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Advocacy2 min read

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September 15: Pray for Syria

Vernon Brewer
Sep 10, 2013

Every 15 seconds, a Syrian becomes a refugee. Join us on September 15 to do something about it.

I’ve seen the desperation firsthand—the grief . . . the suffering . . . the injured bodies . . . the starving children . . . the elderly, sick and alone, simply waiting to die.

I’ve seen the faces of children as they crossed the border each day by the thousands . . . traumatized, orphaned, and haunted by memories of unspeakable evil.

I am convinced that the humanitarian crisis happening in Syria is one of the most horrific catastrophes of this generation.

Watch Restoring Hope to Syrian Refugees from World Help on Vimeo.

Every refugee I met had experienced unimaginable loss: Single mothers who saw their husbands killed and were now watching helplessly as their children starved. Young girls were selling their bodies just to survive. Little children were screaming out in the night, jolted awake by memories of their loved ones being tortured . . . their homes being burned to the ground . . . fearful of being alone.

As thousands of Syrians continue to flood across the borders, experts predict that the refugee population could soar to more than 3 million by the end of the year. That’s 3 million people trying to survive on practically nothing.

The numbers are unbelievable:

  • 100,000 dead
  • 2 million driven from their homes to neighboring countries. Half of them are children.
  • 4.25 million internally displaced
  • Overall, more than 6 million Syrians in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

Za’atari, the Jordanian camp I visited, is now the second largest refugee camp in the world with over 120,000 refugees squeezed into two square miles.

Food and clean water are alarmingly scarce, and overcrowded conditions have allowed disease to spread like wildfire.

This Sunday, I’m asking churches from all over the nation to stand in solidarity and pray for Syria.

We can’t stop the violence or change the hearts of people, but we can pray. Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do.

We are also in desperate need of funding to distribute life-saving supplies to the growing influx of refugees . . . before they are wiped out by starvation and disease.

Syrian refugee girl

In addition to praying for Syria, please consider taking a love offering this Sunday to help serve these hurting refugees. Just think: Your church can give a second chance to someone overcome by grief and despair.

It only takes $20  to provide food and medicine for a refugee child for one month. And $1,200 can do the same for 60 children! The potential for impact is absolutely tremendous.

I encourage you to use the video in this blog to help your congregation visualize the needs firsthand. A downloadable version is available here.

We may not be able to change the circumstances surrounding this crisis, but we can serve a meal in the name of Jesus.

We can offer help and hope in the midst of darkness and evil.

We can pour out compassion on a people that the world has all but forgotten.

And we can pray.

Please join me this Sunday as we stand together for Syria.

Let’s make an eternal impact by showing the love of Jesus in an undeniable way. Let our prayers and our gifts say with one bold voice, “ENOUGH!”

Volunteer Syria refugee crisis

Donate Syria refugee crisis

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