a Baptist Press story. "We expect the number of people we are serving to continue to grow."
As of Monday morning, Santiago reported that earthquake response efforts in the area have helped provide 5,800 meals and 28,000 bottles of water. "Please pray for our churches, the pastors and their families and the volunteers who are giving their all," he said, "The volunteers are my heroes because they're trying to serve the people 24-7 while still having to take care of the physical and emotional needs of their families."
Here at Randall Church, we have a team of people who are on call to go when disaster hits domestically. Is this something you'd be interested in joining? Email Partnering@RandallChurch.org for more information.
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