Almost a year ago to the date, I was huddled in a tent with refugees I had met on the Syrian border.
Today, I’m back again … and I’m still just as overwhelmed by the stories I hear and the needs I see. I’m more convinced than ever before that we — as the body of Christ — can’t forget the plight of these refugees. We have to step up to help children like Omar.
I met Omar while visiting the mobile medical clinic near the border. He and his family had traveled several miles to come for the day’s food distribution.
That food distribution was the answer to some desperate prayers.
You see, what little money Omar’s family is able to scrape together each month is only enough to go toward just one need. And they have to choose which need it will be: Food to fill their empty stomachs? Medical care for the illnesses the kids always seem to get? Coats and warm clothes to protect them from the cold at night?
How do you choose which need is more important? How do you choose the right one to help save your child’s life?
It is an impossible choice, and one that refugees like Omar and his family face every day.
In fact, their situation has become so desperate that Omar was forced to work as a field hand this summer. He’s not even legally allowed to work because he is so young and because of his refugee status. But his family had to make another hard choice — to take the risk and send him to work because they didn’t know how they would survive otherwise.
When you help provide lifesaving aid to refugees in need, you eliminate the need to make such heartbreaking choices.
Your gift of $35 provides $189 of crucial supplies like food, warm blankets for the winter, and medical care ranging from emergency treatment to a simple, but critical flu shot. Most of all, your gift provides hope.
I’ve seen what a difference that hope can make.
There’s a young woman working at the mobile clinic whose story you might be familiar with. I first met Aria on a previous trip; you can read her story here.
The Aria I met then was depressed, sad, and beginning to shut down and shut others out. She had been injured when a bomb hit her home, and the pain and humiliation she suffered from her scars was overwhelming her.
But the Aria I met on this trip was a completely different person. Because of generous donations, she had received much-needed surgery … and she was also able to hear about Jesus for the first time. Now, she is a believer, and her joy is contagious. She helps out at the mobile clinic’s pharmacy and is quick to share about Jesus with anyone she meets.
When you provide emergency aid to a refugee, you do more than just meet physical needs. You open the door to sharing about the love and hope that is found in Christ.
That is what truly transforms lives.
Please give today to provide physical help and eternal hope for a refugee.
For just $35, you can provide $189 worth of food, medicine, and more. Your gift will help meet someone’s most pressing and devastating needs, allowing him to focus on building a new future.