Cleaning up after Typhoon Haiyan

It's hard to imagine anyone in the connected world who wasn't aware of "Super Typhoon" Haiyan ravaging the central Philippines earlier this month.  For far too many of us, hearing once again about the massive destruction and 10,000+ people killed by the storm seems like yesterday’s news.  Yet for the displaced survivors in Tacloban and other populated areas in the storm’s path, the devastating impact of this typhoon continues to be a reality of life.

Since I first blogged about this elsewhere, conditions in the region have been improving.  Relief efforts from organizations worldwide have reported promising news about the effective distribution of aid, the prevention of anarchy, a reduction in looting, a more productive political climate, and the general assistance of injured and displaced people.

Menchit Wong, the child advocacy director for Compassion International, shared an encouraging update about answered prayers and new requests last week.  And Eddie Viray, the national leader of the Church of God in the Philippines, also recorded a YouTube video recently detailing the ongoing needs of Church of God Ministries' relief efforts in the region.

For readers, I share these reports to remind us that we can support these relief efforts through our prayers and our giving.  Sending foreign supplies often isn’t a practical solution due to the logistics of on-site delivery, so monetary giving is most helpful.

The Church of God Disaster Relief Fund and Compassion International are both wonderful organizations whom I recommend supporting in their relief efforts.  Here are their contribution links:

Church of God Ministries:  http://www.chog.org/disaster-relief

Compassion International:

  

On a personal note, I am thankful that Typhoon Haiyan never came within 200 km of my friend Robert's hometown of Muntinlupa.  He was visiting the Philippines when the storm hit, and he and his family were mercifully unaffected by this disaster.  Robert enthusiastically assured me this morning that he is grateful for the outpouring of support for his home country.

Let's keep it coming!

Coming this weekend on Garth's Blog...

Yesterday's treacherously icy trail run

And later...

Posts about surfing, pumpkin patches, traveling to Spain with Lena, and our upcoming Hamilton family Thanksgiving!