The pictures that have been released showing the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines are hard to comprehend. I am sure, like me, you have watched the news with a sense of shock and huge sadness. Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been made homeless. Entire communities need to be rebuilt from scratch. How do we respond to such a crisis?
1. Pray
Sometimes we do not know how to respond or what to do, but we can all pray. We can pray for the families who have lost members in the tragedy. Pray for the organisations bringing much needed relief. Pray for those making decisions about the use of resources. Pray for energy for those working on the ground to care for people. We can all pray.
For news and updates to fuel your prayers why not check out the Tearfund webpage dedicated to the Philippines response:
http://www.tearfund.org/en/news/philippines_typhoon/
2. Personal Response
I know many of you will have already given to the response fund but if you have not and want to make a financial donation there are great organisations you can give to who will ensure that your money is used in the best possible way. Here are a couple of recommendations:
Disaster Emergecy Committee - http://www.dec.org.uk/appeals/philippines-typhoon-appeal
Tearfund - http://www.tearfund.org/en/news/philippines_typhoon/
3. Christmas Appeal
We have decided that at TKC we will take up a special offering at our Christmas celebrations that are taking place on the 15th and the 22nd December specifically for the Philippines. We are working out the best route through which to channel this money but everything given on those Sundays will go the Philippines.
4. Autumn Gift days
We also plan to put aside a portion of what has been given at our recent Autumn Gift Days. We have links with a Newfrontiers church in the Philippines. In fact the leaders, Eden and Fe, have visited our church and stayed with members of TKC. They are in a part of the Philippines that did not experience the devastation of some places, however, they are on the ground supporting people across the nation who are seeking to rebuild their lives. We want to be able to support this church in the efforts they are making to respond to the crisis so will be sending a gift their way.
If you were away over the last two weekend and still want to give to our Autumn Gift Days it is not too late. You can do a bank transfer, or send a cheque to the TKC office. For more info please visit
http://www.tkc.org.uk/Groups/197785/The_Kings_Church/Get_Involved/Giving/Giving.aspx
Jim
Addis Ababa
It was a huge privilege to spend a few days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia recently. I travelled there with Edward and Fridah Buria and stayed with a beautiful family who live in this vast capital city. We spent time with the leadership team of Eden Genet (Garden of Eden) church on the Saturday morning; I had met some of them before so it was excellent to see them again. They are a humble, faith filled and courageous team who are leading a great church in a hard place.
It was wonderful to preach in this church on the Sunday and speak about the values that connect our church in Mid-Sussex to their church in Addis; grace, apostolic ministry, welcoming the Spirit, making Jesus famous.
Dukem
On the Saturday afternoon we travelled for about an hour outside of the city to a town called Dukem. Dukem has a population of about 40,000 and is on the main road into Addis Ababa.
In this city, prostitution is rife and as a result there is an HIV/AIDS crisis. In this town there is also a church, planted by Eden Genet in Addis Ababa, that gathers about 30 people. As far as we know there are no other evangelical churches in this town.
They are a shining light in a dark place and it was a joy to visit them. Their building is simple; their vision is huge. When we were there a team came with us from Kenya to do some work on this basic structure to make it more robust.
Kenyans, Ethiopians, Brits all working together to see the Kingdom of God advance - I love it!
In the New Testament we see a precedent for churches in one city and nation serving and supporting other churches in different cities and nations. Paul wrote to the church in Rome about the generosity of the church in Macedonia who supported the church in Jerusalem.
I find this so inspiring as the local church was never meant to have a small vision, I believe God's intention was that local churches cared about and were committed to God's Kingdom advancing to the ends of the earth.
I shared some of my stories from my recent travels to Kenya and Ethiopia last Sunday at The King's Church Mid-Sussex and spoke about ways that we can get involved in serving these churches. To hear that message click on this link:
http://www.tkc.org.uk/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=116433&file_id=126879
This coming Sunday 10 November and the week after, Sunday 17 November, we have Gift Days at The King's Church Mid-Sussex. We have an amazing opportunity to serve and support this church in Dukem, Ethiopia. We also have an opportunity to serve and support the church in Kambakia, Kenya as well as invest into what God is doing here in Mid-Sussex.
We have so many resources in the west and have an amazing opportunity to bless others as we give. Every £1 makes a difference. Let me encourage you to pray and to plan for the gift days coming up. Paul says this about the church in Macedonia in 2 Corinthians 8:
"And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people."
Let's follow this inspirational example and see what God might do over the next couple of weeks.
