Hurricane Dorian Relief for the Bahamas
On Sunday, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm and lingered over the islands for days.
The hurricane left residents in the most damaged islands without jobs or places to live, but it has also stripped away the services required to meet their most immediate needs like fresh water, food, or medical care. Current estimates say that among the hundreds of thousands impacted, there are currently around 70,000 people in need of lifesaving aid.
The need is massive, so what are we to do?
Jesus actually gave us the answer. In Matthew Chapter 22, someone asked Jesus if he could sum up the Bible—if there’s a CliffsNotes version on how to live the lives we ought to live. And Jesus said that, actually, there is.
“Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”
Jesus said that this is what you head toward, this is the direction, this is the bullseye of life. So if you are looking for a way to make any decision, a good thing to do is ask, “Does this get me closer to or further from the bullseye?”
Love God, love your neighbor.
And so to live as we ought, to imitate Christ in his love, to be a community that follows Jesus, it takes looking out to the needs around us and being willing to sacrifice to help. As Leith Anderson says in his book The Jesus Revolution, “to lack compassion and action towards those who are needy is to lack loyalty to Jesus and his teaching.” And it is unloving. And it misses the bullseye of life.
The Bahamas are 200 miles from Orlando. These are our neighbors. And we should love our neighbors.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis recently said in a news conference regarding the aid effort that “more help is on the way.”
Let’s be that help.
Our friends at The Kingdom Church are working with connections they know in the Bahamas to get supplies and necessary items to the islands. These are direct family connections with leaders in the community on two hardest hit islands, so these supplies will go directly to the people who need them. If you have leftover hurricane supplies or any of these items you’d be willing to donate, bring them to your Summit campus beginning this Sunday, September 8th. We are collecting items from now until Sunday, September 15th.
Generators
Extension cords
Batteries
Solar-powered phone chargers
Phone battery packs
Work gloves
Gas cans
Duct tape
Tarps
Battery operated fans
Flashlights
Camping lights (solar and battery powered)
Bug spray
Mosquito nets
Unused blankets
Cleaning supplies
Trash bags
Hygiene products
Baby supplies
Pet food
Disinfecting wipes
Sunscreen
First-aid supplies
Inflatable air mattresses
Non-perishable food items
Another way to help is by donating financially through Charity Navigator.
Thank you for any amount and kind of help you’re able to give. Join us in continuing to pray for those in the Bahamas both affected by the storm and those bringing aid to them.