This is a letter is a challenge to every church, every Christ follower, and every concerned citizen in this readership. Please read on:
I never thought I would see the day where Christians were so openly and violently treated by a group, as ISIS is so freely mistreating Christians in our world today. This troubles my spirit.
These people are our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being tortured, raped, mistreated and killed because they are Christians. They number in the millions at this time.
I keep having the thought, “What can I do to help them, in a tangible way?”
More and more, as my spirit has been burdened, I have found myself praying for them more each day.
The answer came to me this past week.
Our family has several magazines lying around the house that were sent to us from Samaritan’s Purse, the organization headed by Franklin Graham that regularly ministers to these refugees. As I was looking through one of their magazines, the Lord kept bringing me back to the blankets that Samaritan’s Purse supplies these refugees in need for a suggested donation of $6.
When we recently experienced below freezing temperatures, and I crawled into my bed with a heavy comforter and an extra blanket piled on, I thought about how there are refugees who don’t have a blanket this winter, who are trying to sleep, without a blanket.
Again and again, my thoughts kept coming back to the blankets and how — for the price of a Starbuck’s coffee — someone could supply a warm blanket this winter to a refugee.
Finally, this Sunday I realized what God wanted me to do. He wants me to challenge as many Christ followers and concerned citizens as I can to consider “wrapping a refugee in His love” by sending a blanket to Samaritan’s Purse this month, the month of February, the month of love.
The Scriptures say, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
These refugees need blankets, but they also need to know that we are with them, in prayer and in their struggles. And, that God is with them. And that LOVE is still in the world! I shared this idea with my son, who is a college student who is struggling with his finances, and he responded by saying, “I’ll send a blanket.”
Will you join us in this effort? Will you pray about helping a refugee stay warm?
Pastors, will you spread this challenge to every person in your congregation?
Families, will you consider sending one blanket, for every person in your family?
You can send your donation to: Samaritan’s Purse
P.O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607-3000
Or, go online and Google: Samaritan’s Purse, and click on their catalog.
If you scroll six lines down you will see the blankets there, and by clicking you can donate from there.
Check out some videos on the Samaritan Purse website (www.samaritanspurse.org), and click on the “video” tab at the top, then scroll down to “Crisis and Disaster Response.” This will open up a page, and then you scroll down to the bottom of this page, and you will see the photo of a woman and her baby with the words, “The Human Highway.” Then click on the video to play. I encourage you to view this, and you will learn a lot.
Samaritan’s Purse is an interdenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world, and has been engaged in this effort for 40 years. It is a 501(c)3 tax exempt charity. It serves in over 100 countries.
Sharon Dawkins
Peachtree City, Ga.
