Update on Haiti for Friday.

Hello friends--

I've been glued to CNN since Tuesday night. My heart is broken. My body is going to a prayer time for the people of Haiti. I encourage you to come be among others who are lifting up our brothers and sisters who are in such great pain right now. Brentwood Baptist Church chapel, 6 pm.

An update on our help to Haiti. Our ministry partners, Global Orphan Project, have been on the ground in Port-au-Prince since yesterday. Some are also in the Dominican and have been loading up two 30-foot trucks with supplies and will head to Haiti at 4 am tomorrow.

All the hundreds of children in their care are fine. What a miracle. Thank you, Jesus. We continue to thank God for the protection of the children at two orphanages we've worked with in the past. Of the orphanages Stuart and I just visited, there are about 6 we've not heard from. Orphanages like the one where the little boy in this picture lives. His name is Junior and he's a wild little guy who lives at the orphanage we stayed at just two short months ago. We all remain in fervent prayer that those children (and their caregivers, that goes without saying) are safe.

Many of you have given, and we are so thankful for your trust in our ministry, especially at a time like this. I've had people ask me what organization they should send their money to. My own personal encouragement to them has been to give it to whom they feel they trust and to those who are working in the first responder phase.

As I shared with you in my first email after this grievous tragedy, Sweet Sleep is not an emergency response organization. However, because humans sleep, we do provide something that the people of Haiti are in need of. The earthquake didn't care if you were an orphaned child or the President of the country. Now practically everyone there must sleep outside for their continued protection.

The aid many of you have given to Sweet Sleep will be used to provide for these emergency needs in the likely form of blankets. Blankets that will wrap around one of these precious people and will comfort them---since you and I cannot be there to do so. Blankets that will keep their tired, hungry, traumatized bodies warm at night. Blankets that will help them sleep more comfortably through the night so that they can wake stronger to face another day that is desperately different than the one before.

I love what we do to minister to "the least of these" because of all the reasons above. We always communicate to our children we minister to that when they lie down at night and pull their new blanket up around them, they should think of that as God wrapping His arms around them in love.

One of my many prayers for Haiti is that they will feel God close to them right now. Even as close as a blanket.

Thanks friends,
Jen