Greetings from Dakar, Senegal!

Jon is a good friend of mine and the past chairman of Clinton County Christian Coalition. He now works for CBN in Africa. Here is an update on his work. SMU From: "Cassel, Jon" Jon.Cassel@cbn.org Friends, Greetings from Dakar, Senegal! I would guess that you would not expect to hear from me on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina! I am writing because I want to forward this ministry opportunity to you from my good friend, Bob Fox. Bob works for our Operation Blessing at our Virginia Beach headquarters. I attended church while in the states a few weeks ago with Bob and his wife and enjoyed dinner at his home. I know his heart is for the Lord and that any project he would lend his hand and name to would be a good one. I respectfully ask you to prayerfully consider presenting this opportunity to your pastor and church, and please, feel free to circulate this information! May God richly bless you! In Christ, Jon Cassel Dakar -----Original Message----- From: Bob Fox [mailto:bob.fox@ob.org] Sent: Sat 10/09/2005 17:06 To: Cassel, Jon Subject: Report from Houston on Evacuee Relief & How Churches Can Help Dear Friends, This is Bob Fox writing to you from Houston, Texas where I have been serving the needs of the hurricane evacuees for the past 9 days. Operation Blessing sent me here to augment the staff of Somebody Cares America--one of the most respected urban ministries Houston and in America founded by Doug Stringer 20 years ago. They are coordinating relief to evacuees across several states. They helped 11,000 with free vouchers to local stores, clothes and cots in Houston alone in just the week I was there. Operation Blessing is a partner with them in this huge relief effort. My wife and I felt privileged just to be here and see the Church love our neighbors so well. God was greatly glorified! America will never be the same. The incredible state of Texas has about 240,000 survivors of the 1.5 million from the New Orleans region who may be displaced and 3 million Americans total my be out of their homes across the hurricane's path of destruction! America will never be the same in the wake of this unprecedented disaster. In the maze of so many needs, one thing is clear: many will not stay in the shelters and temp housing they are now in much longer. Within weeks, many will not be able to afford to stay in hotels, many will despair of living on the football fields of the large stadiums and most cannot return to their former homes for many more months--if ever. Literally hundreds of thousands of people need to find new, permanent homes. This is why I am sending this message. What the Red Cross, FEMA and social service agencies could never do, the Church can do: help resettle these weary, destitute folks in loving communities across America. God wants to send many people to churches---to be loved as our neighbor, saved, discipled, have their marriages and families healed and find a new life with a meaningful job. By God' grace, the Church will Never Be the Same! This can be the Church's finest hour! God is giving His Church massive opportunities to love our neighbor as never before since the Great Depression. Project: Church Welcome <http://cbn.com/special/churchwelcome/index.asp> CBN.Com has started a program to match churches who want to adopt a displaced hurricane survivor with a church who has survivors who want to be adopted by a church. This is a church to church program only. That insures some needed accountability in such a sensitive and critical process. Here's what you can do to help rescue Katrina survivors needing a new place to live: Go to CBN.Com <http://cbn.com/> , hit the link to Project: Church Welcome <http://cbn.com/special/churchwelcome/index.asp> Fill our the PDF form there to register as a church who wants to adopt. Start now to prepare for a long-term commitment to one or more families to give them a fresh start--just like Jesus did with all of us. Let's learn how to love our neighbors through the long-term in this great disaster. When linked to a healthy church, many of these folks could end up having a much better life than before and receive eternal life in the process! If your church in the diaster area has survivors who want to be adopted, email me or call me 24/7 at Operation Blessing: bob.fox@ob.org My cell number is 757-620-3067 . We'll connect you with the churches wanting to adopt and you can work out the details together. The sooner you email or call, the sooner we can help these homeless American hurricane survivors. Blessings, Bob Bob Fox Operation Blessing Programs and Project Manager 977 Centerville Turnpike/ CSB 322 Virginia Beach, VA. 23463 757-226-3402 757-620-3067--cell 757-226-6205--Fax http://www.ob.org "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." -- John Wesley