“Give thanks to the Lord. Call on His name, make known among the nations what He has done.” - Psalm 105:1
“We are so excited to report that $32,539 through Children of Promise has been raised for The Philippines Disaster Fund. Children of Promise wired $24,000 and Church of God Ministries wired $5,000 this week to assist in The Philippines disaster and relief,” shared Dr. Paul Maxfield, executive director of Children of Promise from Paraguay where he is on a four-country junket to visit the children.
“Suffice it to say, the damages from both typhoons will far exceed the initial gift of $30,000. We are hoping that our sponsors and their respective churches will participate in raising more funds for this great need. One-hundred percent of funds raised for this disaster goes directly to
The Philippines; we retain no funds in our office,” concluded Dr. Maxfield.
According to Rev. Arnetta McNeese Bailey’s office, executive director of Women of the Church of God, local members of Women of the Church of God are being encouraged to make donations to Children of Promise.
Funds raised by Children of Promise must be used for sponsored children and their families; this aid may be in the form of foods, medicines, clothing, household products, and repair to homes. The Grace Family Helper Project (Children of Promise in The Philippines) staff has begun administering relief and aid to sponsored children and their families. Funds raised by Church of God Ministries may be used for relief and repair of church families and facilities,
respectively.
Nearly all 731 Grace Family Helper Project (Children of Promise) sponsored children in The Philippines have now been affected by Typhoon Ketsana and Typhoon Parma.
“Grace Family Helper Project staff has been forced to distribute aid from the back of their vehicle. When they arrive at a sponsored child’s home, many people gather, hoping for some aid also. The Project staff invites the child and parent to step into the van so they can receive the aid they need.
Obviously, there are more needs than resources at this point. We pray that the Church of God in the United States will be compelled to give financially. This is critical
since many normal aid organizations have not been able to raise enough funds to meet this need, now estimated to be $350 million,” explained Maxfield.
Over 80% of Manila was flooded when Ketsana dumped a month’s worth of rain in less than 10 hours. One week later (Oct. 3), Parma swept over the northern part of Luzon, the main island. That storm went out to sea only to return on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 7 & 8, drenching the northern area with so much water that it triggered numerous landslides and forced the opening of two dams.
Nationally, more than 660 people have lost their lives, close to 100 people are missing, and over 45,129 families are staying in 443 evacuation centers. Over four million people were affected by Ketsana and over two and one-half million people were affected by Parma according to various news reports. The Grace Family Helper Project staff has been working night and day to assess the needs of each of the sponsored children and distribute emergency aid. They have found that traveling into some parts of Manila and the northern part of Luzon Island, the main island, is proving to be quite a challenge.
Suggestions for Giving:
- Help lead your church with a special offering for Children of Promise. Share stories and letters from your sponsored child and show pictures with those who don’t know about Children of Promise. Enlist the help of your youth group and children’s ministries as well as your mission’s group and women’s ministries.
- Donations may be made through Children of Promise in the following ways:
a. Check sent to P. O. Box 2316, Anderson, IN 46018 indicating emergency relief for The
Philippines.
b. Credit or debit card donation over the website: go to www.echildrenofpromise.org, click on the button that says "Donate Online" and fill out the form and submit. Under Fund, select Emergency Fund, and in the comment box, write “Emergency relief for The
Philippines.”
c. Credit or debit card donations will also be accepted over the phone in our office:
Phones: 1-800-848-2464 (ext. 2190) or 1-765-648-2190
Please join us in praying for and assisting the people of The Philippines. As information arrives, periodic updates will be posted in the news section of the website:
www.echildrenofpromise.org