If you have never looked at the statistics on human trafficking then you may not be aware of how prevalent it has become. The stats are shocking and heartbreaking ... but there are people out there trying to make a difference.
For more information, visit www.theA21campaign.org. Please consider joining and downloading their prayer guide.
When it comes to helping feed the poor, I can get quite vocal. I know it and if you have read me for even a few months ... you know it too. Which is why I want to tell you about Angel Food Ministries.
Angel Food Ministries has been feeding families since 1994. They started feeding 34 families and now feed over 500,000 families across 35 states. Each month there is a different menu and a box consists of fresh and frozen items. The food is good. There are no out-dated boxed goods or produce that is almost too ripe. Typically, one box can feed a family of four for one week or a single senior for almost a month. A box just costs $30. There are also special boxes that can be purchased along with a regular box and they vary in cost (usually around $18 to $20+). There are no limits to how many boxes a person can buy. Plus, they also accept food stamps.
If you have a heart for feeding the poor, please look into donating to this wonderful ministry. You could also buy a box for a needy family in your community ... introducing them to Angel Food. :)
Even as you read this, persecuted Christians from around the world are gathering names and addresses from their local communities. These names are then submitted to Bibles Unbound where members have the opportunity to mail New Testaments in the appropriate language directly to the field. This unique program gives you the ability to stand alongside our persecuted brothers and sisters and help create a witness for Jesus Christ in hostile lands right from your own home.
For a donation of only $30.00 per month you will receive everything you need to mail 5 New Testaments to individuals in a Restricted Nation. Please consider joining today.
I don't know how many of you are aware of the true nature of our prison system. Most of us don't think about such things. Criminals are people we don't want around. We tell judges to lock them up and throw away the keys. We support excessive sentencing for minor crimes. We fill our prisons with drug addicts until they are overflowing and we don't know what to do with the real criminals.
We don't think about how many of our inmates are raped in prison ... let alone how many are murdered. We don't consider the impact prison will have on a young man who has never really known life. We don't consider the impact of spending years behind steel and concrete, surrounded by nothing but men and the pornography that is distributed, will have on a man's psyche ... let alone his sexuality and what deviance will come into play before he is released.
And, on top of everything else ... we don't consider the role God can play in the lives of our inmates. How He can lift these men and women up and show them a better way and a better life. We don't think about how He can restore the dark places in a man's mind and heart. We don't think about the impact He can have on a person and how He can transform them.
The people at Prison Fellowship do. They know how the Gospel can transform prisoners and their families. And, while they have been working each year to spread the Good News throughout our prisons ... a federal judge ruled this month that the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, a prison program they helped launch, is unconstitutional and must be shut down. They are appealing this decision and will fight all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
They need our support. And, right now ... a good friend of their ministry is matching every gift they receive to help them meet their Fiscal Year End budget. Up to $500,000! That means that any gift you give today will be doubled, going twice as far to bring the Good News of the Gospel to prisoners everywhere. On June 30, their fiscal year comes to an end. So, if you can, please give today. There isn't much time left.
A commenter left a link to the news that Andrea Clark has passed away. Her family was by her side and had this to say ...
Andrea passed away peacefully a little before 3pm today, with her family and her friends at her bedside. We love her so very much and we are going to miss her terribly. We hope that the battle that we fought for our sister will bring to light and bear witness to the horrible acts committed in the name of ethics in hospitals across the state of Texas.
Click here to read the rest. It is powerful and speaks volumes.
Related:
Update: St. Luke’s, in their eagerness to escape continued bad publicity, have offered to pay for Andrea to transfer to a hospital that is willing to take her. Praise God!
Let's call a spade a spade. When an insurance company pressures doctors to remove life support from a patient and those doctors take a meeting and decide that life support will be removed ... against the patient's wishes ... it is murder. When they pull that plug, they will be committing murder ... plain and simple.
This is not a family affair. This is not one side of a family wanting to keep their loved one on life support while the other contests that is not their wish. This is a woman who has made it clear that she does not want to die and wishes to remain on life support and Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn't want to foot the bill. Well, I am sorry, that is what Andrea Clark paid all those premiums for every month ... for them to foot the bill.
I am not going to ask where are all the Pro-Life Republicans. I am not going to ask where are all the Pro-Life Democrats. I am not going to ask where are all the Pro-Choice Republicans and Democrats. I am going to ask where are all the compassionate human beings that inhabit this planet and why aren't they throwing a collective hissy fit!? I am going to ask why isn't the media all over this? I am going to ask why am I not hearing about this all day and night on my TV set?
Other bloggers blogging:
Special thanks to Laura from Pursuing Holiness for bringing this to my attention. Go check out her post that has a lot of contact information on what you can do on behalf of Andrea and her family.
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is an interfaith membership organization whose mission is to educate and mobilize faith communities to act to abolish the death penalty in the United States. PFADP relies on its members for support. Annual membership rates are: $25/individual, $40/household, and $100/congregation, or whatever amount is affordable. Checks are acceptable or you can donate securely online at www.pfadp.org.
If you are not a member, please consider joining today.
Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr announced the the creation of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
While visiting with hundreds of hurricane refugees, many statements were made by both men, but I agree with this the most ...
Clinton said he thinks the federal government's response to the tragedy should be examined. But for now, he said, the focus should be on helping the refugees restart their lives."There is still a lot of anger. There is still a lot of confusion, but I don't think we should be surprised," Clinton said. "These people lost everything and the experience they had in the Superdome or the convention center was horrible."
Via CNN.
A hotline has been established to report missing persons who have been lost due to Hurricane Katrina. Call 1-888-544-5475.
If you are looking for places that need your donations, see this post.
Don't forget that there are thousands of animals that are in need of care while they await being reunited with their owners. See this post for more information.
Also, this post has a lot of information on housing, donation drives, finding lost loved ones, etc.
I just got this email ...
Hurricane Katrina's toll on communities, homes and lives has devastated the nation. Now victims must face the daunting question of where to go next-and we can help.Tens of thousands of newly homeless families are being bused to a stadium in Houston, where they may wait for weeks or months. At least 80,000 are competing for area shelters, and countless more are in motels, cars, or wherever they can stay out of the elements. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are scrambling to find shelter for the displaced.
This morning, we've launched an emergency national housing drive to connect your empty beds with hurricane victims who desperately need a place to wait out the storm. You can post your offer of housing (a spare room, extra bed, even a decent couch) and search for available housing online at:
http://www.hurricanehousing.org
Housing is most urgently needed within reasonable driving distance (about 300 miles) of the affected areas in the Southeast, especially New Orleans.
Please forward this message to anyone you know in the region who might be able to help.
But no matter where you live, your housing could still make a world of difference to a person or family in need, so please offer what you can.
The process is simple:
- You can sign up to become a host by posting a description of whatever housing you have available, along with contact information. You can change or remove your offer at any time.
- Hurricane victims, local and national relief organizations, friends and relatives can search the site for housing. We'll do everything we can to get your offers where they are needed most. Many shelters actually already have Internet access, but folks without 'net access can still make use of the site through case workers and family members.
- Hurricane victims or relief agencies will contact hosts and together decide if it's a good match and make the necessary travel arrangements. The host's address is not released until a particular match is agreed on.
I have compiled a list at this post for donations of money, food, and time. And, don't forget the animals that are without their families as well. American Humane's Animal Emergency Services is doing everything they can to treat these animals and reunite them with their families.
Update: Over at ISOU, a commenter noted that the Liberal Blogs for Hurricane Relief has been set up as well.
Update II: For those looking for loved ones here is some resources I found ...
- Survivor Connector Database
- Craig's List
- WWLTV Forum - post here if you are looking for someone.
- Check WWLTV - see if your loved one has posted saying they are ok.
- Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network - Your inquiry will be sent to the disaster area, where SATERN personnel will attempt to locate the person or persons about whom you are inquiring
- Website for the New Orleans newspaper the Times Picayune - They have added a spot for people to text message; trapped people are emailing and text messaging for help. Also family members from around the country are posting with names and addresses for people to try and check on their families.
Via Tampa Bay's 10 News.
Update 9/5/05: A hotline has been established to report missing persons who have been lost due to Hurricane Katrina. Call 1-888-544-5475.
Help the animals that have fallen victim to Hurricane Katrina and so many other disasters. By making a contribution, you'll support American Humane's Animal Emergency Services volunteers as they rescue, treat, and care for these animals and reunite them with their families.
For donations made by mail, please send to:
American Humane Association
63 Inverness Drive East
Denver, CO 80112
To make a donation via the web, please click here.
Please pray for those suffering as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The devastation is unimaginable. People have lost their homes, their pets, their children, spouses ... everything they have.
If you want to help ...
 |
| Copyright © The Rogue Angel. 2003 & Beyond. All Rights Reserved. |
 |
 |
 |
 |