How can the CB family respond in the aftermath of what appears to be the world’s deadliest storm of the 21st century? The difficulty is compounded by the Myanmar government's distrust of the West.

In the midst of these adverse circumstance we would encourage those seeking to send financial aid to consider two resources.

WorldVenture has established has established the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund to aid in humanitarian relief.

Samaritan's Purse, which assisted with CBAmerica's initial response to hurricane Katrina, has once again been able to place workers in the disaster area and is assessing and implementing a strategy for aiding the hundreds of thousands individuals in distress.

Wow. As soon as I heard this story, I started telling it to others. Then I wanted to make sure it was true. So I contacted Ben Brown and Bryce Madsen and they confirmed it was all true. Who are these guys? Read on. Grace Church of Glendora and Pastor Gene Wood have a great ministry called Grace for Asia, which distributes free Bibles to the poor in China. This past month, many teams distributed over 50,000 Bibles in China! One team, led by Ben Brown, Pastor of International Baptist Church in Singapore, traveled to a church in China to verify and distribute 340 Bibles. However, over 600 people gathered to get a free Bible and only 340 Bibles were shipped to that location. They were short over 260 Bibles! This count was double checked and verified. Ben realized that many people would be disappointed and could perhaps create a “scene” that would attract unwanted attention. As the final two boxes of 40 Bibles were opened and hundreds were still in line, Ben asked his team to pray for God to intervene. . .

Leonard Sweet in his fascinating book "The Gospel According to Starbucks" suggests, "The reason why Starbucks generates such loyalty in the land of brandscapes has less to do with the virtues of coffee than its social virtues.  Starbucks offers an essential third place [third place is a sociological term for environments where community, connectedness and relationship can safely grow] where people can weave webs of connectedness.

Webs of connectedness . . . what a wonderful word picture applicable to the great realities of prayer! When we pray, we somehow get connected . . . to God . . . to His heart and plan . . . and to one another as we bring each other into the presence of the Lord.  Can you think of a safer, richer "third place" than in the presence of our great and gracious Lord? 

(Click here to read the rest of this story)