Dear Friends,

Just when we thought we would be “locked out” of our “T” area of work until after the Olympics, Our Father in His unusual way has opened a door for us to have a significant impact in the neighboring prefecture through earthquake relief.  I arrived in Chengdu at 3 AM Monday and dove right in to the relief work.

Working In cooperation with the Red Cross, and my American cardiologist friend Dr. Robinson of Heart 2 Heart, we have organized a fleet of 4WD’s where we have shuttled supplies up to the earthquake area to bring relief, food, tents, medical supplies and workers who can bring hope to folks in desperately hopeless conditions.  We will work in the fringe villages just outside the center of devastation where not much attention is being  given by the incredible relief effort underway.

Scout teams returning from this weekend report some of these minority villages have two thirds of the buildings uninhabitable.  People are bundled together in the heavy rains, in streets and fields in makeshift lean-to tents with no work, limited supplies and very little  hope.  Kids have no schools to return to, and nothing to play with, the devastation is hard to imagine.  So we will bring the means to help restore some normalcy to life.  Teachers to work and play with the kids.  ”Instant kitchen” kits where they can begin to prepare family meals, and “oil & wine” to bring hope to the soul.

It will be months before their homes and work places are rebuilt, but we have unprecedented opportunity to develop lasting relationships with these villagers and meet real basic life-sustaining needs, while bringing the hope that will meet the most important eternal need.  You can partner with us by providing the funds needed to buy these kitchen kits, medical supplies and fuel to shuttle them up there, and causalities back to the city hospitals.  We have enough for a few runs, the more generous you are, the longer we can sustain this initiative.  All the workers, even our local partners are volunteers, so your gifts will go directly to meeting the needs of the villagers.  A “kitchen kit” with fuel for a month runs $67.  Imagine the gift of just being able to tell your surviving battered loved ones, tonight it’s not Ramen noodles again, mom is going to cook you a real meal.

Please lift up this operation, and if you can help financially too, send your deductible gift to REN Group, PO Box 65531, Va. Beach, VA 23467-5531  There have been hundreds of aftershocks and the area remains quite dangerous with mud slides and damaged dams.  Please pray for the team’s safety and effectiveness.

Next report will be about how our national friends are stepping up to be involved.  This is a seismic shift in mobilizing Kingdom resources.

Thank you for caring and praying,

Love

Frank & Selina