Samaritan’s Purse Responds to North Carolina’s Flooded Communities with Much-Needed Disaster Aid
Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told CBN News that the disaster relief organization is already staged in some of North Carolina’s most flooded areas, including Wilmington, Jacksonville, and New Bern.
“For people who have been flooded, we’ll come in with a team of people and mud out their home,” he told CBN News. “They actually take the mud out of the house, wash the house and then take down the sheetrock that is wet. And expose the studding of the house so that we can spray it with bleach and then let the house dry out.”
Graham also called for volunteers “the spearhead” of the effort to bring aid to communities ravaged by Florence. The evangelist also explained how people affected by Florence can ask the Samaritan’s Purse organization directly for help. Read more and learn how to contribute to relief efforts HERE.
Homeless Youth to Receive Leadership, Self-Defense Skills at Covenant House Illinois
Chicago (CBS) As part of a new program designed to equip homeless youth with essential skills for survival on the streets, Covenant House Illinois is offering residents a chance to participate in self-defense classes and learn empowerment skills during a special workshop at the agency. The classes will be led by boxing champion Andre “Tank” Hart, who will be joined by Dan Bolden, owner of D&B Boxing and Fitness. The pair will share their experiences to youth who are experiencing homelessness.
According to Covenant House Illinois, more than 3,000 youth are homeless every night in the Chicago area. Those youth not only need the basics – food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare – the difficult reality is that they also need to know how to defend themselves when they don’t have a place to stay.
Covenant House offers that and so much more. The organization provides shelter and resources for 20-25 young people every day as well as “a safe and caring environment and access to food, showers, laundry services, computers, and beds for rest. In addition, through agreements with leading Chicago agencies, these young people can also have access to medical, mental health, substance abuse, and legal services on-site. Self-defense classes are merely an extension of what we already do.” Read the full article HERE.
Christian Charity Mercy Ships Teams up with WHO to Boost African Healthcare
Christian medical charity Mercy Ships has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen surgical care in Africa, reports Christianity Today. The agreement signed in Dakar, Senegal, aims to increase access to surgical care and build the capacity of health workers to strengthen surgical care delivery systems.
Mercy Ships operates the largest charity-run hospital ship in the world, delivering free, safe medical care to some of the world’s least-developed countries. The ‘floating hospital’ is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, who give their expertise for free to help treat dental and eye problems, cleft lips and palates, tumours, club feet, childbirth injuries, burns and various other conditions.
A report published in The Lancet earlier this year found that there is a severe lack of surgical provision in African countries: the number of operations provided annually was 20 times lower than the crucial surgical volume required to meet a country’s essential surgical needs each year. Mercy Ships’ International Chief Medical Officer, Dr Peter Linz, said: “The solution to this daunting and complex problem will require hard work and collaboration from all stakeholders. We are hopeful that our formal collaboration with WHO will be one of those pillars in strengthening access to surgical care across Africa.” Read the full article HERE.
Hillsong Church to Become its Own Denomination
Hillsong Church has split from Australia’s leading Pentecostal denomination to become a denomination of its own, reports CBN. According to Senior Global Pastor Brian Houston, the reason for the transition is that the church has simply become too big. From day one, Hillsong has been a member of Australian Christian Churches (ACC), a branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. However, Hillsong’s influence has grown exponentially and is no longer an exclusively Australian church.
“As Hillsong Church has continued to grow, we no longer see ourselves as an Australian Church with a global footprint, but rather a global church with an Australian base – our global office now resides in the USA. Two-thirds of the people attending Hillsong Church each weekend live in countries beyond Australia,” Houston wrote in a recent letter to the ACC. Today, Hillsong Church is in 24 nations with 123 different campuses and locations. Read the full article HERE.
NFL Players Run Drills with Detroit Kids who Have Parents in Prison
Detroit Lions linebacker Trevor Bates, 25, was once a kid growing up with a dad in prison. On Saturday, he stepped onto a field — in a park on Detroit’s east side — to help some kids in similar circumstances.
Boys and girls age 7 to 14 ran drills, threw passes, and received mentoring from professional athletes at Balduck Park through the Angel Tree Sports Clinic run by Prison Fellowship, a Christian nonprofit founded by Chuck Colson that supports prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. That same nonprofit once helped Bates’ family, making it possible for his dad to send presents through its Angel Tree Christmas Program.
The pro football player, who grew up in Maine, told the Detroit Free Press this is “something that hits home to the heart,” and it was great just talking to some of the kids and offering encouragement. Bates said he just wanted them to know that an NFL player went through the same things they’re going through, the same kind of circumstances, same hardships, same difficulties, and that he was still able to chase his dreams. Read the full article HERE.
