Sometimes we get so busy with the critical needs that Mercy Chefs is meeting every day that I forget to share with our dear friends and supporters how the Lord got hold of my heart and the amazing events that led up to the launch of this ministry.

I recently sat down for an interview with HeartThreads, a wonderful organization that produces short videos that tell inspiring stories. The interview gave me a chance to share my story. Here it is:

Have I ever shared my story with you?

Sometimes we get so busy with the critical needs that Mercy Chefs is meeting every day that I forget to share with our dear friends and supporters how the Lord got hold of my heart and the amazing events that led up to the launch of this ministry.

I recently sat down for an interview with HeartThreads, a wonderful organization that produces short videos that tell inspiring stories. The interview gave me a chance to share my story.

Here it is...

The superintendent of schools in Panama City recently released a report on the status of schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.

While much work has been done to restore normalcy, one fact shocked me. The report indicated that 3,300 students are still "homeless or displaced form the storm"!
And he says, "More and more of our children are coming to school hungry."

Mercy Chefs is feeding hurting school kids in Panama City, every day, through a partnership with the local schools. We are also housing and feeding volunteer teams who are helping to rebuild homes.

It's difficult to explain what hunger will do to a child...

Let me share two stories with you of people your support recently helped.

First, we met a single mom with four sons. Trying to raise four boys by herself on a very limited budget is a challenge in itself, but with two of her sons being autistic, this family faces a serious uphill battle.

This mom shared with us that she often was so overwhelmed, that all she could do was pull out some cold cereal for dinner. It temporarily filled their stomachs and she survived another crisis.

We just compiled our internal report for January, and I was quite amazed.

Mercy Chefs served more than 16,000 meals in the month of January alone!

January can typically be one of our slower times. But not this year, and based on what I believe the Lord is doing, it's "full speed ahead" every month of 2020.

Many of those meals were served in Puerto Rico as our team responded the the ongoing earthquakes there (the island was rocked by another quake on Tuesday registering 5.0 on the Richter scale). Thousands are still homeless because their homes are uninhabitable or they simply are still terrified to sleep indoors! Our work there continues through our key partnering relationships that we actually established more than two years ago after Hurricane Maria hit.

First of all, I want to personally thank every one of our team members who have stood with us in prayer and financial support for the people of Puerto Rico as they have faced what seems like a never-ending nightmare of earthquakes.

Just since Friday, amazingly five earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or higher have struck the island, including a 5.0 quake on Saturday. One report indicates that only 20% of the schools in Puerto Rico are "open and deemed safe," and none of the schools along the south and southwest coast have opened.

The need is growing. We just "adopted" about 200 school kids who need our help. Please see below and go here to sponsor meals for earthquake victims. -- Gary

Saturday Morning:

With the earthquakes continuing, life just can't return to any semblance of "normal" for the people along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. 

As I've been sharing with you, thousands simply refuse to return to their homes for fear that the structures will collapse with the next earthquake. At the peak of the strongest quake, the shaking was so bad that you couldn't even walk. And the quakes usually seem to hit in the middle of the night.

Another quake hit Puerto Rico yesterday morning. There are now officially 8,000 refugees and perhaps tens of thousands more who cannot or will not return to their homes. See below for details, and go here to help. -- Gary

Thursday Morning:

The earthquake crisis is FAR FROM OVER in Puerto Rico. In fact, the recovery really cannot begin until the earthquakes stop. And they just don't seem to stop. 

The island was hit by another earthquake early yesterday morning. And the people here are simply afraid that the next shaking will cause their homes to crumble, so they won't return to their homes. 

+ + 8,000 refugees, "psychological torture"

One official estimate indicates there are 8,000 refugees from the earthquakes. But that number is just the tip of the iceberg because it doesn't count those who are sleeping in tents in local parks, or on the side of the street, or even outside their own homes. One report says there have been as many as 40,000 people camping outside their homes in the city of Ponce alone. We hear reports that people will run into their homes, gather a few things, and then run out for fear of another earthquake. One person close to the situation called it "psychological torture."

Many folks in Puerto Rico are still living in tents! Today, we are reaching some of the forgotten communities that were hardest hit. Please see below and go here to help. -- Gary

Monday Afternoon:

I just connected with our Mercy Chefs team in Puerto Rico, where earthquakes continue to shake the island. Over the weekend, more quakes also brought a tsunami warning. And this morning as our team was picking up supplies, another earthquake hit registering 4.9. They said the shelves were shaking and rocking back and forth. This only added to the anxiety that these daily shakings are causing.

Our team has arrived in Puerto Rico and Mercy Chefs is serving hot meals TONIGHT at seven feeding locations within three of the hardest-hit communities as the earthquake crisis continues.

+ + "The ground is still shaking"

One earthquake victim told CNN, "We're in a fight right now. The ground is still shaking" after more quakes rocked the island both Wednesday and Thursday. Many homes and buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and authorities fear that many more may now have inherent structural weaknesses that make them even more susceptible to the next shaking. That's why so many people are still afraid to return to their homes and are sleeping in tents or cars or have gone to one of the 30 shelters that have opened along the southern coast (where we have established a kitchen).