If your children are like mine, when they see a snippet of the devastation in Haiti, they are captivated. Especially when the devastation involves so many children. We are all at a loss for what to do. I’d like to jump on a plane and bring all the Haitian orphans home with me. Since that is likely not possible, the girls and I are packing up boxes of stuff to send their way. The relief arm of the lutheran church, called LCMS-World Relief and Human Care is loading two 40 foot trailers to take in the next two weeks from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Boca Rotan Florida. Pastor Will Weedon has a list on his blog of all the things they are accepting at this time. The girls and I cleaned out our closets and packed up clean used clothes, labeled them clearly and will ship them today.
If you ever needed motivation to do a little ‘house cleaning’ this is it. As I was cleaning out my closet, I had my computer handy so I could listen to this segment on Issues, Etc—-an interview with Pastor Matt Harrison, director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care—-and his reaction to the misguided statements made by Pat Robertson on the earthquake being God’s judgement on Haiti. Pastor Harrison reminds us that the law condemns us all, we are all equally sinful. If God were in the business these days of judging sin in this manner, I have little doubt that our country would be first on the list. This should drive us all to repentance. We are all guilty and deserving of God’s judgement and yet He has poured out His judgement on Christ—-on the cross—-for our very own redemption, so that we do not have to face His judgement. We can only interpret the magnitude of this suffering through the lens of the cross. Kyrie Eleison.
The littles drew pictures and wrote letters to the Haitian children, telling them that we love them and are praying for them.
It’s not much—but it’s something tangible that you can do with your kids to help to teach them about God’s mercy in times of devastation.
The contact information for the church is:
St. Paul Lutheran Church
801 West Palmetto Park Rd.
Boca Raton, FL 33486
561-395-0433
You can donate to the LCMS World Relief for Haiti by clicking here and scrolling down for the ‘give now’ tab.
I’m linking up with Money Saving Mom who has agreed to donate $10 for every person who blogs about what their family is doing to support Haiti and then links to her site.
The hardest part of all of this is the actual distribution of goods. Having the space to store items for distribution and having volunteers to sort and actually distribute the goods. I learned this from the Katrina ordeal when I went and volunteered with the Salvation Army.
Its so heart breaking.
I’m so glad you are letting your children find a way to feel they did something tangible. Don’t forget that praying is very tangible and they should know that is most powerful of all!
Oh, Edie…thank you for giving sooo generously. We often forget that we can look in our own closets to make a difference.
Thank you, thank you.
Still working on that BlissDom ticket…I’d love to hug you in real life!
Thanks so much for sharing…we just did some “cleaning out” and now I know where to send it all!!! I have not listened to the Issues interview but Pat Robertson saddens me so…his statements are one of the reasons some people get turned off by Christianity! His statements are not at all a reflection of a true Christian spirit!
Amen!!!!!! Merci Jezi! (thank you Jesus in Creole) I love your heart and this was well said! thank you for what you are teaching your children and doing for the people of Haiti! ♥ God Bless!
I know what you mean about feeling like you need to do SOMETHING tangible. It is just so heart-wrenching. I love your daughter’s pictures and I know that will brighten another little girl’s day. And I hear you on the condemnation of the ole’ US. We would be right up there on the list- for certain!
It makes me wish, now, that I had not gotten rid of 90% of my belongings just 2 months ago as the divorce was going on. So much of it would have been helpful to the situation in Haiti. How could I have known. So, I’ve given what $$ I can afford to. And a lot of prayer.
Oh, that is such a great idea. There is just SOOOO much that they NEED right now. Obviously the basics are priority #1, but thank goodness for the people that think ahead to the things they will need next. The clothing, letters, toys, shoes, etc. I think I may be joining you in this endeavor.
Love that letter from your daughter. So sweet.
Our local church in Oregon is affiliated with a Haitian ministry too. It makes us feel just a tiny bit helpful in the face of an unthinkable disaster to be able to box up over-the-counter medicines and toiletries and essentials to ship there. May the world learn more compassion from this terrible event.
I’M WITH YOU, WE HAVE BEEN THINKING ALIKE (MY POST) I DON’T CARE WHAT CHURCH ANYONE BELONGS TO, THIS IS BIGGER THAN US ALL. I’M SO THRILLED TO SEE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCKING TO HELP THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THERE. OUR CHURCH (THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS) IS THERE NOW WITH 3 BIG PLANES FULL OF SUPPLIES. OUR CHURCHES THERE STOOD INTACT THROUGH THE EARTH QUAKE BECAUSE OF THERE STRICT BUILDING CODES AND ARE NOW HOUSING MANY. THEY WILL BE THERE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE TO HELP. I LOVE THAT YOU ARE INVOLVING YOUR CHILDREN SO THAT THEY FEEL PART OF THE SOLUTION. LETS KEEP PRAYING AND HELPING AND MAY GOD BLESS THEM AND MAY WE HELP ALL WE CAN. THANKS FOR THIS POST…COME SAY HI 😀
I need to look for a local operation like this- My youngest just out grew ALL of clothes- jumped a whole size just one week after Christmas – of course. I’l love to see this stuff go somewhere needed!
Thank the Lord that everyone is reaching out to Haiti in love and compassion and not in judgment. You are so right, we all were condemned but are now seen through the Blood of Christ and the redemption on the Cross. It is the right thing to do to embrace, love and be compassionate for those in Haiti. It could have been us and it was with Katrina. Many of my friends and loved ones there lost everything. Sometimes it takes a castrophe to realize how blessed we really are and to get us out of our “me-ness” and going into all the world to show the love of God. Thanks for sharing your always faithful, caring and graceful self.
awesome, edie. love the letters from the girls…bet it will mean more than we could know. (hugs)
It is so right what you and your family have done. Making it personal for the kids was wonderful to see. You should very much consider linking this post up with all the bloggers connected into Money Saving Mom. I’ve got details on my blog about it here too:
http://skooksplayground.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-can-we-do-to-help-haiti.html
For every link on how you’ve helped Haiti, bloggers are throwing down more money to various organizations that are working in the area. Link up with me too. I’m donating to the Red Cross.
God bless you, Edie.
I think that this is truly wonderful, Edie!! How awesome to include the family, too. We are cleaning out our closets here and I would LOVE to send this stuff to people who could use it immediately instead of Goodwill.
BTW, did you see Donald Miller’s response to Robertson’s comments about Haiti? If not, check it out here: http://donmilleris.com/2010/01/13/1513/ You would like it!
Be blessed~!
What a great idea. I also heard that UPS was offering free shipping to Haiti. My husband is the biggest pack rat so maybe this will help motivate him to de clutter and give freely! I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be left with nothing … nothing but faith I guess I should say. It seems like such a distant thing to imagine living here with all of our comforts.
I couldn’t get the list to link up to the items they need.
Tasha
hi. just stopping by from another site to check out yours. not the same layout i saw in the screenie but it’s still nice 😀 i like it. and your posts are awesome too.
I love this post, your girls are so sweet! This church is very near to me and I already dropped a huge bag of clothes 🙂 Thanks for sharing
I love this. I cleaned out my closet recently and have clothes ready to go to someone who needs them! How wonderful to send them to Haiti…so I called the churches you mentioned and they are no longer accepting clothes…oh well – I tried. And would you know that I cannot find anywhere else (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc.) that will take clothing donations for Haiti – they are only taking $$. Let me know if you know of any other organizations that will accept clothing donations for Haiti!