Dear Extended Oasis Family and Friends;
I hope you are in a safe place, shuttered and ready to ride out our first hurricane in a long time in Broward and Dade County. By now, you know we have been so fortunate to have just narrowly avoided the brunt of this Category 4 storm.
While I am thanking God that we are not getting the direct hit, I am also very concerned for friends and family along the Central Coastline around Melbourne, Satellite Beach, Daytona and also our Oasis Church of North Florida in Jacksonville.
It appears the full brunt of the storm will hit the coastline between Melbourne and Daytona. Our middle son Nathan and his family are in Indian Harbour Beach and have been evacuated inland. We are very concerned for their safety and home as we are for so many others.
Earlier in the week, Matthew hit the South Western Coast of Haiti. There have been over 100 lives lost so far and as they get to the remote areas, they fear it will rise much more. Our primary partners have all given us an update and for the most part they have been spared.
We do have some preliminary reports from the Jacmel area where we had our Medical Missions trip last month. The damage there is extensive and we have not even heard from the areas most susceptible. We will give you an update in our Weekend Services.
We are thanking God that most of our families that have loved ones in the Caribbean Islands like Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti have reported that their families have only had minor damage and not loss of life. We Praise God! This is miraculous knowing the power of this storm.
OASIS, WE HAVE BEEN SPARED THE WORSE. NOW IT IS OUR TIME TO GIVE AND TO SHARE WHATEVER WE CAN WITH THOSE HIT HARDEST.
First, please give to our Bike for Haiti Missions. Many already do, but we need more than ever to give as much as ever. We have been funding some big projects, along with our regular Haitian ministries, but we do not have the margin to help with the tremendous needs that will be coming our way. You can give at church this weekend, or you can go online to GIVE NOW (Please remember these gifts are over and above your regular tithes and offerings you normally give). We are very blessed that we will not be spending thousands on repairs and loss of jobs, so let’s make a sacrifice and help others. It’s the least we can do. I assure you that anything given to our Haiti Missions will go directly there and not a penny will stay within our Oasis Ministry here in South Florida.
Secondly, be prepared to help our fellow Floridians to the North who will no doubt, need lots of help. As soon as the storm passes, we will be contacting our many friends in the central and northern parts of the coastal communities of Florida to find out how we can help. I’m sure we might be sending truckloads of help to them. Check our website at visitoasis.org and all our social media pages for more information on how we can help. If there are needs as early as this weekend, we will give you a shout out about those needs for our family North of us.
How appropriate that we begin our NEW SERMON SERIES this weekend, "RIGHT NOW".
I will be opening the series on Saturday and Sunday at all the services. It’s no coincidence that the title of my message is, "Serving Others". There is no better time to serve others than now. We will also be having a time of worship and thanksgiving for God’s grace on us here in South Florida.
There is NO BETTER time to worship and invite someone with you than this weekend. We have so much to be grateful for. Please join me this weekend to Thank God and show our gratitude for how awesome He is!
Can't wait to see you! Stay in and stay safe tonight.
I love you Oasis Church. It’s so great to be home. I am honored and humbled to serve you as pastor.
Guy Melton Senior Pastor Oasis Church of South Florida
P.S. Please GIVE NOW not only your tithes and offerings but an extra sacrificial gift for those suffering after the hurricane. You will find the Bike for Haiti giving tab when you click on the special Bike for Haiti graphic on our homepage.
P.P.S We also want to take the time now to extend our condolences to three long-time Oasis families who have lost loved ones this week.
This weekend, on Saturday October 8th, we will be having the Memorial Service for Ms. Anthea Melbourne who passed away last week. The service will begin at 9:30am at our Pembroke Pines Campus. We also extend condolences to the family of Willie Jenkins who suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack. His service information is still pending. Finally, Gaby Estrella-Matos, one of our ONE Students here at Oasis, lost her father suddenly this week. Please be praying for each of these families during their time of grieving.
