Blessed To Be A Blessing

Last week at this time most of us were stepping outside breathing a sigh of relief that we were spared the worst of the hurricane. At the same time, as reports began to come in from the south, our hearts began to sink as we saw the devastation of friends and family who weathered the worst of the storm. 

We were blessed. Now we can be a blessing!

On Sunday, we received a special offering for Hurricane Ian relief and our church responded so graciously giving over $13,000 towards the effort! The church matched that contribution and has made $25,000 available towards Hurricane Ian relief efforts.

There are several places that we have already been in contact with that we can immediately begin distributing funds and items to. One of the places we are sending funds to is Chokoloskee Church of God on Chokoloskee Island where our former children’s pastors, Jesse and Charity Wilson, are lead pastors. Their church suffered flood damage as well as their parsonage. They are in the midst of recovery and clean up as well as helping their community. Another organization is Convoy of Hope, which has established an operation center at First Assembly of God in Fort Myers. Operation Blessing is another ministry that has set up relief efforts at Calvary Assembly of God in Port Charlotte. As you are reading this email, we have a preliminary team that is on their way down to Fort Myers to partner with Convoy of Hope. I know this will be the first of many trips of people from our church and community to bring hope and a helping hand to a hurting community. We’d also like to put together a team to go to Chokoloskee Island to partner alongside Jesse and Charity to reach out to their community, as well as to help with some of the rebuilding.

For most of us, this week is routine and normal. However, that’s not the case for the homes and families just an hour and a half south of us. You can play a significant role in helping them rebuild their lives. There are three tangible ways you can help: 

• 1). You can give to our relief fund. Every dollar will be given directly to relief efforts through our partners that we’ve established. If you choose to give on the Church Center app or use a tithing envelope, please make sure to mark it “Hurricane Ian Relief”.
• 2). You can donate items. We are collecting physical items that our teams can deliver on location. Some of the items needed are tarps, towels, sheets, air mattresses, pillows, baby formula and diapers, personal hygiene supplies of toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, deodorant, wipes, non-perishable food, water, Gatorade, cleaning supplies, trash bags, first aid supplies, batteries, flashlights, battery and cell phone chargers, portable fans, blue tarps, tools, paper towels and toilet paper. 
• 3). You can volunteer to go with the team. We have a form that you can sign up on. We will make you aware of when trips are going out. Also, if you have time and would like to go on your own, we have contacts that we can put you in touch with to go and lend a helping hand even if it’s just for a day.

Grace World, we were very blessed and now we can truly be a blessing. I’m overwhelmed with your generosity and your heart. There truly is no place like Grace! It’s an honor to serve with you.