TONY'S NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2008
Dear Ministry Partners,
We have to do something about Haiti! Over the past two months, that already suffering country has been hit by four different hurricanes. Each of those hurricanes hit a different part of the country, leaving no part of Haiti spared from devastation.
Hurricane Ike was a Category 3 storm when it hit the shores of Texas, but prior to that it swept over Haiti as a Category 4 hurricane. More than 400 Haitians were killed, and only the most solid buildings were left standing. Electricity is out for most of the country. Clean drinking water is almost non-existent. The flooding has facilitated the extensive spread of diseases, and already tens of thousands of children are suffering from dysentery. Just when we were convinced that things couldn’t get worse for the poorest of the poor—they did.
EAPE, in partnership with Beyond Borders and Beyond Borders Florida, is in a position to help in very special ways. Rather than distributing food, water, and clothing like most relief organizations, our workers and missionaries, who have long-standing relationships with people in communities all over the country, are able to give assistance to those with the greatest needs. Over the next few months, we will help them rebuild schools and replace books and school furniture. We will provide seed and tools so that farmers can replant their crops. We will help communities recap springs for clean drinking water. In other words, we will do all we can to get them back to where they were before the storms struck.
When supplies are unloaded from the backs of trucks, as is usually the case with most relief efforts, the strongest men and boys often bully their way to the front of the crowd and get the lion’s share of what is available—pushing aside the weaker women and children. It is those who are the frail and most deprived among the sufferers that our missionary workers are committed to helping, the least of the least and the poorest of the poor. Will you join us in helping these most desperate Haitians?
I could tell you stories of children who are dying and mothers who are screaming in despair, but if you use your imagination you can picture all that. What I am asking is that you picture digging deeper into your pockets than you ever have before, and giving graciously to provide our workers with as many resources as you possibly can.
I know we are facing a financial crisis here in our own country, but I also know that if you give to our needy brothers and sisters in Haiti you will be laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither Wall Street nor the I.R.S. can break through and steal.
Please help! Give as much as you can, knowing that everything EAPE receives this month will go completely and exclusively to the most desperate families of Haiti.
Pleading in Jesus’ name,
Tony Campolo
Did you know that you can support EAPE conveniently and securely online? Click here to make a one-time credit card donation or a pledge of monthly support. If you would like information about making a monthly gift automatically from your checking or savings account, please contact EAPE at 610-341-1722.
ABOUT TONY + OCTOBER 2008