#GivingTuesday

Hey! Did you know today is #GivingTuesday. That's right. Following Gray Thursday and Black Friday November 27 has been dubbed #Giving Tuesday. It's a day for giving into our world to help--anyone.

Did you know that on November 7 there was a 7.5 Richter scale earthquake centered near San Marcos, Guatemala? Paul and Noe Crites are missionaries in San Cristobal, Guatemala. Paul made a trip to San Marcos and here's an excerpt:

I met with a government official this morning and learned that there are officially 32,797 houses damaged, 7,224 of those houses were completely destroyed, (about 10,000 more slated for demolition).  There are now 65 active refugee centers housing 6,174 people who lost their homes in the earthquake.  There are another 20,421 people left homeless but have chosen to live with family members until their homes are rebuilt.  These numbers are staggering.

The government was feverishly removing fallen buildings and rendering initial aid and distributing food and water.  What we saw was quite contrary to what the newspapers had us believe; everyone had housing (either in one of the 65 temporary refugee centers or absorbed by family), and everyone had food and clean water (mind boggling logistics), the electricity was restored and water was flowing, streets were cleared and engineers had searched and examined each building to determine which were safe and which they would demolish.  So, shelter was provided and food and water was abundant.

I was asked to join a newly formed reconstruction committee connecting churches and NGO's (non-governmental organizations or non-profits), with the government's efforts.  Korea, Venezuela, Israel and Uruguay have already pledged support in various forms to begin amassing materials for rapid construction housing but there was no plan on how to recruit, train, feed, train, mobilize or oversee volunteers for the actual construction of the housing.

How about giving to Guatemala today? If you wish to donate funds or ship materials, please contact paulcrites@gmail.com or  the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, AR at 501-268-4553.