In response to a 6.2 earthquake that shook central Italy last Wednesday, MercyWorks is sending teams to help.  We anticipate the teams will primarily minister through prayer and counseling, but helping to meet the practical needs as well. We invite you to join us in praying about this. If you desire to join either the assessment or the ministry team to follow, please contact MercyWorks directly.

As always, we will be taking Bibles with us. These of course will be Italian Bibles.  We find people take great comfort in the words of Jesus all over the world. Each Bible costs approximately $10 and we will order as many as we can.

With hundreds dead and thousands displaced from their homes, the people in the central Italy town of Amatrice and the surrounding region are bravely dealing with death and destruction all around them.  On Sunday, a wedding took place outdoors in the town of Acquasanta Terme, near the epicenter of the devastating quake. The bride and groom had been planning their wedding for over a year but the church they were to marry in was hit by the quake. Instead of relocating their wedding to another town, the couple held their service outdoors in the village square as a testament that even in destruction, life goes on.

When the earthquake hit last Wednesday, it brought back memories of a quake that struck seven years ago in a city just 30 miles to the south that killed over 300.  Earthquakes in this part of Italy are usually modest in magnitude. Within hours of last week’s 6.2 earthquake, a much stronger 6.8 quake hit Burma. But since the earthquake in Burma was deeper beneath the surface, hardly any buildings collapsed and just three people died from it. The Italian quake in Amatrice, however, erupted just beneath the surface. Older buildings, built during medieval times before building codes and reinforced concrete became standardized, are far more vulnerable to damage and danger to people and property when they collapse.

We are still responding to the recent Louisiana floods and the tens of thousands who have been displaced and lost their homes. MercyWorks helps people afflicted by war, famine, natural disaster or extreme poverty … whether across the street or across the world.

Please be praying with us for the people of Italy and Louisiana and please pray for our teams in both places. Any amount of donated funds will help us bring God’s love to those in need.