My Dad sent this email out last night to lots of people in our area. We will be leaving Saturday morning to drive to New Jersey to take food, water and warm clothing to the people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. If you live in this area, please consider donating something (information on how to do so below). If you live in another state, please pray that we'll be able to take a good amount of things to these people and pray for the people affected by this.
Also, please pass this on to anyone in the Central Ohio area! We'll be accepting donations at our home until Friday evening.
Thank you,
Katie
______________________________________________________
Central Ohio Friends:
As you know, Hurricane Sandy ravaged areas along the New
York and New Jersey shore. Residents have lost everything – homes, cars
and all their possessions. Many people are still without electricity and
thus without heat, clean water or even the most basic of necessities – the
temperatures are plummeting with nights below freezing. The stores have
been emptied and families could not even buy supplies if they were able – there
just aren’t any left! The sheer number of people affected along with lack
of gasoline and public transportation has left many residents trapped with no
way out and without needed supplies.
I grew up in New Jersey and still have family in the area –
this coupled with the images of suffering we’ve seen in the news has motived my
family to action. These people need our help! They are regular
people – just like you and me – just like your children and babies – just like
your grandparents! This evening, I spoke with my Aunt and her
Pastor. Pastor Boone is also a police officer and he said the devastation
is more than you can understand or appreciate from TV. He told me
that access to the hardest hit areas is limited to only residents and relief
crews. A firehouse in Fairlawn, NJ is acting as a clearing house for donated
items. They then deliver the items by ambulance to the victims most in
need of help. We would like to take a box trailer full of items to the
Fairlawn firehouse for distribution to the flood victims. Because the
needs are immediate, we plan to leave this Saturday November 10 to deliver the
items on Sunday November 11.
This is where you come in. I have observed first hand
that the businesses and residents in the Marysville and surrounding communities
are very generous with their time and treasures. We are greatly blessed
here and my request to you is that you use some of those blessings to help us
fill a trailer so we can help those in desperate need along the New Jersey
shore.
Items needed are:
Food – non-perishable,
easy-to-open, nutritious items
Peanuts and peanut
butter
Raisins and dried
fruit
Beef Jerky and
dried meat products
Meal replacement
bars
Cases of water bottles
One gallon size
and personal-sized
Baby Supplies
Diapers – all sizes
Wipes
Premixed baby formula and bottles
Baby Food
New or clean used:
Blankets & Pillows
Coats, gloves, hats, sweatshirts, sweaters, warm socks, etc.
Cold weather supplies
Hand-warmers, foot warmers, etc
I urge you to consider all the blessings you have at your
disposal, including your warm dry bed and search deep for what you can do to
help those who have lost everything. Donations of supplies will be taken
at our home all day Tue-Friday this week. Please email Pam to arrange a
time to drop-off supplies (
pcomstock@clarityts.com). Remember,
we’ll be transporting these items in a trailer that we’d like to fill floor to
ceiling. Purchase water and food by the case whenever possible to make
them easier to stack and pack. Aldi is a great place to shop by the case
– they have great prices and their cases are right there in the aisle for you
to easily purchase. If you have extra boxes to bring clothing and blankets
in, please prepack those items and clearly mark the contents on the outside of
the box. If you have additional empty boxes, please bring those along for
us to pack items that arrive unboxed.
If you’d prefer to donate cash and have us shop for you, please
do so before noon on Friday. We will go shopping Friday afternoon to
purchase needed items at a local store. Speaking of local stores, we
encourage you to think outside the box when gathering supplies. If you
know of a local business owner who might be willing to donate items in their
store to help the victims - please contact them.
To transport these items, I need to borrow or rent an
enclosed trailer. We’d prefer to borrow one so that there is more
money available to buy supplies for the victims. If you have a trailer we
can borrow, please contact us. We have a van that will tow 8,000lbs, so
can handle a good-sized double-axle trailer.
We realize that to some this may seem like a short
turnaround time to perform such a huge task of filling an entire trailer full
of relief items. We believe in miracles and are trusting in God and in
the generosity of our community to fill the trailer that will provide relief
and some practical help to the people who have been so devastated by this storm.
Please pass this note long as you see fit.
God Bless You All,
Jason
Comstock and Family
For there will never cease to be
poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to
your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. (Deuteronomy
15:11)
“When the Son of Man (Jesus) comes
in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious
throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the
left. Then the King will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and
you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick
and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And
when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did
it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew
25:31-40)
