Maui Update: How the Harvest Maui Relief Fund Made a Difference
We all have heard of the horrible fire that hit Lahaina, Maui—where our church Harvest Kumulani is located—back in August last year. It’s one of the worst in American history, sweeping the island and destroying anything in its path. People lost their homes, livelihoods, and, tragically, some even lost their lives.
The majority of our congregation on Maui worked and lived in and around Lahaina, meaning that many at Harvest Kumulani lost their homes, jobs, or both in one night. But our church has a great sense of ohana, or, “family.” They’ve cared for one another and their community during this tragic time.
The church shines in dark times. It’s what we do best.
What Your Support Has Accomplished
Tangible Help
Immediately, we set up what’s called the Harvest Maui Relief Fund—and immediately we started seeing your overwhelming support. Thanks to your generous donations, many families were provided immediate needs like food, clothing, and a roof over their heads.
We’ve also been able to provide school supplies, mental health specialists, medical care, and family events that included movie nights and outreaches to thousands of kids.
The aftereffects of the fire are particularly hard for children. They are now bussed over an hour to and from school since their original schools were destroyed. We’ve assisted the local schools where we can, building temporary classrooms.
And I also want you to know that we continue to support Maui’s first responders, who are also victims of the fires.
Now, as we move forward, we are building a new facility for our Maui campus that we hope will open later this year.
We are building out a new facility for Harvest Maui that we hope to open later this year. This Church is not only a light to those that attend it here on the island, especially in the aftermath of the fire but it is also a place where tourists come and find Christ. Remember to… pic.twitter.com/TeFam5ibJ3
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) May 1, 2024
Spiritual Help
But we believe that our greatest message is hope. What is hope? An acronym for hope is “holding on with patient expectation.” Hope in God anchors us in tumultuous times. He can bring “beauty out of ashes.”
Since day one, we’ve strived to bring help, hope, and perspective to people. We’ve wanted to point people to Jesus.
So, we’ve offered not only tangible help, but spiritual help through spiritual resources, pastoral care, and the recent Hope for Lahaina event.
The people of Maui have been deeply traumatized by this fire that took over 100 lives and displaced over 6,000 people. With this event, we were able to point them to the One who can carry them through: Jesus Christ.
This event included two services with over 3,000 in attendance, and many even made a commitment to follow Jesus!
I want you to experience this amazing time as well. And soon you will be able to with our Harvest+ app! Stay tuned for more details!
Continue to Support Maui
We’re here for the long haul. We’re going to continue helping where we can. If you’d like to give to the Harvest Maui Relief Fund, click below.
To the many of you who have already given, I want to thank you for that. As you can tell, it made a huge difference!
And we’re going to continue putting your generosity to good use, bringing hope to the hurting people of the entire island of Maui.
Let’s keep praying together for the folks there as they work to rebuild. And, as they say in Hawaii: mahalo, which means, “thank you.”
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