Dianna Bonfield, Director of Volunteers & Disaster Response for LCC, reflects on how God works through volunteers and donors

It was an awesome experience to see God at work these past few weeks, working in and through His people to provide His church in Haiti with the resources to touch people’s lives with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, amidst the darkness of a nation where the majority of people practice voodoo. Recently, on one of the Christian radio stations, I heard a report from some missionaries in Haiti saying that before the earthquake of January 13, at sunset every evening, you would begin to hear the sounds of the voodoo drums that would play throughout the night. Since the earthquake, what you hear now are Christians in the parks and the streets where they now live, getting together to sing praises to God and praying.

On Thursday, January 14, the day after the earthquake, LCC posted an appeal for cash donations for Haiti. Those donations continue to come in. The next day (January 15) LCC published the LCMS World Relief and Human Care list of items that were needed immediately. The response of God’s people was amazing. By Sunday evening (January 17), after making phone calls to some of the churches who had been collection sites for Hurricane Katrina, we had ten congregations respond that they would serve as collection sites. By the following Thursday (Jan. 21), we had an astounding 25 collection sites: 22 in Illinois, three out of state – Arkansas, Michigan and New York. The New York site decided to start their collection on February 1 and run it the entire month of February, then have a packing party the first week in March, and at the end of the week ship what they have collected. Please pray that God uses them in a mighty way.

In Illinois, with 90 congregations collecting and feeding supplies to the 22 collection sites plus the outpouring from public schools and businesses and other individual donations, we thought it would take a full week on our end to set up, and another full week to pick up and palletize of the donations. As Volunteer Coordinator, and never having put together such an event, I felt that it was a bit out of my league. However, I knew that if this was in God’s will, by the end of the second week it would all come together –somehow. What I thought would take at least two full weeks God made happen in an amazing seven working days. With no place where we could even do this, God made available a beautiful 42,000 square foot warehouse complete with a fork lift. On Wednesday, January 27, some of our key LCC volunteers and the LCC staff started setting up the warehouse, and the donations of packing supplies started arriving. By noon on Friday, January 29, the first of three large collections arrived at the warehouse. That evening we received the news that God had provided donations of food to feed the volunteers for the whole week to come!

Monday, February 1 arrived and God had yet another outstanding surprise for us. Through the work of the donors and the wonderful volunteers He supplied, by 8:00 pm, we had finished palletizing every single one of the donations that had come in from Friday and Monday. The volunteers had put together an amazing 89 pallets and everyone was able to go home an hour earlier than planned.

On Tuesday, February 2, the volunteer drivers, using box trucks, brought in the rest of the donations and by 6:30 pm, the rest of the donations were palletized and ready to ship. The volunteers then helped knock down tables and clean up the warehouse before they went home, two hours earlier than planned, and we were able to cancel the rest of the work week.

Both days, we had several prayer warriors who went around to each pallet and prayed over the boxes of supplies asking God: to protect the supplies and get them to the people that needed them; to bless the donor, the volunteers who packed them and the drivers who transported them; and finally, bless the person who would be receiving the donation that they may know God’s love and compassion for them.

Our God is an amazing God! In just two days, the volunteers had picked up, photographed, delivered, sorted, packed, and palletized every one the donations for an amazing total of 122 pallets (43.7 tons!) which filled two 53-foot semis with a few extra pallets to be added to yet another semi leaving at a later date. Late Thursday morning, February 4, the fully-loaded semis departed for South Carolina and unloaded early Friday morning at the warehouse for Cross Ministries International, where they were put in containers bound for Haiti. Volunteers and staff alike, after being part of this event, can only stand in awe of what God did and gave us the privilege of being a participant. Several volunteers and staff said they could feel and see God’s presence in that warehouse and there are no words to describe it.

This is only part of the story because there were donations that were part of this shipment that were going directly to South Carolina from other parts of the country. You can follow updates on the LCC website – www.LutheranChurchCharities.org.

Although this shipment in now gone, LCC is still receiving calls of corporate donations, which we will continue to help get connected and get these donations to Haiti. What an Awesome God we serve!!!