Puerto Rico quakes continue; Keys for Kids sends hope, encouragement

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 00:00:35 -0500

Puerto Rico (MNN) — A 5.0 magnitude earthquake shook Puerto Rico yesterday. The U.S. territory is caught in a series of tremblors that began late December and peaked on January 7 with a 6.8-magnitude earthquake.

Fear keeps more than 4,000 people on the streets in tent cities as aftershocks continue. Executive Director Greg Yoder says Keys for Kids Ministries is sending hope and encouragement to Puerto Rican families.

Here’s how you can help – Keys for Kids needs to produce more Spanish Storytellers. By giving online, you can underwrite the cost of this production. Plus, a generous matching gift doubles every donation until the $12,000 goal is met.

Shaken souls

As explained here, the Caribbean is prone to seismic activity. Thanks to a wide variety of aid groups, Puerto Rican quake survivors are receiving help. “The survival needs are already being met. Other people have been responding with that… and that is a good thing,” Yoder says.

View of a collapsed house in barrio Barinas, Yauco, Puerto Rico, one week after January 7th, 2020 earthquake.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Believers at “The Rock” Christian radio station in Puerto Rico help meet the physical needs of earthquake survivors. “But, the one thing they lacked was [tools to] reach out spiritually to kids that are struggling,” Yoder explains.

“Anytime you rock a child’s world, they just want something to comfort them.”

God’s Word is the ultimate comfort, Yoder says, and that’s why Keys for Kids Ministries wants to send $12,000-worth of audio and print resources in English and Spanish to Gospel workers in Puerto Rico.

“We’re excited to be able to provide [for] this need,” Yoder says. “We’re just asking people to come alongside us and help.”

One generous donor offered to cover half of the $12,000 need if believers like you would rally around the cause and raise the other half. “[Each] dollar will be matched, up to $6,000,” Yoder says. “If it’s matched, obviously, we’ll have that $12,000 raised in no time.”

Click here to give online. You can also send your donation by mail to Keys for Kids Ministries at PO Box 1001, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.

Gospel opportunities

Boys share a Storyteller.
(Photo courtesy Keys for Kids Ministries)

This outreach could unlock more doors of opportunity. “There are so many people that need Jesus… there are so many other needs that Puerto Rico has,” Yoder says.

“This is just the beginning of possibly being able to reach thousands of kids for Christ.”

Storytellers, kids’ devotions, and teen devotions are among the resources Keys for Kids hopes to send to Gospel workers in Puerto Rico. These materials could become a timely “safe haven” for kids and young adults.

“Sometimes it’s good to get wrapped up in stories. I remember as a kid my mom reading chapter books to our family while we were getting ready for bed and, you know, you can get lost in your imagination,” Yoder recalls.

“Well, we don’t want people to get lost in their imagination as they listen to Keys for Kids stories. What we really want them to do is to see their need of a Savior – that there is a God who cares for them and loves them…and that God uses their circumstances, sometimes, to bring them to Himself.”

Header image depicts tents set up in southern Puerto Rico following major earthquakes. (Wikimedia Commons)

Mission Network News - Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico quakes continue; Keys for Kids sends hope, encouragement

Shaken souls

Gospel opportunities