PCCR News and Updates

Our staff team is growing! Meet Trevor Kilmer, our new US Response Director. “I grew up in Missouri but currently live in Pennsylvania. I have served as a volunteer with PCCR in Haiti and Ukraine and I’ve learned a lot along the way. When I’m not traveling I enjoy spending time with friends and family, riding dirt bikes and editing videos. I’m thankful to be a part of the PCCR staff, and I look forward to working with the volunteers in the field.” We are happy to have him with us! #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #USDisasterResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Ukraine 🇺🇦 A mother and her daughter, living in a small town too close to danger. They spend most of their time together in a deep dark basement that is crammed at max 6 people. I have seen them twice now, about five months apart. The first time was just like the last, we went to their secluded home, and brought a few essentials on our last stop of the day. The daughter greets us with so much kindness that shows the love she continues to hold in her heart, despite her surroundings. We look at the destruction that has occurred right outside their place of rest, and question why they choose to stay? “It’s their home, where would they go?” They only have each other and the neighbors that also choose this way of life. My heart hurts thinking of their decision, but not as much as it throbs when we walk downstairs into the dark basement. There we find the mother of this brave woman, who has been bedridden for quite some time. Chaplain Leonid comes to the right of her bedside and takes hold of her hand and reads her scripture. A picture-perfect scene, as he had done months before. He shares the gospel with her for a second time, she seems more open to it, there is laughter, and sadness as he tries to convince them to leave. Tears run down my face as I try to say goodbye, perhaps forever, to this old woman who reminds me of my mother, who laid in a hospital bed a few months before. Her daughter grabs my hand, and we share a moment of understanding for each other, it’s almost as if she knows what I’m thinking. Even if the language barrier wasn’t present, we didn’t need words to express our hearts. Saying goodbye is a hard thing, I just pray they choose the truth of Jesus and everything he offers so I can say hello again to my new friends, in a much better place. #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

US DISASTER RESPONSE [Florida Hurricane testimony] We’ve never had a direct hit from a hurricane like this in our history. We have experienced outer bands and storms from hurricanes and we have prepared for hurricanes many times. I have experienced the effects of hurricanes when I was in ministry in central Florida and have been able to aid other churches but have never been the Lead Pastor of a church that needed assistance. It meant so much to our church and to our community to have them in the area so quickly after the storm. Having no experience with anything like this, I was very skeptical about a group coming to help for FREE? I asked about the costs involved and verified it several times, because there were several people/companies here that bombarded our community with “help”, but there was always a cost attached and many times they were inflated. I talked to some people who were quoted $12,000 to $20,000 to have their trees trimmed and debris cleaned up. We were so grateful for the ministries that came and donated their time and resources to help our community. I quickly found out that Plain Compassion was legitimate, and they were here to help. Word of mouth quickly spread throughout our community and people with cleanup needs started contacting me to connect them with Plain Compassion. Debris clean-up, roofs tarped, trees trimmed, small repairs… I heard feedback from the community that they were taken care of quickly by this ministry, sometimes the same day or within a couple days at the latest. It was such a great blessing that in the middle of our chaos and mess that we could get help from people who cared. They were the hands and feet of Jesus in action. I feel like I made new friends and cannot put into words how grateful I am to have been a small part of connecting them with our community. I am thankful as a Pastor and we are so thankful as a community and we pray many blessings upon everyone involved in this ministry! I do not know where we would be without your help! Pastor David Johnson #USDisasterResponse #PCCR #Hope #Disastercleanup

Morocco 🇲🇦 Would you help us build shelters in Morocco to prepare for winter? We are partnering with an another organization to build 1000 shelters for the families who need them most. The other organization is providing the materials while we provide the volunteers and logistics to build them. Our cost is $50 per shelter to provide the logistics, transportation and assembling of these shelters. Our goal is to raise $50,000 for this project. Every $50 helps another family prepare for the oncoming winter. Donation link below https://plaincompassion.kindful.com/?campaign=1271584 Thank you for your gift of any amount. Your support truly does make a difference! *for security purposes we cannot show the shelters we built

Haiti 🇭🇹 As with any crisis response work, the needs evolve and the work changes. While Haiti is still in a crisis and is still experiencing a food shortage, rains have fallen and the average person is able to find a way to make do. There is still much hunger, and most people still live on the verge of starvation, especially in rural areas. Our focus has shifted to working solely within the prisons. This is a place largely forgotten, except by those who live there. Many young people are locked up in Haiti’s prisons and forgotten. A small crime can get you arrested and then it takes an average of seven to eight years before you will go before a judge and even be charged with a crime. Food is limited, if you don’t have family on the outside to take care of you, it’s very bad. 70% of the prisoners are experiencing severe malnutrition and lack of basic hygiene products. 100% are living with a society that tells them they can never be a productive member of society again. Over the last year, we have been able to build relationships both with the prison authorities and the prisoners. We are routinely reaching over 2,300 inmates and have distributed over 1,000 bibles into the prisons of Haiti. This, along with the weekly church services in two of the largest prisons in the south is making a huge impact on the incarcerated people in Haiti. #Haiti #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Morocco 🇲🇦 We came to help a people in a crisis. A people who lost so much, some lost everything, even family. And yet at the end of the day, I leave feeling like I received more than I could possibly give. The warm welcome, the hospitality, the tea, shared laughter over trying to learn new words, and the amazing food! They give, even when they don’t have much. We sit and chat over tea as much as we can through the language barrier. And it can soon start to feel like we are wasting time because we’re not building shelters or “doing” something to help them. But then I’m reminded that relationships over productivity is really what actually matters, and is the real reason we do what we do. So if all I “do” is sit and drink tea and build relationships, my mission is complete. Shelters, distribution, work and relationships: All have a time and a place. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” #Morocco #MoroccoEarthquake #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Ukraine 🇺🇦 The work in Ukraine began in February ’22 and here are the current statistics: 2,264,600 pounds of aid have been delivered both to frontline communities and churches & shelters that care for people who've been displaced due to the war. The vast majority of the aid is food, but also includes other essentials like medical supplies, blankets, and hygiene products. 808 people have been evacuated from front-line areas. 400 stoves and 7,000 lbs of wood with each stove, a total of 2.8 million pounds firewood to go with it, got delivered to front-line communities in the winter of ’22. The Lord worked through a relatively small team of dedicated and hardworking volunteers and opened the hearts of many generous supporters who partnered with us in the work.👏🏼 #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

Ukraine 🇺🇦 The work in Ukraine began in February ’22 and here are the current statistics: 2,264,600 pounds of aid have been delivered to front-line communities, churches and shelters for people who had to move from their homes due to the war. The vast majority of the aid is food, but also includes other essentials like medical supplies, blankets, and hygiene products. 808 people have been evacuated from front-line areas. 400 stoves and 7,000 lbs of wood with each stove, a total of 2.8 million pounds firewood to go with it, got delivered to front-line communities in the winter of ’22. The Lord worked through a relatively small team of dedicated and hardworking volunteers and opened the hearts of many generous supporters who partnered with us in the work.👏🏼 #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

Haiti 🇭🇹 We are now working in over four prisons in Haiti. We just can’t believe the doors that God has opened. One thing that we’ve noted is that among the prisoners, the demand for Bibles is higher than for food! They just love it if we have Bibles or song books to hand out. It’s a great opportunity most of them don’t have a radio there is no Tv and there are no other books to read. One of our prayer services this week was a little more somber than normal. Just that morning, a prisoner had died from cholera and while we were having church service, there was shooting near by. All of this is a sober reminder that this life is temporary and the choices we make today are eternal. #Haiti #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR