From Our Pastors

The images coming out of Haiti are horrific! The devastation and destruction are beyond belief. The expressions of grief and hopelessness on the faces of the Haitians, who already were living in unimaginable poverty and misery, are nothing short of heart-wrenching. Surely this earthquake was a tragedy of epic proportions - just as the tsunami in Thailand, the floods in Japan, the forest fires in California and so many other national disasters that plague the earth are horrific! But there is something these tragedies are not—they are not acts of God! I cringe whenever I hear anyone, (including insurance companies), label such tragedies as "an Act of God." What a distortion of the work of God in our world!

We worship a God of infinite love and compassion. We worship a God whom we know as the Creator of Life, not the Destroyer of Life. What parent, unless he/she is mentally unbalanced, would afflict his/her children with misery and tragedy and death and destruction. So why would anyone expect or accept such treatment from God, who is the Author of Life? Yet, too many of us seem completely willing to impugn God with cruel and sadistic actions.

We need to pray for the Haitian people - and all people who struggle with misery and oppression. We need to work diligently for justice and equality in the world so that all people have the opportunity to share in the bounty of the earth. And, we need to see and celebrate God’s clear and abiding presence in our world in the midst of disasters - the people who, at their own peril and sacrifice, perform heroic feats to save victims of disaster. Surely God is there. We see God with those people who find the strength to begin their lives again, even when they have lost virtually everything that was important to them. Surely God is present with them. We need to see God’s presence in the rising and setting of the sun each day that tells us that life continues no matter what. Surely God is present in the constancy of creation.

I believe that God is weeping with all those who are in mourning in the midst of this latest destruction, devastation and death. And I believe that God will bring comfort to those who mourn, hope to those who are in despair, light to those who are in darkness and order to those who are in chaos! Thanks be to God.

Jane Tews

30-Hour Famine

Chances are, one of our youth has asked you for money. Dayspring Youth Ministry is once again participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine, an event when the Jr. High and Sr. High youth fast for 30 straight hours. They raise donations for World Vision’s programs and learn about worldwide hunger and poverty while working at local food banks and homeless shelters. This is Dayspring’s fifth year participating in the famine.

This year, a portion of the money raised during the famine, will go directly to World Vision’s relief efforts in Haiti. World Vision has been working in Haiti for 30 years, has more than 800 Haitian staff members and began distributing emergency supplies on January 13, the day after the earthquake devastated the country. Because they had pre-positioned goods in Haiti for disaster response, they were able to immediately assist 10 hospitals and approximately 1500 families with items such as gauze, bandages, syringes, latex gloves, antibiotics, and water purification tablets. Additionally, World Vision was cleared for an airlift of 18 metric tons of emergency supplies Including tarps, hygiene kits, cooking sets, and collapsible water containers.

For more information about World Vision, please go to www.charitynavigator.org or www.worldvision.org.

Dayspring Business Directory

The 2009 Dayspring Business Directory, a listing of businesses that are owned by or employ members of the Dayspring family, is now available on-line (see below).

Clicking on the booklet below will bring up a fullscreen display, and you can flip backward and forward through the pages by clicking on the arrows to the left and the right of each page.

H1N1 (Swine flu) Symptoms

Click here for a table that shows the differences between the symptoms of the H1N1 flu and the common cold. This table may be updated frequently, so be sure to check back from time to time.

A couple of very important links to more detailed information about the swine flu are included in that document, and we repeat them here for your convenience:

• Know What to Do About the Flu (Flu.gov)
• 2009 H1N1 Flu and You (CDC)

Polly Smith
Dayspring Health Care Advocate

Books Available in the Dayspring Library

The Dayspring Library Book List has just been updated. See the list (below):