#Sandy
The last week of my life has been nothing short of adventurous. All week
long, hash tags of “Sandy” like the one above filled my Twitter and Facebook news-feeds.
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| Reading w/ my niece and nephew after Sandy |
After
looking at 8 different apartments, I drove to NYC on Saturday afternoon to
spend the weekend with my family as we awaited the storm. I was prepared to
help them "de-flood" the basement or help my brother (just two blocks away) with
his family and home. Although my apartment is still without electricity, the
category 1 hurricane barely affected both Bronx homes.
Unlike most of my
staff team and student leadership team, we had lights and heat and good clean
water all week long. Many of my friends in New Jersey were not so
fortunate. I knew God was building my prayer life this year but this is way
more than I or anyone else expected. With the television and news stations on practically
24/7, all my family and I could do was watch and pray. Literally.
The Holy Spirit placed it on my heart to keep my New Jersey friends informed
via text message. If they turned off all of their phone services except text
messaging,
I could at least keep them posted on what was happening, tips on how
to survive, and warnings from the government that were all over the news.
Most of them turned off their phones for most of the day and then turned it on
to receive my many messages about what’s good to eat in their fridge and where
they can go for warmth or electricity. I’ve never felt more like a news
reporter. Some of my friends were able to charge their phones in their cars but now
gasoline is another issue hitting the coastal sister states.
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| My new used Toyota Yaris 2007 (35mpg) |
Last
night my dad spent 3 hours on a line with Nadine to fill up her vehicle and two
red gas tanks to bring home. That morning, my brother borrowed my car to take
my sister-in-law to the doctor and later in the evening, my cousin borrowed it
to take his son to work in Long Island. God is SO sovereign & good! He knew
I would need this car in March after my accident
(February I was in a car accident that totaled my last car) and He
knew it needed to be gas-efficient and low-maintenance for my job.
I don’t
usually have much, but I was SO EXCITED to give and; share what I did have, my
car. Being able to share what God gave me with two family members who are not sure of God's love was especially rewarding! It made me think of how
rewarding it can be to give, whatever we have.
One Facebook status of mine said:
:( People fighting for gas,
looting stores, cutting people on line for public transportation, cursing
drivers out and fighting for gas... NYC, what happened to United We Stand?
:) But thank God for the people who put extension cords out for their neighbors
with no power, brought food to those in need, blankets for those who are cold, and other random acts of kindness.
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 demonstrates how extreme poverty
and severe affliction can result in an abundance of giving (verse 2).
Although some people resorted to doing evil, many others were helping their
neighbors and friends just to get through the devastating event. It’s
interesting how in severe affliction we begin to give of what we barely
even have.
THINK ABOUT IT:
It feels
so good to help! So good to give of what one has! Even if I barely have
anything, it always feels GREAT when I can help someone else out. What doesn’t
feel good is when I can’t give at all or when I’m scared to surrender what I do
have for others in fear of running out. Yet every time I give, the joy of
giving overwhelms the worry or anxiety of what I will have.
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| Jon, Joe and Mario at Fall Retreat |
A perfect example of this is a Kean Cru student leader named Mario
Fernandez. A fairly young believer in love with the Almighty Sovereign King of
Kings sacrificed his own comfort in his dry (although without electricity) home to go to
his best friend’s house and help empty the basement of rain. Sitting at home
where he had nothing to give but prayer would’ve been completely
understandable, but Mario chose what was difficult and surrendered his comfort
for what ailed his heart… his friend’s comfort. Jonathan Lopez, Mario’s friend
& another Kean Cru leader, had water almost to the first floor of his home
while four homes on his block exploded. Mario
isn’t an expert in removing water from a basement, but he’s a friend capable
of movement and decided to give of himself to help his brother in Christ.
Thanks for
your prayers and concerns!
If you're interested in experiencing this type of joy and giving out of whatever God has blessed you with, you can visit give.ccci.org & give of
what you feel led to 0597677 or email me at edithann.morales@cru.org
Will you
consider being a friend of this ministry and a partner in helping reach lost
students, the future leaders of this nation?
A student boasted on Facebook:
