As I write, our Mercy Chefs team in eastern Kentucky is in the midst of serving dinner to flood victims and volunteers. Demand is increasing by the day. We are already serving over four times the number of meals daily that were originally requested by local officials when we first deployed.

This is such a critical time in our deployment. Once Mercy Chefs is established and providing chef-quality meals for lunch and dinner every day, word begins to spread and requests for help pour in from flood-devastated communities. Plus, the search and rescue efforts are still ongoing so the communities are actually in the early stages of this devastating disaster. Floodwaters also remain an issue and the area is bracing for more rain along with the challenges of heat and humidity. 

+ + Can you help me right now in THREE WAYS?

With this deployment at a critical stage, I'm turning to our Mercy Chefs friends and partners and asking for your help in three important ways...

#1 -- Sponsor meals for flood victims, volunteers, and emergency workers

My team is here preparing and delivering hot meals, but we need friends like you to help sponsor every meal we serve. Even if you've already helped, please consider how many meals you can sponsor today. Perhaps you can help with 10 meals ($35), 50 meals ($175), 100 meals ($350) or more. Go here to make your tax-deductible gift to sponsor hot meals for flood victims and continue other vital efforts:

If you haven't yet helped with our Kentucky flood relief, please do so today! We need every friend of Mercy Chefs helping to carry the load.

#2 -- Share this message with your friends

Perhaps you have friends or family who are looking for a practical way to help Kentucky flood victims. We need as many friends partnering with us to meet the needs of hurting families. A few ways you can share:

• Email this update with 5-10 friends. Email them this link.
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

#3 -- PRAY for the people of Kentucky!

The folks here need our support and our prayers. Gov. Beshear said yesterday there are still hundreds missing. Pray for search and rescue teams. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones. Pray for those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed and are facing a long road of recovery. And pray for our Mercy Chefs team as we serve eastern Kentucky with chef-quality meals.

Finally, thank you so much for partnering with Mercy Chefs. We rely of the faithful support of our friends and partners in everything we do. Every meal we serve is backed by a generous and caring friend like you.

God bless,

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs