Over the weekend, Hurricane Hanna made landfall along the south Texas Gulf Coast, bringing high winds and massive amounts of rain to the area.

As much as 17 inches of rain hit the region IN JUST FOUR HOURS, leaving many areas devastated from the flooding.

+ + Towns Under Water!

I just got off the phone with my contact in the area who spoke with the mayors of McAllen, Sullivan City, Mission, and Palm View -- towns that were UNDER WATER after the deluge of rain hit. All four mayors remembered Mercy Chefs for our Thanksgiving outreach a few years back and specifically asked if it was possible for our teams to come and help their communities in the midst of this crisis. THEY ASKED FOR US BY NAME! 

More trouble ahead for our nation's economy and especially hurting families and elderly shut-ins...

The new unemployment claims rose again this past week. Another 1.4 MILLION Americans filed FIRST-TIME unemployment claims.

Analysts were stunned.

+ + "The economy cannot carry on for long"

"The economy cannot carry on for long" with more than a million workers losing their jobs each and every week, said one economist. Bankruptcies are rising among retail businesses and the worry now is that "temporary job losses will become permanent" resulting in "an even slower pace of recovery."

Thanks to some dear friends of Mercy Chefs, I'm thrilled to share with you a breakthrough that will help us reach even more hurting families and elderly shut-ins this summer.

Some friends of this ministry pooled their resources to help create a $30,000 SUMMER OUTREACH MATCHING CHALLENGE to help Mercy Chefs meet the unprecedented need for meals we're seeing this summer (it's possible we could provide ONE MILLION MEALS this month alone!).

There is no way we could have projected this incredible demand. That means we urgently need help right now.

The latest first-time unemployment filings once again topped 1 MILLION -- 1.3 million to be precise. Analysts are concerned that the "challenges to economic recovery are multiplying." According to Bloomberg, the numbers indicate that "economic pain remains widespread."

We're still seeing the effects of the economic recession/depression all across the country. This month, we'll provide more than 500,000 meals and the demand is showing no signs of letting up.

+ + Drone footage: lines and lines of cars coming for help

I wanted you to see this drone footage that captures what a regular distribution day looks like at one of our larger Farmers to Families distribution sites in Claremore, Oklahoma. Please take a moment to watch. It is not uncommon for us to see lines and lines of cars waiting for help. Go here. 

Earlier this month we received a message through our Facebook page...

This is a bit shocking. Millions of unemployed Americans may still be waiting for their first unemployment check. See below and please help.  --Gary

I received this report from my team just before the July 4th holiday weekend:

I am amazed at what God is doing through the faithful partnership of friends like you. There seems to be no end in sight to the opportunities before us to help hurting people. As of last week, Mercy Chefs surpassed FOUR MILLION meals since our founding -- just a few months after we served our third million.

But this leaves me with an enormous challenge this month and for the rest of the summer...

For most Americans, this will be a different Independence Day. Fewer communities will have fireworks displays, and millions are still in the midst of a very serious economic collapse that hit before many had time to even recover from the last tragedy.

I'm thinking about a single mother who recently came to our "Farmers to Families" outreach on the Florida Panhandle. She's an IT professional who holds a Master's degree. Her house was destroyed back when Hurricane Michael hit and sadly (like far too many) she is still wrestling with her insurance company to get the proper settlement. The home's electrical system is still in disarray, and she and her three kids sleep in one bedroom because there are so many leaks in the roof. Then COVID hit and she was forced to resign from her full-time job to work from home so she could take care of her children.

Halfway through 2020, what word would you use to describe this year?

2020: A year of __________

Perhaps "tension"? Or "shutdown"? Or "COVID-19"? Or "turmoil"?

In recent years at the start of the year, the Lord has given me a word for Mercy Chefs. Over the past three years, those words were "advance" and "surge" and "pursue." At the beginning of this year, the word was very clear...

We have just four days remaining in the month, and we are still about $20,000 short of our need. Can you help this weekend by sponsoring 10, 20, 40 or even 100 meals? Go here to make your tax-deductible gift, and see below. -- Gary

Today, we'll finish up another amazing week, providing over a QUARTER MILLION meals to hurting families and elderly shut-ins. I stand in disbelief when I type "quarter million." In this season of unprecedented trial for our nation, the Lord is doing remarkable things through the generosity of friends like you.

I know many, many friends of this ministry are giving out of their own need -- reaching out to help others during uncertain times or even while facing financial hardship themselves.

Every time we deploy, we see this happen again and again. A single mom, for example, who has been receiving meals from Mercy Chefs for days during a crisis will approach one of our staff and make a donation to help others.

Such an act of generosity happened again this week, in a different way.

Last week, we started distributing food across Puerto Rico through our partners on the island who are networked with 35 churches.

In our first week, Mercy Chefs distributed a staggering 100,000 pounds of food... just in Puerto Rico! Also last week, we launched our Farmers to Families effort on the Florida Panhandle.
Along with our Oklahoma base, these three outreaches alone will reach over 250,000 people this week.

And we still see no end in sight.