Early in September, the third major hurricane of the season tore through the Caribbean and Gulf Coast, leaving a pathway of destruction. Hurricane Ike has been blamed for more than 150 deaths, including 68 in the U.S., and 74 in Haiti. There are at least 365 people still missing. While actual costs are steadily climbing, damage estimates to the U.S. coastal areas are estimated at $27 billion, with additional damage of up to $4 billion in Cuba.

While many in the media have returned to their respective areas, residents of Texas and Louisiana, as well as those hardest hit in Cuba and Haiti, are just now beginning the difficult work of rebuilding their lives.

Meanwhile, with a heart for mission and disaster relief, many members of the Oregon Conference stepped forward to assist. On Sept. 29, a loaded semi-truck left Oregon, bound for Houston, Texas, to aid in the relief effort. Adventist Community Services spent the prior week collecting 9,500 pounds of goods, which were then sorted, organized into 325 boxes, and loaded into a Texas Adventist Conference semi-truck. On Oct. 1, a group of five ACS members headed down to Houston for two weeks to help with the relief effort. Stories of their work will be published on the Oregon Conference Web site, as well as in the December issue of the GLEANER.