PCCR News and Updates

Ukraine 🇺🇦 "Thank you so much for coming and bringing aid! You have no idea how happy we are to see you. No one has been able to come here for two weeks because of the weather, the only way into the city was too muddy for vehicles. We’re glad to see you've made it through... God bless you and thank you!” #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

Haiti 🇭🇹 In the past several weeks we have seen some of the local churches step up and do what they can to help the inmates in the Jacmel prison. It’s encouraging to see the churches become aware of the situation and partner with us in the work. Last Sunday, I spoke about the work we’re doing in the prisons at a large Haitian church. We are grateful for the opportunities to share about the work and get the local community involved. We have been praying for rain and yesterday, it rained! Despite the heavy downpour, people walked a long distance to be present at the food distribution. Once again, they were very grateful for the food. Several people told us of other families who are in need, but when they heard that we didn’t have enough food to help those families, they decided to share some of the food that they received to help their neighbors in need. This is how Haiti survives… even if they have very little, Haitians are very willing to share with those in need. It blesses us to see that happen, even in a crisis like this. #Haiti #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Mississippi / Arkansas 🇺🇸 This week, we wrapped up our tornado cleanup responses both in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Our volunteers spent around 2000 hours working alongside the Cajun Navy, and together, they were able to positively impact about 100 different homeowners. Working together and sharing resources and opportunities helped to maximize our impact on the community. Thank you for all your prayer support, financial contributions, and volunteer hours spent in the field! We truly could not do this without your help. #USDisasterResponse #Mississippi #Arkansas #Tornado #PCCR

Ukraine 🇺🇦 Our work in Ukraine has taken an interesting turn. We are transitioning from moving food to assisting with medical work. The medical system in eastern Ukraine is overwhelmed with military casualties, and many of the injured soldiers and civilians have little or no medical care. This is especially true in the areas where they have hundreds of dead and injured soldiers every day. Someone has given us an ambulance to use. We are staging that ambulance, staffed with a medical team, at one of the military stabilization points. This stabilization point is located in a front line town and has been bombed numerous times. The building has remained intact after every bombing and the medical personnel have continued working. The work is intense. Dozens of men come through this stabilization point each day. A few are dead and the others have every level of injury from critical to minor. The injured are stabilized, loaded into waiting ambulances, and taken to hospitals for further treatment or surgery. Our job is to transport the patients once they have been stabilized. We would appreciate prayer as we navigate the challenges and the needs of the medical initiative. #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

Mississippi 🇺🇸 The grief and loss of all the devastation in Rolling Fork, Mississippi gripped my heart. I observed what a beautiful town it had been and to see so much destruction everywhere and the reality of how long it will take to even have a decent new normal.. Sometimes it was hard just to see it; heart breaking, just realizing what people went through. Numerous people I talked to or heard of crouched in a closet or shower, watched their roof being torn off above them, wondering what else was left of their house. They stepped into the next room and realized everything else was gone. That’s not exactly an easy thing to endure. Can you put yourself in their shoes for a minute? Letting go of most of your earthly treasures; things of sentimental value is a lot. The memories held within a house and all the things it contains.. all evidence wiped away. And starting over takes a lot of strength. I think of the children, too, and how many of them didn’t understand everything going on and the trauma that really anyone can go through in something like this, not knowing whether they will still be alive when this thing blows over. What really blessed me though, was that although their loss was real, their hope was too. And it shone through bright and beautiful in the face of all the odds against them. It gave me a lot of good life perspective. -written by a volunteer #USDisasterResponse #Mississippi #PCCR

Haiti 🇭🇹 I recently had a conversation with the mayor in an area where we have done food distributions before. He told me: “Thank you, thank you, thank you for the food you have given to the people here. I really truly believe people would have starved to death already if you would not have come and helped. “ He also told us that the small VBS program that we did for the children was such a blessing and many people ask when we will come and do it again. A pastor in the same area told us that his church has never had this full. The people recognize that it is God who provided for them and this is drawing them to church. #Haiti #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Arkansas 🇺🇸 The National Weather Service confirmed a high end EF3 tornado in Little Rock. There were winds up to 165 mph with the estimated path length being 20 to 25 miles." There is tons of damage were the tornado was on the ground. In the area we're working in, the majority of the houses that actually got hit will probably have to be demoed and rebuilt. There is lots of trees and debris to clean up and haul off. And lots of people to love and listen to. We are needing volunteers for next week. If you are interested in serving next week sign up here. https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/ca56ae0d7fac4e9b97ff3c9a93cf7c30 #USDisasterResponse #Arkansas #Tornado #PCCR

Ukraine 🇺🇦 Willing hands and merry heart's make light work unloading a van load of humanitarian aid. #Ukraine #UkraineWar #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #HumanitarianCrisis #Hope #PCCR

Mississippi 🇺🇸 One lady and her daughter were at a prom night and by the time they got the warning, the tornado had already passed through. One of their friends called them for help because they were trapped. After the rescue, they went to where their home was. In the darkness they couldn’t see all that had taken place. “I walked through the door and into the dining room. I felt something strange and realized it was raining on me.” She lost nearly everything but her dog, who was in the house when it happened, but she was so relieved and grateful for that. Her house is completely gone, the remainders piled on the side of the road. Still her face radiated joy and tranquility, and her faith in God was strong and beautiful. It was so humbling for me to see. ~ From a volunteer #USDisasterResponse #Mississippi #PCCR

Arkansas 🇺🇸 Little Rock, AR had a tornado that went right through the city, leaving significant damage in its tracks. The National Weather Service Assessments are estimating an EF-3 tornado, with a 20-25 mile track. Over 2100 buildings are damaged. We have a response team working to assess the needs and are expecting to open it up for volunteers shortly. Photo from Rolling Fork Ms #USDisasterResponse #Arkansas #Tornado #PCCR

Mississippi 🇺🇸 One of the jobs that we were working on yesterday and today was a home where the tornado had picked up a semi truck from the neighbor's driveway and dropped it onto the home of an elderly couple. They were able to get the truck off the roof and haul it off. But the couple didn't survive. I got to talk with their children that were there, picking through the rubble. It was really sad because they had to go to the funeral yesterday, while we were there taking down the stuff. They went through all the stuff, found what they wanted and set out to demo the rest. We tried to keep an eye out for stuff that they might still want, that they wouldn't have been able to spot, the stuff that would be memorable. And it's really sad watching them go through this. I thought, they were handling it really well. That was one of the worst houses. It basically got leveled, except maybe one corner of the place that was still standing. We also had three other houses right there that we were working on, getting trees off of the roofs. We'll be finished leveling two of them today and attempt to move all the trash to the road side. #USDisasterResponse #MississippiTornado #PCCR

Haiti 🇭🇹 Most of the areas in Haiti are experiencing a drought. Many people need to walk a great distance to find a spring or well that still gives water. Even when the wells still have water, it doesn’t come fast and sometimes the wait time is more than two hours to fill the jugs. Sometimes, they don’t find any water at the well. No rain means nothing is growing, the animals look skinny and have a hard time surviving. In spite of the drought and the loss of their bean crops, the farmers are still planting again. They are spending more than what they will gain from the harvest. At this point, it seems that almost everyone is trying to leave Haiti. Doctors, lawyers, students, teachers, directors and even the police. The majority of Haitians just want to live in a place of peace where they can find what they need to survive. #Haiti #CrisisResponse #InternationalCrisisResponse #HumanitarianAid #hope #PCCR

Mississippi 🇺🇸 Rolling Forks MS, March 27 2023 The streets are in chaos, clogged with downed power lines, sightseers and volunteers. The fields of rubble are seemingly endless, the devastation is complete. In the middle of all this, someone has planted a stick into the ground and on it is flying the American flag. It appears to me as a rallying point, a battle cry, a call to action, a testament of the indomitable human spirit. Against ALL odds, we will prevail. The locals all have the look dazed look of survivors. The look of one who has not yet fully comprehended the terrible thing he just survived. The stories of survival are numerous. I stop to talk to a few ladies digging through what had once been their home. Now it is reduced to a pile of stinking, dirty rubbish. They had been trapped in that same pile of rubbish for two and a half hours. Now, they are searching for a purse. I get right into the middle of it and start moving the rubble, this is several hundred houses all mixed up in one big pile and I have no expectation of finding the purse, but I look anyway. And while we move the rubble, we talk, about the storm, about being trapped, about their nephew who is in the hospital with a brain injury. They are all so grateful to be alive. Not one word about their loss, only that they are thankful to be alive. Truly, these people are heroes. ~Joseph Miller #USDisasterResponse #Mississippi #PCCR