John Lee is the evangelist for the Hidden Valley Church of Christ in Houston.  I suggested he contact Churches of Christ Disaster Relief in Nashville, and he responded that they had already done that.  Disaster Relief told him they were awaiting clearance into MS, LA and AL.  John says that Disaster Relief is now referring people to Hidden Valley.  This is just for your information.  If you want to help in Houston, please contact John directly.  Thanks!

 

In Him, Ray

Greetings to all of you from Houston,

 

I wanted all of you to be aware of the events that are taking place in Houston, and you may have learned some of this from news.  There is more that you may not hear about. Several thousand refugees from Mississippi, Alabama, & Louisiana have made Houston their temporary home. Many have stated they will relocate either here or somewhere else, not returning to their former place of residence.

 

Many families have already enrolled their children in the Houston area school systems. Some of these refugees are living with family members which causes some financial hardships. People cannot afford to buy enough food for their house guests and some have only the clothes on their backs. The children do not have school supplies (books, nor toys) and most of the adults have a need for personal hygiene items. Walmart gift cards, phone cards and gas cards make a nice gift as well.

 

There are approximately 100,000 refugees currently living in Houston and many area businesses are donating items and services to our new friends. Several churches from across the country have contacted us and have offered in many ways to assist in this effort. The Houston area churches will be meeting tonight (Friday) and we will know following that meeting how we can meet the needs of these people as a group. Once we know who to contact for what purpose (food distribution, assist in relocation, employment, clothing, supplies, housing, etc) I will inform you at a later time of exactly how you can help, if you so desire.

 

Right now, please do not send anything! Instead we ask that you collect non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, and school supplies. There will be a need for all these in the next few days, weeks and possibly months to come. Prayer is already in high demand and encouraging words are what these wonderful people are asking for right now. I visited with six who were staying at a local motel and all they asked for was encouragement. The next evening we served 15 a homecooked meal and we are doing the same thing again tonight, and that might consist of 100, who knows?. Some churches in the area have served as many as 200, and others are serving three meals a day. This is said to give you an idea of what is needed and how the residents of Houston are jumping in and helping those who have absolutely nothing but their lives. We pray that Dallas & San Antonio each welcome the 25,000 expected in the same manner.

 

Please forward this message to any church you know of who might want to help. You can reach me at either one of these this email addresses.   jlee346@houston.rr.com or john.lee.hvcoc@sbcglobal.net

 

Thank You all for your concern.

 

John Lee