GIVING TUESDAY: WHEN THE WATER RISES, SO DOES THE NEED
Philippines Flooding Crisis: Please Help Us Help Them
This Giving Tuesday, we are asking you to look beyond the photographs.
Look beyond the flooded streets.
Look beyond the weather maps.
Look beyond another report about another typhoon.
Because behind all of it are people.
A father who cannot get to work because the road is impassable.
A mother trying to stretch what little money remains to buy food for her children.
A student whose classes have been disrupted again.
A family watching floodwater creep closer to their home.
A farmer looking across land and crops damaged by relentless rain.
An elderly person wondering whether another evacuation will be necessary.
And countless families asking a very simple question:
HOW DO WE KEEP GOING?
This is the reality facing many people in the Philippines.
Successive tropical cyclones and the Southwest Monsoon—Habagat—have brought persistent heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides, evacuations, road disruptions, damage to agriculture, and interruptions to everyday life.
And even as we write this appeal, the weather threat has not completely disappeared.
WHEN YOU CANNOT TRAVEL, YOU CANNOT ALWAYS WORK
For many people, an impassable road is more than an inconvenience.
It can mean no paycheck.
Many Filipino families depend upon income that must be earned day by day or week by week.
If flooding prevents someone from reaching work, there may be no option to simply work from home.
No work can mean no income.
But the family still needs to eat.
The electric bill still comes.
Medicine still has to be purchased.
Children still have needs.
Transportation still costs money.
And when the roads finally reopen, families can emerge from the crisis already financially behind.
That is why we must understand:
THE FLOOD DOES NOT HAVE TO ENTER YOUR HOUSE TO ENTER YOUR LIFE.
THEN THE PRICE OF FOOD GOES UP
The crisis becomes even more difficult when severe weather damages farms and disrupts transportation and supply chains.
Vegetables and other agricultural products still have to reach markets.
When crops are destroyed, roads become difficult to navigate, and supplies are reduced, ordinary families can find themselves paying substantially more for the same basic necessities.
Think about that for a moment.
You are working less—or perhaps not working at all—while the things you need are becoming more expensive.
Rice.
Vegetables.
Drinking water.
Medicine.
Personal-care products.
Transportation.
Household necessities.
School needs.
The numbers begin adding up quickly.
And for a family already living close to the edge financially, there may simply be nowhere else to cut.
THIS IS WHY YOUR GIFT MATTERS
Sometimes we look at a crisis this large and conclude:
“What difference can my small donation possibly make?”
Please don't think that way.
You may not be able to feed an entire community.
But perhaps you can help feed one family.
You may not be able to rebuild every damaged home.
But perhaps you can help someone purchase something they desperately need.
You may not be able to solve the transportation crisis.
But perhaps your generosity helps someone obtain necessities while they cannot work.
The question is not:
“Can I fix the Philippines?”
The question is:
“CAN I HELP SOMEBODY?”
And the answer may very well be yes.
Jesus said:
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” — Matthew 25:40
GIVING TUESDAY IS ABOUT MORE THAN GIVING MONEY
Giving Tuesday gives us an opportunity to stop looking inward for a moment and look outward.
Somewhere tonight, somebody is praying.
“Lord, please help us.”
“Lord, provide food for my children.”
“Lord, please let the rain stop.”
“Lord, protect our home.”
“Lord, help me get back to work.”
“Lord, make a way.”
And perhaps we should never forget:
SOMETIMES GOD ANSWERS SOMEBODY'S PRAYER THROUGH SOMEBODY ELSE'S OBEDIENCE.
Maybe that somebody is you.
PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International is asking our friends, churches, ministry partners, prayer warriors, readers, families, and supporters around the world to stand with us.
We are working to continue reaching people in the Philippines and throughout Asia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ while also responding compassionately to practical human needs.
This Giving Tuesday, would you prayerfully consider helping?
Every gift matters.
Every prayer matters.
Every share matters.
Every person matters.
YOU CAN HELP THROUGH OUR GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN:
You may also support the ministry through:
PayPal
Cash App: $joybells49
X (Twitter) Tips: @joybells49
Facebook Messenger: /pastorjameslangston
Use whichever method is most convenient for you.
And if you are unable to give financially, please do not think you have nothing to contribute.
Pray.
Share this post.
Share our GoFundMe campaign.
Tell your church.
Tell your family.
Tell your friends.
Someone connected to you may be the person God uses to meet a need.
DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE WATER DISAPPEARS FROM THE NEWS
Eventually, the cameras move somewhere else.
The headlines change.
Social media finds another story.
But the people left behind still have to rebuild their lives.
The refrigerator still needs food.
The children still need school supplies.
The worker still needs employment.
The damaged house still needs repair.
The farmer still has to plant again.
And families still have to figure out how to recover financially.
The news cycle may move on long before the suffering does.
Please don't forget them when that happens.
PHILIPPINES, WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU
To our brothers and sisters in the Philippines:
We are praying.
We are watching.
We are concerned.
And we are asking others to stand with you.
The rain may fall.
The roads may flood.
The storms may come.
Prices may rise.
But there is something else that can rise:
COMPASSION.
Generosity can rise.
Prayer can rise.
Faith can rise.
The Church can rise.
And people thousands of miles away can decide:
“I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING—BUT I WILL DO SOMETHING.”
That is our Giving Tuesday appeal.
Not guilt.
Not pressure.
Compassion.
Look at the need.
Pray.
And then ask God:
“LORD, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO?”
Whatever He places upon your heart, do it.
Because somewhere in the Philippines, what seems small to us may be enormous to the person receiving it.
🇵🇭 PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PHILIPPINES.
🇵🇭 PLEASE STAND WITH THE PHILIPPINES.
🇵🇭 PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM.
One prayer.
One gift.
One meal.
One family.
One life at a time.
GIVE THROUGH GOFUNDME:
Other Ways to Give:
💙 PayPal
💚 Cash App: $joybells49
𝕏 X (Twitter) Tips: @joybells49
💬 Facebook Messenger: /pastorjameslangston
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
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🌎 Ministry: pomitaly.homestead.com
📚 Bookstore: thewilltosucceed.homestead.com
📰 Ministry Blog: joybells49.blogspot.com
Relevant @Mentions:
@PhilippineRedCross @dswdserves @dost_pagasa @govph @UNICEFPhilippines @WFP.Philippines @WorldVisionPhilippines @GoFundMe
Hashtags:
#GivingTuesday #PrayForThePhilippines #PhilippinesFlooding #TyphoonRelief #HelpUsHelpThem #DisasterRelief #Philippines #FloodRelief #FaithInAction #ChristianMinistry #HumanitarianAid #CompassionInAction #GiveHope #PrayerChangesThings #HelpingOthers #MissionaryWork #BodyOfChrist #SupportMissions #OneFamilyAtATime #PilgrimOutreachMinistries
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