Protecting Families

Two nights ago, tornadoes hit my home state and did a lot of damage.  Several people were killed.  Electricity was out in many places across the state.  Roads were destroyed.  People were trapped.

That night my brother and I had nowhere to go, except under the house.  We know tornadoes are dangerous…we know what we are supposed to do when they hit.  The problem is – we simply do not have a place to get away from them.  Our house is not equipped with a storm cellar, safe room or basement.  So, we sit in the dirt under the house and pray it doesn’t collapse as seventy-mile-an-hour winds pound the walls, bend the trees, and send objects flying.

It is terrifying and frustrating to be in a situation, where you know how to protect yourself, but you simply do not have the resources to do it.

Every 45 seconds in Africa, a child dies from a preventable and treatable disease.   Their parents know how to protect them from malaria.  They know their children need medication, but they cannot afford the treatment options.  They know their children need to sleep under a net, but they have no way of getting one.

Today, two thousand parents will bury a child, a child they wanted to protect, to love, and to watch grow-up.  These children will die needlessly, and even more frustrating is the fact that tomorrow two-thousand more children will join them.

Our church has the ability to change this.  We can get the necessary resources to those who need them.  We can save lives, simply by helping parents who already want to protect their children.