Best Bang for Your Buck
I find myself sighing a lot as I scroll through pictures and videos of the disaster caused by Hurricane Helene in Tennessee and North Carolina. The devastation of the earth and human life is overwhelming.
There are many questions about why God brings such things but, right now, looking at these pictures the main question is “How can we help?
It is a relief to watch as I see and hear reports of Mules and helicopters loaded with basic necessities to deliver to people whose roads have been washed out. Their homes are literally under water or have floated away. Temporary shelters are opening but the needs are great. Children need to be fed and babies need clean diapers.
By the grace of God there are many people sending and delivering supplies. It is a large area with many remote little towns and people. It appears many options are out there. In our own Pennsylvania community supplies are being collected and driven down.
As people on the outside we can pray for the physical and the spiritual salvation of the people still caught in hard places. We can pray for the safety and emotional strength for those with feet on the ground as they see and hear the horrors of the last week.
This seems like a time that we can recall the words of scripture, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you (if you were in this situation), do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
So, speaking personally, we don’t own a mule or a helicopter or an all-terrain vehicle. The thing that I have to some degree is money to buy the things they need. How do those of us here in safe, dry Pennsylvania, help in a way that we know where our money is going, as we want it be a place that will glorify the Lord as Provider.
My personal recommendation for a ministry I trust and one that will dispense both aid and the gospel is The Imago Dei. These folks live and minister in Eastern Tennessee and for this disaster I feel I’ll get my best bang for my buck. They are an abolish abortion ministry working hard to collect funds to buy and deliver what they know their neighbors need. You can donate through the ministry and it will be tax deductible or you can donate through the Go Fund Me page.
https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=ALZJRUXWXU6JC or you can donate to Imago Dei (tax deductible) marking it as for disaster relief here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZPWTCNFDM3334