You can make a difference in the lives of others -- in your family, school, church, community, and world! The world needs you -- your ideas, your compassion, and your spiritual outlook. And, it’s never too late to start contributing. The best gifts are those from the heart.

Hurricane Katrina is probably the worst natural disaster that has hit the United States. Rita, though not as horrible, added to the devastation. We’re still in the rebuilding stages. Many of our world-wide neighbors are lending their support. Many of our own citizens have stopped what they’re doing to help those who have been displaced from their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. What can we do to help?

Help the rebuilding process.
People who are there have been saying that they can use a lot more help. They need people who are not looking to be paid for work, but who are willing to volunteer to work, to bring their drills, to bring blankets, to help build shelters, homes, etc.

• Get a group together to go to the affected regions and help them rebuild.
  • Maybe a club could sponsor a 3- or 4-day field trip so you don’t miss very much school.
  • Many church groups go to Mexico over spring break. Why not have your church group go to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas for a short trip over Columbus weekend, a week at Thanksgiving, or two weeks at Christmas!
• Send money to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other charitable organizations set up through churches or secular organizations. They have funds set up for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• See what goods are still needed for people and do a drive; then bus them or ship them down and give them out.
• See if your family can offer temporary or permanent homes, shelter, jobs.
• Check out www.usafreedomcorps.gov to find out what needs you can help meet.

Be a good neighbor and a friend.
There have been a lot of people relocated to different parts of the country who need our support just as much as they need homes, shelter, food, and jobs.

• Provide emotional support.
• Bring these people into your groups.
• Invite them over for dinner.
• Take them to the movies.
• Go through your closet and see what clothes, school supplies, or other things you can give them.
• Buy a store gift card for a family or new friend in need.
• Offer them ways to earn money. Find people in your community who could use help raking leaves, mowing lawns, painting a room, babysitting.
• Most of all, listen and love them. If you have not lost everything, it’s hard to imagine the magnitude of their loss.
• Give them reasons to be happy. Be grateful for them and help them express gratitude.
• Tell people you love them, enjoy being with them, appreciate and respect them. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Express Gratitude
If you happen to be a victim of Katrina or Rita (and even if you’re not), the best thing that you can do for yourself is to be grateful -- to be grateful that you are alive, to be grateful for God’s love, to be grateful for all the good that people are showing. You may have lost your loved ones, your home, your pets, your belongings. But look for the good. Be thankful that you had what time you had with your loved ones. Be grateful that you can build again. The Lt. Gov. of Mississippi was inspired by the people in her state who continued to say, “We’re blessed.” Look for the blessing. It’s there, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A spirit of gratitude enables us to see possibilities, to appreciate the beauty around us.

Pray
You may want to look at the previous Make a Difference, Support tsunami relief and pray. (Note that while many ideas apply to Katrina and Rita, some are tsunami specific.)

• It talks about how to raise money.
• It provides Bible citations that are helpful to use in prayer. Here are some additional verses:
  • For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38, 39)
  • A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families. (Ps. 68:5, 6)
  • For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. (Isa. 25:4)
  • Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Matt. 5:4-7)

Move Forward
The WORST thing any of us can do, regardless of whether or not we were directly or indirectly affected by the hurricane, is to complain about the situation, blame the government for the disaster, criticize others. The critical, complaining thought does not move us forward. It keeps us stuck in the misery of the past. It’s over. We have to move forward with a spirit of gratitude and giving that enables us to rebuild.

Learn from Mistakes
There may be things we can learn:

• Understand that NOTHING is more important than your LIFE.
• Be prepared. (We learned some lessons and were more prepared for Rita.)
• Know what is important to you. Keep really important things elsewhere (maybe in a different state).
• Be obedient: evacuate when you are supposed to evacuate.
• Pay attention to warning signs, and do something about them. Don’t ignore something that needs fixing.
• Don’t put so much emphasis on material goods, homes, and treasures.
• Pray daily that the government of this nation, each state, and each city is in God’s hands.

Realize the Promise
Whatever we do, let’s make sure we have the spirit of which Isaiah speaks so that we can help to realize the promise he explains when he writes: