The situations in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are becoming more dire.
Donate, please, to relief efforts. I've donated to the efforts of Lutheran World Relief in those places. Our church is helping with relief efforts in Texas and Florida through our denomination's disaster response team.
Pray for the people there.
And ask our government to quicken the pace and increase the amount of help going to our fellow Americans.
It has been nine days since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. There's virtually no electricity or clean drinking water. The food supply is dwindling. There are shortages of fuel. A small percentage of hospitals are open. People in need of medical treatments can't get them. As one doctor said this evening on one of the news networks, children may die because there's no way of getting 25-cent antibiotic tablets to them. The death toll resulting from the storm and nine days that have passed since is probably incalculable.
What's going on in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands isn't something you expect to see in advanced, can-do America. Even as we pray and rely on God, we must do better. Our sisters and brothers, our fellow Americans, are suffering and dying because of a preventable post-hurricane disaster. We, and the government that represents us, need to be Good Samaritans. Our Lord commands us to do so. And our Constitution commits us to mutually provide for our general welfare. Time is of the essence!
[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio. Living Water is a congregation of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).
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