How you can help Haiti

This is Allen's post on the NL blog:

By now, you have probably heard about the massive 7.3 earthquake that struck Haiti two days ago. If not, here is a news brief from the New York Times on the event and the country:

“On Jan. 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, devastating its capital. Thousands of people were feared dead. The recent earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, brought even more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere’s poorest and most disaster-prone.

Haiti occupies an area roughly the size of Maryland on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Nearly all of the 8.7 million residents are of African descent and speak Creole and French. The capital is Port-au-Prince.

The country is, by a significant margin, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, with four out of five people living in poverty and more than half in abject poverty. Deforestation and over-farming have left much of Haiti eroded and barren, undermining subsistence farming efforts, driving up food prices and leaving the country even more vulnerable to natural disasters. Its long history of political instability and corruption has added to the turmoil.”

Please be in prayer for the country’s leadership, the believers there, and for the many aid workers already there or leaving to help. We would also urge you to consider donating by purchasing a Help Haiti t-shirt (take a look here). The shirts are $25 each, and 100% of the proceeds go toward Haiti disaster relief through Real Hope for Haiti, Compassion International, and Heartline.

New Life will be placing a bulk order for these t-shirts on Friday. To place your order through New Life, please email Allen by 12 pm CST on Friday with the number of t-shirts you would like and the sizes you need. Then bring your payment to worship on Sunday evening (make checks payable to New Life with “Help Haiti” on the memo line). One of our members has volunteered to bring the shirts to College Station next weekend so we will not have to pay any shipping charges.

For friends of New Life that live outside of College Station, you may order your shirt directly through Aaron Ivey’s website, and the shirt will be shipped to your address in 3–7 days. Shipping charges will apply to orders placed through Ivey’s site.

Thank you for praying or donating to help these hurting people.

Here's a few more ways to help on Justin Taylor's blog, as well.

Praying through this

Thinking beyond myself

{for today}