September 12, 2003: In Liberia persistent clashes keep the countryside outside Monrovia unstable. But UMCOR aid workers have returned to the capital city. UMCOR currently partners with the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, to distribute food. Also we are working with other humanitarian agencies to remove sludge from latrines in highly populated temporary shelters around Monrovia. You can bring hope to Liberians and join in relief efforts by giving to the Liberia Emergency Advance #150300.
Northeast of Monrovia, the Ganta United Methodist Hospital lies in ruins, shot up and looted by government and rebel forces. United Methodist workers, redeployed to refugee camps across the river in Guinea, have made fact-finding trips to assess damage. You can help to revive the most basic human services in the Ganta area through your gift to Ganta Hospital Emergency Advance #150385. Thank you for your generosity.
Heavy rainfall in Orissa State, India, has driven 6,000 persons to cyclone shelters built there by UMCOR and its partner CASA-- Christian Auxiliary for Social Action. UMCOR is providing a grant to distribute food, medicine, sheets and other supplies in the Chhattisgarh and Hirakud Dam areas. Join in these relief efforts with your contribution to South Asia Emergency Advance #274305.
UMCOR is closely monitoring the path of powerful Hurricane Isabel. A five-day forecast posted Thursday predicts the eye will veer to the east of the Bahamas by early next week. Please pray for all persons who live in the path of the storm. Your generous gift to Hurricanes 2003 Advance #982438 will help provide emergency disaster relief to the most vulnerable victims of storm damage.
In Bermuda earlier this week, winds from Hurricane Fabian tore down part of the airport' s causeway wall and rains caused flooding around the island in the worst storm in 50 years. UMCOR has provided an emergency grant to assist with clearing roads and replacing roofs. You can help by designating a donation to Hurricanes 2003 Advance #982438.
To enrich the meaning of the upcoming holiday season in your family-- and to show your concern for the whole family of God-- order Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? This free booklet provides ideas for a Christ-centered holiday and offers some especially good ways to help children understand the real meaning of Christmas. Look for "UMCOR's Christmas Wish List," which puts some of our ongoing programs into "gift" sizes for anyone's budget. To order the catalog (free; you pay only postage and handling) call 1-800-305-9857. Or visit us online to see additional resources at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/whose.stm.
UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.
And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.
