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December 5, 2003: Virtually every municipality in Puerto Rico suffered flood damage during November storms. Crops and homes along the south and northeast coastlines took the hardest hit. Compounding the effects of multiple storms is the nearly 20% unemployment rate in the affected districts. Odette, a rare post-season tropical storm, formed in the Caribbean on Thursday. In the newest storm's path are also villages in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. With a generous gift to Hurricanes 2003 Advance #982438, you can participate in recovery efforts.
As Santa Ana winds blow ash throughout California's burned areas, residents face the choice of staying indoors or using protective masks if they have to go outside. Authorities urged vulnerable people-- including children and anyone with asthma-- to avoid outdoor activity altogether. Thousands of families lost their homes and possessions in blazes that covered 750,000 acres. Mudslides threaten additional destruction. You can help special populations that need assistance beyond what the federal government can provide. Please give generously UMCOR Advance for Domestic Disaster Response #901670. Designate your gift for "California Wildfires."
The 2003 hurricane season may have set a record for numbers of tropical storms, according to a national weather bureau report. The long, unglamorous recovery continues in affected areas of the Atlantic seaboard. If your church group can donate flood buckets-- supplies volunteers use to clean flood-damaged sites-- you can find the specifications on the website. Visit online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm. If you can participate directly in cleanup efforts, please call the UMCOR Volunteer Hotline, 1-800-918-3100. UMCOR is also grateful for generous donations to Hurricanes 2003 Advance #982438 that will fund long-term assistance for the most vulnerable people in the affected areas.
With no political solution in sight, the suffering in the Holy Land continues. Many families in the city of Bethlehem, with its 60% unemployment levels and continued travel restrictions, are considering abandoning their ancestral homes and lands. For the holidays the Shepherd Society and Bethlehem Bible College are offering hope and comfort to 500 families and individuals in Bethlehem by handing out food baskets at Christmas. These will not only provide needed food but will help recipients know that they have not been forgotten by their sisters and brothers in the church overseas. The cost of one basket is $50 and a Christmas message will be included in each. Please help provide a family in Bethlehem with a Christmas basket by giving to Middle East Emergency Advance #601740-- and designate "Christmas Food Basket."
As a way of focusing on the real meaning of Christmas and countering the marketing blizzard of the holiday season, order Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?, an Advent and Christmas resource for families and churches. . The resources in the booklet provide an especially good way to help children understand the real meaning of Christmas. Included also is "UMCOR's Christmas Wish List," which puts some of our ongoing programs into "gift" sizes for anyone's budget. Order the catalog by calling 1-800-305-9857. Additional resources are online 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.
