Youth at Ferry Memorial Reformed Church in Montague put their faith into action by helping the earthquake victims in Haiti.
The senior and junior high youth assembled 156 personal “hygiene kits” for Church World Service which is supplying them to the earthquake victims in Haiti, many who have been left with nothing. It is estimated by the Haitian government that over 200,000 people died in the quake which was centered near the county’s capital city of Port au Prince.
And, the church members were behind the youth, donating the hygiene items or money for the project. The church’s Christian Relief Fund provided $100 toward the project.
Youth and Family Life Pastors, Nick Bowling and Amy De Groot Bowling informed the church of the project with an announcement in the bulletin the Sunday after the Jan. 12 earthquake, and a week later the youth were assembling the kits.
Each kit included: a hand towel, washcloth, comb, nail clipper, bar of soap, toothbrush and six Band-Aids®. They were placed in a one-gallon, sealable plastic bag.
“It only took them a half hour to assemble the kits,” said the Rev. Amy De Groot Bowling. The packers included 10 senior high and 10 junior high youth.
The kits were packed into six cardboard boxes and taken to the Montague Post Office for mailing.
The youth tried to make sense of the tragedy.
Anais Felt believes the earthquake is part of God’s infinite plan. “God gave them (Haitians) this for other people to give. I feel fortunate that we can give.”
Josh Adkins said the earthquake has brought to light the plight of the impoverished in Haiti. “I think Haiti is one of those countries people don’t think about. It’s terrible event happened next to us. It’s our place to help out.”
Anneke Vermuelen is concerned about the future of the Haitian people. She said she heard the earthquake will no longer be a major story in the media after Valentine’s Day, but the needs will still be there.
Vermuelen said she exchanged emails with a Haitian orphan awhile back, and she knows of a Haitian woman who reported 30 people, left homeless by the earthquake,” were living in her backyard.
Vermuelen said the woman reported she heard the people sing hymns and praise God before going to sleep. “People are turning to God,” she said.
Rev. De Groot Bowling said she approached Senior Pastor, Rev. Dick Klaver about the project a week after the earthquake. “He said, ‘Sometimes doing things can be a prayer.’”
Then, the Haitian had Ferry Memorial Reformed Church and its youth “praying” for them.
