USA President, Donald Trump has declared Sunday a “National Day of Prayer” for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Surrounded by leaders from the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Trump signed a proclamation from the Oval Office on Friday inviting all Americans “to pray for those who have lost family members or friends, and for those who are suffering in this time of crisis.”
“From the beginning of our nation, Americans have joined together in prayer during times of great need to ask for God’s blessing and God’s guidance. When we look across Texas and Louisiana, we see the American spirit of service embodied by countless men and women,” Trump said.
The storm initially made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Texas on 25 August before going back out to sea. It became a tropical storm for days, flooding Texan cities including Houston before moving on to the neighbouring state of Louisiana.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency said about 364,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid. As of Friday afternoon, the death toll from the storm had climbed to at least 46.
CNN reported on Friday that Mr Trump is proposing an initial $5.9bn (£4.6bn) for recovery efforts but the Texas authorities say the state might need more than $125bn.
Response from Church
A large number of Christian ministries and other humanitarian relief groups have been helping in the crisis, including Joel Osteen’s Ministries, Samaritan’s Purse, Operation Blessing International among others.
Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott joined the Rev. Franklin Graham on Thursday to help Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers in Rockport, Texas, as they carried out relief work in the wake of the devastation.
Tyler Perry on Friday pledged to donate $1 million to the hurricane victims with a share of the money going to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, as a sign of support for the ministry.
He vowed to give $250,000 of the $1 million to Osteen’s megachurch and defended the pastor against all of the scrutney he received for delaying opening his church to house the displaced until Tuesday morning.
marvin@ugchristiannews.com
