Friday Afternoon:

Today, our team is continuing to serve meals to victims and volunteers in Lake Charles and surrounding communities. This week, we've provided more than 36,000 meals and we recently surpassed 77,000 for this deployment alone.

I want to share with you a brief video about one of the most heart-wrenching situations our Mercy Chefs team has encountered. It took place just a few days after we arrived in Lake Charles. Our hearts broke. Go here to watch:

This story demonstrates precisely why we work so hard to be at the site of a disaster as soon as possible after the tragedy strikes. In Lake Charles, our team was on the ground within 24 hours of the hurricane's strike and serving meals by lunch the next day -- with no power or water available in the town. Almost immediately, we heard about a low-income, assisted-care facility that was in desperate need, so we gathered up some meals and delivered them as part of the first meals we served. As it turns out, our efforts provided immediate relief to these folks who were in desperate need while also helping to get local officials focused on what could have been a dangerous and even life-threatening situation for the residents there.

So often, we see God's hand working in the midst of our meals. It's humbling. Thanks in large part to the faithfulness and generosity and prayers of friends like you, God always seems to do more than we can imagine as we serve chef-prepared, high-quality hot meals to disaster victims and volunteers.

Thank you so much for making this incredible ministry possible. We're serving hurricane victims in Louisiana today, and we can use your help. Go here to make you Go here to make your tax-deductible gift and help Mercy Chefs feed hurricane victims right now while we continue other efforts:

God bless!

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs