Northland’s connection to Houma is a virtual one. The church is partnering with one of its online congregants, [...]]]> LONGWOOD, Fla. /PRNewswire/ — This weekend, Northland, A Church Distributed will host a backpack drive to collect school supplies for families in need in Central Florida, as well as those affected by the oil spill in Houma, La.

Northland’s connection to Houma is a virtual one. The church is partnering with one of its online congregants, Terri Goulette, who worships with 2,000 others from around the world each weekend via interactive webstream.

Goulette, who lives in an area that has been severely affected by the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, wanted to do something to help the families who lost their livelihood as a result of the spill. One morning she awoke with an idea: backpack drive. Remembering Northland’s annual school drive, she invited her church family in Florida to join her in gathering 1,000 backpacks and school supplies for the children of commercial fishermen, shrimpers, oystermen, truck drivers, ice factory workers and others.

“They were expecting a plentiful season this year, but just two weeks before the fishing season opened, the oil spill happened,” Goulette explains. “It has been very hard riding down the bayous and seeing all the shrimp boats and oyster boats just lined up when they should be harvesting seafood.”

While there is a great need for back-to-school supplies in Houma, there are thousands of homeless children in Central Florida who cannot afford back-to-school supplies. To help meet this need, Northland’s backpack drive will also benefit several local organizations:

– A Gift for Teaching, an organization that works within Seminole County
Public Schools to provide kids and teachers with supplies throughout
the entire year
– Christian HELP, which provides for the vocational, material and
spiritual needs of those who are unemployed
– Harvest Time, a hunger and disaster relief organization meeting the
needs of families

Backpacks are needed for grade school, middle school and high school students. Individuals may choose to fill a backpack with supplies, or just donate supplies or backpacks. Donations can be dropped off at Northland’s Welcome Center in Longwood through Aug. 2.

ABOUT NORTHLAND

Northland, A Church Distributed (http://www.northlandchurch.net/) is a pioneering congregation of 12,000 led by senior pastor Dr. Joel C. Hunter. Focused on building an international community of worshipers, the church connects thousands of believers worldwide, using live, interactive weekly worship streaming through the Web, Facebook, iPhone and other environments. Northland has several sites throughout Central Florida, as well many house churches and partner ministries around the globe.

“Many of these people were suffering a disaster before the disaster,” [...]]]> WASHINGTON /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Bread for the World is urging leaders and experts not to forget hungry and poor people who are being impacted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as British Petroleum begins compensating workers and businesses affected by the company’s leaking oil well.

“Many of these people were suffering a disaster before the disaster,” said Rev. David Beckmann, World Food Prize Laureate and president of Bread for the World. “There is no doubt that the Gulf oil spill will have untold costs for the hungry and poor people in that region.”

The coastal counties under the greatest threat in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are among the poorest in the country. In those counties, about one in four children participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). Mississippi has the highest rate of hunger and food insecurity in the country.

Along with high unemployment, an increasing number of the region’s low-income workers are likely to face cutbacks in their hours because of the oil spill’s economic impact.

“The situation in the Gulf should compel Congress to redouble efforts to strengthen tax credits for the working poor and fund the needed increase for the child nutrition programs,” said Beckmann. “Now more than ever we must not forget that there are extremely poor people in this Gulf region who are being made even worse off by this environmental and economic crisis.”

Rev. Beckmann was recently named a 2010 World Food Prize Laureate — the Nobel Prize equivalent for food and agriculture — for his efforts to end hunger and poverty for millions of people around the world.

Bread for the World (www.bread.org) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

The children in this photo are students in a Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center. Flood waters still surround their home after more than a week.

was alone, working on a farm in a neighboring village while his [...]]]> CARROLLTON, Texas /Christian Newswire/ — Dinanath Rangan, 50, watched as the rain kept pouring down. He

The children in this photo are students in a Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center. Flood waters still surround their home after more than a week.

was alone, working on a farm in a neighboring village while his wife and two children stayed at home. For two days, the waters wouldn’t stop. When he discovered that the river that flowed through his home village had breached an embankment, he rushed home, but by the time he reached his village, his house was underwater.

Frantically looking for help, he managed to find a small, hand-crafted boat. He climbed in and started rowing toward his house. But the strong current beat against his tiny boat until it capsized, and Dinanath lost his life in the flood waters.

When GFA relief workers arrived in the area with aid, they met Dinanath’s widow. Constant tears flowed down her cheeks as she received the relief materials. “Thank you,” was all she could say.

GFA relief teams had stepped in when government workers weren’t able to reach the area where Dinanath’s widow resided.

“It was one village where we could not supply any help yet,” a local government official said. “I appreciate [them] for coming forward to lend a hand of help and for supplying essential commodities to people who have lost everything.”

So far GFA relief teams have helped thousands of families in the flooded Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka by supplying items like blankets, bed sheets, cooking utensils and towels. As the water recedes, the workers will stay on to rehabilitate and rebuild damaged homes.

“Ministering to the survivors of these catastrophic floods is a privilege that God has given us. Right now they need food, water, clean clothing and basic household utensils, which we are already providing,” said GFA President, K.P. Yohannan. “We also know that when the water completely recedes they will need help rebuilding their lives. That’s why we will be in these affected areas for the long-term to help them clean up or, in some cases, completely rebuild, their homes. We want to replace the livestock that was killed in the flood. We want to help them restore their lives.”

In the meantime, GFA Compassion Services teams continue ministering to the immediate needs of the people caught in this unusual flooding situation.

Tanmay’s family was one of many that received aid. After the floods covered his four acres of land and swept away everything he had, including crops, buffalo, cows and chickens, he and his family took shelter in a relief center opened by the government.

GFA-supported missionaries visited the relief camp and gave Tanmay and the other refugees blankets and household utensils.

“They had come to the relief camp virtually empty handed, and they were so grateful for the help we gave them,” said a GFA field correspondent.

Fulfilling a Need

Besides food to eat and clean water to drink, victims of the floods were in desperate need of clothing and blankets to shield them from cold nights and ravenous mosquitoes. GFA relief teams have distributed clothing to about 2,475 people in Andhra Pradesh.

Santosh was a fisherman who lost his entire household and possessions in the rising flood waters. He was left with nothing until GFA relief workers helped him.

“Others gave us food and water, but you are the first person who helped us with clothes,” Santosh said.

In one village in Andhra Pradesh, waters rose to 15 feet, collapsing 15 houses. Villagers fled to a government-operated relief camp, leaving everything behind.

GFA relief teams gave clothing to 250 families in that village.

“We had many sleepless nights due to cold and mosquitoes, and we had nothing to cover our bodies,” one survivor said. “Now, God has sent you to provide our needs. You Christians are good and help all people without partiality.”

The waters in another village of Andhra Pradesh rose to six feet. When the waters entered GFA-supported missionary Kundir Rao’s church, he climbed on the roof and was stuck there for three days without any food or water.

When GFA relief workers arrived, Kundir received food and another 180 people received relief materials. The residents of Kundir’s village welcomed the workers and thanked them for their help.

“Many gave us food, but you came from a far distance and gave us clothes,” the villagers said. “This is the first time we received clothes. We are so thankful for your kind help in our time of need.”

“God Sent His People to Help Us”

People fled their villages completely empty handed. Now, as they slowly begin to return to what used to be their homes, they take with them the materials given them by GFA relief workers—and a new understanding of the love of Christ.

“It is God who sent you to us,” said a survivor. “Now, if we have to go back to our home, there is nothing except what you gave.”

GFA relief workers are working around the clock to care for these men, women and children.

At 1:30 a.m., as one team traveled to the home of a local pastor, they spotted people sleeping on the roadside without blankets. The group stopped their journey and handed out blankets, clothing and towels. The distribution lasted until 3:30 a.m.

“At this midnight [in our lives], God sent His people to help us,” said one recipient.

Gospel for Asia continues to provide relief to those suffering from the devastation of the floods that hit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, India. It is estimated that a total of 10,000 families have been given aid through GFA, and the number is growing each day.

GFA relief teams stand ready to extend physical help and also share the Good News found in Jesus Christ to the ones in need. One GFA worker summed it up as he helped a survivor.

“We are here to help you,” he said.

“We are not waiting for sunrise,” says Fe Olonan, World Vision programme manager in Northern Luzon. “We will begin distributing rice and other food, as well as candles, in the next [...]]]> ISABELA PROVINCE, Philippines /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — World Vision will begin relief operations this evening in Isabela Province, one of the areas wracked by Typhoon Parma.

“We are not waiting for sunrise,” says Fe Olonan, World Vision programme manager in Northern Luzon. “We will begin distributing rice and other food, as well as candles, in the next few hours.”

Some 200 families in Isabela had been evacuated Friday night in preparation of Typhoon Parma. The typhoon, however, changed its course and speed and made landfall in Cagayan Saturday around 3 pm (local time). Olonan said that much more assistance will be needed in Cagayan, a nearby province four hours’ drive from Isabela. World Vision staff have also reported that Cagayan’s capital, Tuguegarao, is being hit hard by Parma’s severe winds, with gusts of 204 kilometers per hour (167 mph). Roofs are being blown off homes and other buildings.

“We also are worried about the flooding in low-lying areas alongside the Cagayan River,” she said from Isabela. “World Vision has pre-positioned 350 sacks of rice in Cagayan for possible relief distribution. Additional food items will be provided by the local government. However, as of this time, we have no means to say if the supplies are enough.”

According to Olonan, it is currently impossible to assess the needs and extent of damage in Cagayan. “Assessments will be conducted as soon as the weather calms down.”

There are 10 coastal municipalities in Cagayan Province, which, as of 2007, had a population exceeding 10 million. World Vision is also concerned about the long-term recovery for survivors of Parma and Typhoon Ketsana, which slammed into the Island nation last Sunday. With extensive crop damage on farms, many livelihoods will be lost for several months and food will be at a premium. In Manila, survivors of Typhoon Ketsana said the cost of some food had doubled. Six days after Ketsana struck, some communities around Manila remain submerged in waist-deep water. Moreover, the presence of stagnant water raises concerns about waterborne diseases.

Meanwhile, World Vision is monitoring the path of Typhoon Parma and is launching preparations for a possible relief response in Taiwan. The relief organization has already pre-positioned supplies and staff in rural areas of southern Taiwan, especially in places previously affected by Typhoon Morakot. In some villages, World Vision has prepared up to two weeks worth of supplies, such as clean water, food, and gas for electric generators.

World Vision has been actively responding to the devastation from earlier Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines, in most affected areas of Manila where thousands of families were submerged in the recent flood. The organization is delivering aid to 20,000 families in Marikina, Cainta, Pasig and Rizal and also opening Child-Friendly Spaces and a medical mission.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Click here to Donate to World Vision Flood relief efforts.

A missionary serving in the area is reporting: “Our church family came through fine, though our church did suffer some serious cosmetic damage to the face of the building from the wind. They are saying that this was a 50 year typhoon. It was not the strongest typhoon in strength, but it did more damage to the southern end of Taiwan (where we are) than any typhoon in the last 50 years. It basically camped on top of us for more than 48 hours before finally moving on. Very powerful sustained winds and torrential rains brought trees down everywhere and some areas have had severe flooding.

Needed Prayer

We just heard the news report about a remote mountain village in our own county which had its communications cut off by the storm. Today, a day after the storm, when some one finally went out to check on them they discovered that the whole village had simply been wiped away by landslides and flooding and not a single person remained. The death toll could top 800 people.

Please keep us in your prayers as our church is experiencing an amazing growth spurt and tremendous spiritual blessings. But the pressures are great on our family and team as we try to train workers to help carry the load of ministry.”

Relief Organization on the Ground in Taiwan

World Vision is responding with help to the victims.

From their website:  In the wake of Typhoon Morakot, World Vision is providing food, clean water, and cleaning materials to affected households in southern Taiwan.

“The most pressing needs now are providing shelter, food, and clean water for those who have had to evacuate their homes,” says Hank Du, executive director for World Vision in Taiwan. “We also want to make sure the children are secure and have a safe place where they are cared for.”

Click here to donate to World Vision’s Emergency Relief Fund

Related Links:

• Big Picture: Taiwan Typhoon Pictures
• Taipei Times: Downpour continues to pummel south
• New York Times: Taiwan Mudslide May Have Buried 600 Villagers
• New York Times Map to path of Morakot
• Google News Search