We'll soon finish up another day of serving hot meals to disaster victims and volunteers. This week, we're providing about 800 meals daily from our new base of operations in Paducah here in Western Kentucky. It seems every day the need increases.

+ + I got a call from the former governor...

On Sunday, I received a call from the former governor. He had been given my name by another relief organization and shared with me about a community that urgently needed help. Mercy Chefs has stepped up and added that community to our meal distributions. Calls are coming in from across the western half of Kentucky -- all the way to Bowling Green. The need here is still that great. 

The good news is, we have already begun to prepare meals from our new location -- a school facility that local leaders are letting us use and outfit so we can provide hot meals across this area of the state. Ann and I have been here in Kentucky since just after the first of the year, working on all the practical things we need to build and outfit our "Beacon of Hope" center. This week, we're converting rooms into dorms for volunteers who will be coming to help with the recovery. We'll be housing and feeding cleanup and construction teams -- just like we did in Panama City.

Our team is working toward having the Beacon of Hope fully functioning in its long-term mission of feeding and housing volunteers by January 22. That leaves us just 10 days to get everything done.

Will you help me launch our Kentucky Beacon of Hope while we continue to provide hundreds of hot meals to disaster victims every day? Go here to make your tax-deductible gift:

+ + These communities are still a tragic mess

I'm so grateful for the generous and faithful partnership of so many friends of Mercy Chefs. I only present this request because Mayfield and the surrounding communities are still a tragic mess. The tornado went on for miles and miles, leaving nothing but destruction in its path. We are still hearing stories from folks who lived through the horror of that night. One family was basically buried in their basement for hours as their entire house was destroyed above them. It took hours for rescue workers to dig them out. Miraculously, they survived.

Please consider how you can help us this month as we equip our Beacon of Hope center. And pray for the people here! They have faced challenge after challenge in the aftermath of the tornado strike. Rain. Bitter cold. Snow. They need our prayers and our help!

Thanks so much and may God bless you,

Gary and Ann LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs

P.S. The temperature plummeted last week. Thankfully, we were able to begin preparing meals from our new Beacon of Hope center. But we still have a lot of work to do to equip this new long-term base of operations by the 22nd. This week, we're getting sleeping spaces prepared. We need to install showers for the volunteers. We need kitchen equipment. And all the while, we're still providing hundreds of meals daily to tornado victims. Please help as you can! Go here: