Way to go church! You served 1,600 families over 16,000 meals this Holiday Season. Jesus is proud. Next year let’s shoot for 20,000!

$45,000 that’s how much you (The Church of Living Water) have contributed to help feed families in Thurston County.

I’m amazed…

We all recognize that many people are struggling financially.  In lots of homes incomes are down if not gone.  Many Christmas trees will be sparse.  Most people are saving every penny, cutting every corner…

But you, my amazing church family – you are generous!

The need is even greater that what we have received so far.  There are some who haven’t given anything at all.  Please consider being generous, every gift makes a difference in someones life.

If you could see the faces of the people who receive your gifts you wouldn’t regret being generous, I promise.

Thank you church, there is more to do!  I’m so proud of you.

Pastor Jon

[youversion]Proverbs 28:27 (ESV)[/youversion]

Whoever gives to the poor will not want,

but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

In response to the disaster in Haiti, this is what the Living Water family is doing.  Please pray with me for the tens of thousands who have been displaced and devastated.  

Living Water cares about the 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti on January 12^th. Our hearts go out to the Haitian people affected by this tragedy. As a church we encourage you to respond to this situation in the following ways:

• Pray for Haiti using these prayer points.
• Participate in the Living Water Haiti Relief Offering or give a special gift in a regular offering.
• Consider going to Haiti with Living Water's Relief Team.
• Check out the Foursquare Missions (FMI) webpage for news about
  Foursquare relief efforts and Foursquare missionaries in Haiti and the surrounding areas.
• Pray for Living Water Missionaries to the Dominican Republic Rich and Kirsten Root.

Prayer Points

• Pray for the people of Haiti as they deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, ask the Lord to comfort those who are injured and mourning.
• Pray for rescue efforts to find survivors trapped in destroyed buildings and for communication links and power supplies to be restored quickly.
• Pray that the country of Haiti would have a receptiveness to the message of the Gospel in the midst of this tragedy.
• Pray for the relief efforts of the Foursquare family and the Foursquare missionaries in the area that they would have wisdom to know how to minister to those around them.
• Pray for a swift and generous response from the international community to help this disaster-prone poor country.

I know we live in a consumer driven society.  We live in a culture that worships celebrities and marginalizes the "differents".  Yet every once in a while I start to think that some people, people of great influence and talent will use their tremendous "popularity currency" to do something good, something selfless, something that isn’t motivated by "PR" or an image consultant.  I was once again disappointed when both Coby Bryant and Labron James turned from "activist" to "pass-the-buck-est".  Recently both Coby and LaBron spoke out about the attocities in Darfur, challenging others to take a stand.  In a dramatic (read: "I don’t want to mess up any of my endorsements") turn of events, both athletes have decided to take the "apolitical" route, ala Michael Jordan now that they are actually in Bejing.  Deep down inside I still hope that somewhere, one of these amazingly fortunate leaders will do something unexpected… but I’m not holding my breath and I just might kick the TV.

I’ll be the be the first to admit that i don’t understand the cultural issues surrounding the dictator in Myanmar. But when I read that masses of people are going without basic necessities because of one man’s insecurity it make me angry. You can bet if the Burmese junta was living in the same conditions that many of the Burmese people are, he’d be begging for aid. Sometimes leaders are just stupid…

Link: U.S. warships to leave Myanmar after aid refused | Reuters.

BANGKOK (Reuters) – U.S. warships will soon leave waters near Myanmar after the ruling military junta refused permission for the delivery of aid supplies to the cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta, a top U.S. commander said on Wednesday.

Thanks Dave Ferguson for pointing this out. I found this while I was browsing blogs this morning. Enjoy!

Link: A Victim Treats His Mugger Right : NPR.

Morning Edition, March 28, 2008 · Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

iPhones and iPods are topping all of the headlines these days, but here’s a post from a The ONE Campaign Blog concerning some really significant developments.  Take some time to browse their website as well.  It’s worth noting that Apple has made an effort in the fight against aids.  If you’re going to buy a new iPod, consider RED.

 

New Anti-AIDS Drug Announced

 

The
FDA is about to review a new and initially promising AIDS drug called
reltegravir. The new drug is not a “protease inhibitor” like most AIDS
drugs, it is the first “integrase inhibitor,” which attacks the virus
through a different enzyme.