FIRST-PERSON: Miss Katelyn gives all she has

By Bill Townes

Bill Townes

One of our financial officers was visiting with Miss Katelyn in her home. As he began to leave, she asked him to please wait while she went to visit her bank. Unsure of what to do, he anxiously awaited her return. When Miss Katelyn returned from the bank, she proceeded to entrust to him her entire life savings to assist the people of Haiti. She instructed him to take all that she had for those who had nothing. She was not worried about the tax implications of her gift nor about her needs for tomorrow. Her heart was filled with compassion for the greater needs of those in Haiti. While Miss Katelyn had no regular source of income, she gave every dollar she had diligently saved over the years. Her self-imposed frugality had allowed her to painstakingly accumulate her small fortune.
 
To understand this sacrifice, you must know that Miss Katelyn does not watch much television nor has much interest in the Internet. She had heard the reports on the radio, saw some of the pictures of devastation on TV, and heard her friends and family talk about the tragedy unfolding in Haiti. As she listened and watched, God placed on her heart a passion to help, and she was moved to respond.

The story of Miss Katelyn’s generosity goes back a few generations. Her decision to partner with the North American Mission Board and help the Caribbean people of Haiti came as a result of her great-grandparents’ interaction with Southern Baptists many years ago. In the middle of the 20th century, Miss Katelyn’s great-grandfather and his extended family evacuated the neighboring island of Cuba and escaped the communist revolution to find freedom in America.

In Cuba, the family had been very affluent but when they ran from their homeland in the middle of the night, they carried with them only the clothes on their backs. In America, they found Southern Baptists ready and willing to help them relocate and resettle but more importantly, they found the everlasting peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The generosity that their family received has been shared with each successive generation. And Miss Katelyn finally found a significant way to repay the blessing that was extended to her family.

While there are many who have been called by God to give sacrificially and compassionately to help in disaster relief over the years, Miss Katelyn’s gift touched the North American Mission Board in a special way. Perhaps that is because Miss Katelyn is a vibrant, inquisitive and discerning 6-year-old girl. Her visit to the bank did not include a trip downtown to the local Bank and Trust building, but rather to the piggy bank in her room. She “withdrew” her entire life savings of $6 and placed it into the protective hands of her grandfather, Carlos Ferrer, NAMB’s chief financial officer.

Many years have passed since her “Papi” Carlos fled the shores of Cuba with his family to find refuge in America. Today his legacy to Katelyn is one of generosity and selflessness. And, since every penny given to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is put toward relief efforts, Katelyn is assured that her gift will be used exactly as she requested. The $6 gift from Katelyn is being used to purchase 25 pounds of rice, enough to stave off starvation for a Haitian family of four for six days.

Please pray about partnering with Katelyn to support Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts to assist the men, women and children of Haiti. Your financial gift will make a difference in their lives—and it will make a difference in yours, too.

The North American Mission Board has set up a Haiti disaster relief fund that will direct money to state conventions and other Southern Baptists who are doing relief work in Haiti. Donations may be made online, www.namb.net; by phone, 1-866-407-6262; by text - Text “NAMBDR” to 40579 to make a $10 gift; or by mail, North American Mission Board, P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368-6543. Make checks payable to "Haiti Disaster Relief Fund/NAMB."