Yesterday I told you the need here in the Bahamas was overwhelming as THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of evacuees flood the capitol region of Nassau. The shelters aren't just full -- they are busting at the seams. One that we are serving was designed for 400 people. It now has 1,700 evacuees. And thousands more are coming to the island every day.

+ + Evacuees facing illness, malnutrition

This is one of the most desperate humanitarian situations that I've seen. First, many of the evacuees are arriving in bad shape -- sunken eyes, dehydrated, sick. Children are getting dysentery. Mothers with babies are arriving with little or nothing to help their infants. The already weakened evacuees then arrive at shelters that are packed far beyond their intended capacity. To make matters worse, high-quality, hot meals are very scarce. 

But hot, fresh meals are precisely what the evacuees need! They need healthy meals that are safe and provide the nutrition their bodies require. That's precisely what Mercy Chefs is doing! Our team is taking great care to serve the best meals possible made from the freshest produce and products available.

But again, the demand is overwhelming. Mercy Chefs' meal service effectively DOUBLED from Sunday to Monday and it DOUBLED AGAIN today. By the time dinner is finished, we will have served 4,000 meals today -- in a kitchen space designed to serve about 400 meals! Today, we added the commercial oven. And our team has been working from sunup to well into the night to prepare and serve these meals.

But we simply must do more!

Specifically, I urgently need a tilt skillet that will immediately double our meal capacity to about 8,000 meals daily. The skillet costs $20,000, but this one piece of equipment will enable us to serve 40,000 more meals over the next 10 days. Plus, at a cost of just $2.50/meal, we currently need $10,000 every day just to keep up with the current demand -- and we'll need $20,000 daily once we get the new equipment.

Can you help Mercy Chefs provide 4,000 meals in the next 24 hours and get the equipment we need to DOUBLE our meals here in the Bahamas as soon as possible? EVERY GIFT WILL HELP US FEED HURRICANE VICTIMS THIS WEEK while we continue other efforts. Go here to make your tax-deductible gift:

EVERY DAY Mercy Chefs depends on the generosity of friends like you. The meals we will serve tomorrow will be sponsored by friends like you making generous contributions. It costs just $50 to help Mercy Chefs provide 20 hot meals. Perhaps you can donate $100 (40 meals), $250 (100 meals), $500 (200), $1,000 (400 meals), or more. Your gift will make a difference RIGHT NOW in helping hurricane victims in the Bahamas.

There's so much more to share, including unbelievable doors that are opening for Mercy Chefs to serve as one of the main hubs of relief on battered Grand Bahama Island. But right now, WE MUST INCREASE OUR CAPACITY TO SERVE MEALS to the flood of evacuees.

Thank you in advance for your continued help, and please join me in praying for the people of the Bahamas.

God bless!

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs

P.S. This morning, I met with the Prime Minister's representative for the National Emergency Management Agency -- the Bahamas equivalent to our FEMA. They are asking for our help. I'm also coordinating with a church council here to network volunteers and maximize the impact of our efforts. Mercy Chefs' outreach here could grow EXPONENTIALLY in the coming days. But for today we must feed the evacuees. We'll serve 4,000 meals today. If we can get the equipment we need, that will double to 8,000 meals every day. Please prayerfully consider how you can help, and go here to make your tax-deductible gift: