Thai children support Haiti earthquake relief

Haiti relief from those with little to those left with nothing

Rev. Dr. Leonardo Neitzel receives a donation for Haiti relief from Lutheran church children in Takuapa, Thailand.

THAILAND – The congregation in Takuapa in southern Thailand knows the effects of a natural disaster. Many lost family members in the tsunami which struck on December 26, 2004 and survivors received assistance from Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC). Their community became a centre for emergency relief efforts and body identification.

Now children at Takuapa Sahatay Lutheran Church have responded to a natural disaster half-a-world away by donating almost 3500 baht (about C$110) to help the people of Haiti. Most members of the Takuapa church live at a subsistence level but, as Lutheran Church–Canada president, Rev. Robert Bugbee observed,
 “their gifts are a reflection of the love they have experienced from God through Jesus Christ.”

Members of churches attending a convention of Igelsia Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua shortly after the earthquake in Haiti made a similar donation for relief work. Many there had also received disaster assistance through Lutheran Church–Canada in 1998 following Hurricane Mitch.

“When you understand how God sacrificed His Son to bring you forgiveness and new life, you respond to the needs of others with a similar generosity,” said the president. “Our gifts are small by comparison, but God uses them in mighty ways.”

Lutheran Church–Canada’s relief efforts are coordinated with Canadian Lutheran World Relief. You can support these efforts at www.clwr.org/donate .

Follow Dr. Neitzel’s visit to Southeast Asia at www.lccontheroad.ca

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