Buckets Of Hope Summary: Haiti…The Blessing Of Cooperation
By Larry Thomas
May 2010
READ Mark 6: 35-37
The Need
In the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake all of us were overwhelmed with the devastation and suffering we witnessed in living color and digital quality each day. Up close and personal visual documentation of the tragic circumstances of countless thousands of people provoked emotions of compassion, guilt, and even anger.
Many of us experiencing compassion and guilt were haunted by a desire “to do something” …. anything to relieve the suffering we witnessed daily.
Most of us, like the disciples of Jesus spoken of in Mark 6:35-37, understood that our ability to affect the pain and suffering experienced by the Haitian people was limited as individuals. However, just as Jesus instructed his disciples to gather what they could, Southern Baptists working cooperatively, began doing what we could as individuals, Sunday School classes, outreach groups, home Bible studies, mission groups, and churches to affect the pain and suffering in Haiti.
The Response
From this desire to accomplish something personally significant in the lives of the victims of the Haitian earthquake came the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Buckets of Hope campaign. One “Bucket of Hope” contains enough food to feed an average Haitian family for one week.
Buckets of Hope church coordinators recruited local businesses to participate, and invited other Christians and non-believers to join the effort resulting in a community compassion activity that added value to those communities and significance to our churches. Some churches dedicated Sunday School time to pack the buckets, expanding the number of people involved.
Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists purchased, packed, and prayed over 855 Buckets of Hope valued at $38,500. Disaster Relief volunteers and associational missionaries drove 5,552 miles to gather and deliver the “Buckets” to a central processing warehouse where other volunteers unloaded, stacked, shrink-wrapped and reloaded the “Buckets” for onward shipment to Haiti.
Garvey Public Storage of Wichita, Kansas donated warehousing space, material handling equipment, shrink-wrap material, and hours of manpower to assist us process and load the ‘Buckets’ for shipment to Shreveport, Louisiana. A Wichita business donated wooden pallets for shipping, and J. B. Hunt Trucking of Arkansas transported the “Buckets” to Louisiana for reloading in containers for onward shipping to Baptist churches in Haiti.
The Result
Southern Baptists of Kansas and Nebraska embraced this opportunity to work together with other Southern Baptists to become the heart and hands of Jesus in the lives of Haitians. And just as it happened on that hillside many years ago, our obedience in “doing what we could” resulted in over 140,000 Buckets of Hope having been shipped to ports of departure in Louisiana and Florida. God’s miracle continues as more “Buckets” arrive daily.
God bless you as you serve and lead in your homes, churches, businesses and life.
Celebrate God’s compassion and thank Him for allowing us to be disciples of His son Jesus and people of significance through service in His name. Pray for God to use you as the heart and hands of Jesus in the life of someone today.
Continue to pray for the people of Haiti and if you are so led, contact me about opportunities to go and minister in Haiti.
Please consider making a financial donation to Kansas-Nebraska Disaster Relief activities. Send your gift to KNCSB Disaster Relief, 5410 SW 7th St, Topeka, KS 66606.
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