“My family and I have faced very difficult times during the long crisis.”
Magalie, a mother of five, had just received a food parcel to help stave off the hunger that was growing in her home, after her crops and animals were lost in a flood—just one of many difficulties her family has faced in recent years. Though she was describing her own experience, Magalie’s words could have easily been uttered by many of her neighbors in this Haitian community.
Compassion is not always our first response when faced with the needs around us. Sometimes, we have sympathy but are not moved to act in solidarity. Henri J.M. Nouwen wrote about this tendency: “Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.” How can we become more equipped to have a posture of compassion at all times?
Revelation 21:5 “And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also, he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (NRSV)
“After losing my home to the wildfire, I found myself in a very distressing situation."
Carolina, 43, was devastated by the fires that raged through Chile during the first week of February, 2024, following days of extreme heat.
“I felt like I had lost everything and didn't know how to move on," she shared.
More than 160 fires burned at once, and the disaster left Carolina and at least 1,600 other people homeless in and near the city of Viña del Mar. A total of 130 people lost their lives in the blazes that have now been linked to arson.
In Vancouver, Washington, four tiny house villages—called Safe Stay communities—provide a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to find shelter and transitional housing. When Pastor Kevin Campbell-White and his wife Jeni drove by one of these villages several months ago, they had the passing idea to try to connect their church (Hillcrest Church of the Nazarene) with the city to support Safe Stay residents.
When wildfires devastated parts of the island of Maui, Hawaii, Nazarene churches were there to provide hope and healing. Now that the initial relief work is done, the focus of these congregations is shifting to providing long-term, sustainable compassionate ministry in their community. Learn more in the video below.
“Today, I believe that this work is very important because, in moments of sadness or hopelessness in the hospital, a word of encouragement arrives.”
In March of 2023, Cyclone Yaku caused devastation across northern Peru, with rains causing rivers to overflow and landslides adding to the loss of lives, homes, businesses, and schools. At least 71 people died, and more than 131,000 people were impacted. As the summer of 2023 continued, heavy rains continued to plague the country. By August, the Government reported 839,760 people needing humanitarian aid since the start of the rainy season in January. Of this group, 123,691 people have been rendered homeless, and 48,903 houses are reported destroyed or uninhabitable.
As medical volunteers from Global Care Force visited churches and villages across Ukraine over the fall and winter of 2022, they prayed that God would help them find at least one person in each location that would be the right fit for an inaugural trauma-care training.
It has been three years now since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the whole world. The pandemic affected billions of lives globally with disease, death, debt, and distress. It has seriously complicated an already broken world. But in the midst of so much brokenness, we have seen many churches become hands and feet of Jesus, salt and light to the world.