Joy To The World: Your Compassion At Work

Dear Friends, 
It’s that time of year again: in church, you hear words of hope and peace, comfort and joy. But outside of the sanctuary, life feels anything BUT peaceful. The traffic, the crowds, and the very long to-do list make for added stress in a time that is supposed to be about family and celebration. 

One of the things that can make the season feel hectic is the expectation of gift-giving. Many are feeling the final push to do last minute shopping, getting every item crossed off the list. 

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Here’s the good news-- whatever holiday stress might be pulling you in a hundred directions, and whatever gifts you may still need to find--you have already given the most important gift. Through your support of Week of Compassion this year, our wider Church has responded to needs around the world. Through your gifts to Week of Compassion, families find new opportunities; communities grow stronger; and there is much to celebrate. 

Look at the map below, and you’ll get a glimpse of the places where our Church has responded through Week of Compassion in 2019. You will see that the sheer number of responses is overwhelming; and you will see that they cover a wide geographical range, spanning many cultures, climates and types of terrain. 

What you may not be able to see on the map is the number of lives that have been transformed by this ministry--which is your ministry. What you may not quite be able to hear are the powerful stories of life, love and hope that people tell after having received support from Week of Compassion. 

In the past year, our Church has responded to flooding in the Midwest and drought in India; to families separated at the Southwest border and to families in refugee camps in the Middle East. Disciples presence has been known in agriculture projects from Central America to Africa. Women have been empowered through vocational opportunities from Haiti to Iraq, and children have received education from South America to Eastern Europe.

You’ve also given the gift of clean water to families in Indonesia as they recover from a devastating tsunami and to families in Mozambique following a terrible cyclone. Your gifts have gone to support mental health for survivors of wildfires in Northern California and for children traumatized by storms and displacement in South Texas. And you helped churches rebuild following a hurricane in Puerto Rico, and a tornado in Missouri. 

Through your compassion, you have given life and light in so many places, and transformed so many lives.  

In this season of joy, there is much to celebrate in work that we have already done, together. As many of us gather around tables this season with our loved ones, I am grateful for you and your partnership. I am grateful for the ways in which we create tables of peace and reconciliation all over the world, each and every day. There is much to celebrate, and there is much work ahead to do together. This season, and all through the year, know that together, our Church is bringing joy to the world.

With Gratitude,
Rev. Vy Nguyen
Executive Director

2019 RESPONSES
Alaska - Earthquake Response
Angola - Vocational Training
Arizona - Flood Relief
Arizona - Keeping Families and Children Together
Arkansas - Fire Relief
Bangladesh - Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience Building for the Rohingya Population and Host Communities in Cox’s Bazar
California - Storm Relief
California - Flood Relief
California (4) - Long-Term Fire Recovery
California - Storm Relief
California (2) - Wildfire Relief
Camoroon - Life-saving Assistance and Resilience-Building for IDPs in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon
Colorado - Storm Relief
Colorado - Wildfire Relief
Congo - Emergency Flood Relief
DR Congo - Emergency Ebola Response
Florida (3) - Hurricane Irma Long-Term Recovery
Florida - Hurricane Barry Relief
Florida - Hurricane Michael Long-term recovery
Gaza - Emergency Relief
Ghana - Girls Empowerment Club
Haiti - Earthquake Rebuilding of Schools
Honduras and Guatemala - Food Security and Risk Reduction support in Honduras, ffood security and nutrition support in Guatemala
Hungary - Refugee Support
Illinois - Tornado Long-Term Recovery
Illinois & Wisconsin - Tornado Long-Term Recovery
India - Drought Relief
Indiana - Relief
Indiana - Fire Relief
Iowa - Tornado Recovery
Japan - Typhoon Hagibis
Jordan, Iraq & Syria - Refugees Support
Jordan, Syria, Iraq Jordan - Syrian and Iraqi Refugees emerency support
Kansas - Refugee Fly in Support
Kansas - Tornado Relief
Kansas - Storm Relief
Kentucky - Hurricane Michael Relief
Kentucky - Fire Relief
Kenya - Flood Relief
Lake Chad Basin - Humanitarian Response
Lebanon - Syrian Refugee Support
Liberia and Sierra Leone - Youth Empowerment Program
Louisiana - Long-Term Flood Recovery
Louisiana - Hurricane Barry Relief
Missouri - Flood Mitigation and Relief
Missouri (5) - Flood Relief
Missouri (10) - Tornado Relief
Missouri - Tornado Relief - Food Supplies
Missouri (2) - Storm Relief
Missouri - Long-Term Flood Recovery
Mozambique (2) - Cyclone Relief
Mozambique - Cyclone Kenneth
Mozambique, Malawi & Zimbabwe - Cyclone Idai
Myanmar - Livelihood Support
Nebraska - Flood Relief
Nebraska (2) - Long term Flood Recovery
New York - Long-Term Hurricane Recovery
New York - Hurricanes Irma and Maria Long-Term Recovery, PR and USVI Hurricane Evacuees Living in New York
New York (2) - Hurricanes Irma and Maria Long-Tem Recovery
North Carolina - Hurricane Florence Long-Term recovery
North Carolina (5) - Hurricane Florence Long-Term recovery
North Carolina - Fire Relief
Ohio (3) - Tornado Relief
Ohio (2) -Flood Relief
Oklahoma - Fire Relief
Oklahoma - Flood Relief
Oklahoma - Storm Relief
Oklahoma - Wildfire Relief
Oregon - Flood Relief
Pakistan - Drought Relief
Palestine - Agricultural Support
Palestine Territory - Humanitarian Response
Phillipines - Typhoon Response
Phillipines - Earthquake Relief
Puerto Rico - Hurricane Maria Long-Term Recovery
Puerto Rico (2) - Hurricanes Irma and Maria Long-Term Recovery
Serbia, West Timor, Indonesia, Moldova, Republic of George, Bosnia -
Children and Education, Food and Nutritional Suport, Women Empowerment Support
Sierre Leone, South Africa, Middle East - Women
Empwerment Support, Livelihood support, Conflict resolution and Peace building
South Sudan - Response to Flooding Crisis
Syria - Emergency Winter Relief
Syria - Emergency Water Relief
Tanzania - Women Health Support
Tennessee (3) - Flood Relief
Tennessee - Food Security
Tennessee (2) - Storm Relief
Texas - Storm Relief
Texas - Flooding Recovery
Texas (3) - Tornado Relief
Texas - Hurricane Harvey
Texas (2) - Storm Relief
Texas - Hurricane Harvey Long-Term Recovery
Texas (7) - Tropical Storm Imelda Relief
Texas - Fire Relief
Texas - Hurricane Harvey Long-Term Recovery
Texas - Tropical Storm Imelda Long-Term Recovery
Venezuela - Clean Water
Vietnam - Improving Health through Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Zimbabwe - Cyclone Reliefs

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