This month as ministry in Iraq continues, the families our teams are serving share their personal stories and gratitude; stories of great heartache and frustration. One widow and her three children, revealed they were living on the food they were receiving from our child sponsorship program. Others share they learned their home is destroyed and wait for the government to help.

At this time, refugees are in no small struggle with their fate.  Reports state that in the past three months, hundreds of thousands of refugees in the Anbar governorate are returning to their districts and some to their homes, or what is left of it. Sounds good, doesn’t it? This is false hope. Fallujah in Anbar was the first to fall to ISIS in January 2014, and the offensive against ISIS concluded in Rawah in November 2017, the last town liberated from ISIS control. Now that major military efforts against ISIS are completed, the focus is on resettling millions of internally displaced Iraqis.  Sending Syrian refugees home, another topic entirely, remains a dismal prospect at present, given the condition of their home government.

Complicating matters for Iraqi refugees are conditions causing many to leave refugee camps prematurely. Some are coerced by family and tribal leaders, while others are being forced out of camps by the Iraqi government in an attempt to resettle refugees. Despite the UN’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) launched in 2015 to provide funding to stabilize and rebuild areas previously held by ISIS, the consensus is that needs greatly outnumber resources.  These conditions have created “re-refugees,” or refugees once again without homes, making this crisis even more heartbreaking.

Safety cannot be guaranteed for families with unexploded explosives scattered throughout cities, communities and in homes. In surveys, 30% of refugees have no idea of the condition of their homes, and those who have information are often disappointed to find out their homes are greatly damaged, already inhabited by someone else, and their community infrastructure has yet to be rebuilt.

Another twist in this drama is the ongoing terrifying prospect of neighbors turning each other in to be arrested as “ISIS collaborators,” whether true or not. Families have seen their loved ones killed as a result.  After enduring so much, the threat of the ISIS state of mind is still very much a destructive one.  For those who lived under ISIS control, freedom now is a mixed bowl of cherries, and some of the cherries are rotten.

We cannot overstate the importance of aid families are receiving from our program.  The refugees we minister to are receiving some of the most basic food packets and other supplies from our program, which help make life more bearable. What we have confirmed, as John and I are in Iraq, is that no aid is insignificant. Families living on the edge of existence need the aid and spiritual hope given through the Refugee Child Sponsorship Program. 

Thank you for giving to help refugees! Please continue to help with regular generous donations to the Iraq Relief Fund. These funds continue to be used to reach out to refugees in the name of Christ. Go online and in the Donate drop down, select “Iraq Relief Project.”   

Source: Report from The Danish Refugee Council, Norwegian Refugee Council and International Rescue Committee, Feb. 2018

As I joined John in Iraq this month, I’m amazed at just how vital the time is for us to be in this arena. You and I MUST not let this time slip by. This is a time to not shrink back from the job and opportunities in front of us to reach out and help women. Many national Middle Eastern women are in positions to impact the future of Iraq and Syria for good and yet are themselves in need – need of encouraging, need of resources, need of prayers and most of all the need to know that their sisters in the US care about them! That is what Beautiful International is doing right now.

There are several projects we are preparing for women in the Middle East this year, and I’m asking for your help. Pray with me for our conferences this month where I’ll be speaking; pray especially for the women who are emotionally hurting. Your generous donations to Beautiful are vital and are used to help these women.

Join me this fall ministering to women in Egypt, Iraq or the Philippines. Cost: $3850. What could you do? Pray, teach, sing, and help with crafts, you can also bring a group with you from your church.

Seamstresses Needed – Would you like to help with your sewing skills? We’re collecting cotton (nice quality) flannel blankets through September to ship into Iraq. Ship them to the Indigenous Ministries office address listed on page four. Please send in $4.50/lb to cover cost of shipment and handling overseas.

 

Baby Blanket Specifics:

Please use good quality flannel, and sew each blanket with 1/4” hems twice rolled and pressed on all 4 sides. 

Size: approx. 40” x 40”

Ladies, get groups together to sew and pray over these blankets as a ministry in Jesus’ name. Thank you for loving the precious refugee babies.

You may have noticed the big energetic enormous goal we have undertaken in the Middle East. With 125 children enrolled in the Refugee Child Sponsorship Program, 78 are now sponsored. So many have responded to this challenge, and we take this moment to express our heart-felt appreciation to you! Each and every child in this program are in our hearts, and we thank the Lord for this opportunity to partner with you. We continue to reach out to more refugee children, with a goal of 1000 children in the program. Together, with God’s help, we will be part of their healing, and also a part of their physical and spiritual journey.

CHURCHES ARE SPREADING THE WORD:
Churches – both large and small – are getting the word out to see more children sponsored. Sunday school classes, Awana groups, youth groups and women’s groups have joined in to help kids. It’s an effective way to impact entire families with the Gospel and relief aid.

WOULD YOU ASK YOUR CHURCH LEADERSHIP TO GET INVOLVED?
Be an ambassador for these kids in your church or group! All that’s needed is a few minutes in Sunday service for four weeks to show a brief video each week explaining the program and sharing the children’s stories. There are posters to hang and a table to prepare for the back of the church.

WE PROVIDE EVERYTHING:
We provide the videos, posters, social media posts for your church’s Facebook, bulletin inserts and easy to use sign up cards. People can sign up online by scanning this QR code, right, to sponsor:

Once signed up, Sarah will send out the children’s profile cards to new sponsors in your church. Questions? Feel free to give Sarah a call at 719-302-3028.

I have traveled overseas several times, ministering in destitute towns and villages. Every time I go to places like this, it makes me realize again how much I truly have. I don’t just have the basic necessities of life; I have much more. It would grieve me to see children with no shoes, and clothes so tattered and torn, they would hardly stay on their little bodies. Many of the adults and children I would meet had not eaten that day, or the day before. If they had eaten, it was usually just one very small meal a day. I saw so many that didn’t have the food they need, clean water, and other basic needs that we take for granted every day. I would always ask myself, “What can I do to help these precious people?” “How can I share just even a tiny fraction of the blessings God has given me?”

Over the years, I have heard many different presentations on child sponsorships. Being a teacher, I am drawn to children, but I had never pursued being a part of a vital partnership like this. When I started working at Indigenous Ministries almost a year ago, I learned first hand about children that have next to nothing. I saw videos that staff in our office have taken of children they have met in Iraq who lost everything when ISIS invaded their home. They fled with their lives and the clothes on their back. It has been hard to hear about the trauma these children have experienced.

It feels overwhelming sometimes, because the need in so many places around the world is so great. It’s easy to think that we could never make a difference. I realized, though, that I could make a difference in one child’s life. I could help make her life better in the midst of all the horrible things she has seen and experienced. I can make sure that she eats every day. I can make sure that she gets medical attention when she needs it. I can make sure that she can go to school and get an education. I can make sure that she hears about the love of Jesus.

Would you consider joining me in making a difference in the life of one child? One by one, if many of us take this step of sponsoring a child, the impact grows and grows, and together we can make a huge difference in the lives of many children and families. If you are like I was, hearing again about sponsoring a child, and feeling the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something, I urge you to give our office a call at 719-302-3028, or visit our website at www.IndigenousMinistries.org where you can join our ministry in sponsoring a child who really needs your help. Not only will you be a huge blessing in the life of a child, but it might surprise you how much you will be blessed as well!

We’re excited to have 125 Syrian and Iraqi refugee children in our program in Iraq. Of those children, 63 are sponsored. These children and their families are so grateful to be in the Refugee Child Sponsorship Program. This is a great, practical way to invest eternally into a child’s heart. Pray for our national team working with these kids.

Your support helps with food, a school uniform, backpack and help with school progress. Your help also brings the children together once a month for Bible lessons, games and songs. They hear the Gospel! Start your sponsorship today online at IndigenousMinistries.org, or call Sarah Rieger at our office at 719-302-3028.  God bless you.  Please do it today!

$ 39/month – sponsor 1 child

$ 78/month – sponsor 2 children

$117/month – sponsor 3 children

Unicef states that 14 million children are affected by the conflict in Syria and Iraq. What we can do, we must do!

Are you going to shoot me? These were the words of a young boy earlier this month in Syria, now dubbed the “ISIS Cub,” as a soldier from the Free Syrian Army aimed a gun at him. “Shoot him” said another soldier. It’s unknown what happened to the boy. Barely 11 or 12 years old, children in the Middle East, like this boy, are being recruited as child soldiers, and we know from firsthand accounts told us many times,  ISIS regularly showed toddlers and children beheadings and beatings to de-sensitize them.  Help us change a child’s future for good!

 

Anjlena

Grade: Not yet in school

Anjlena lives with her parents and sibling in a refugee camp in Northern Iraq. Anjlena’s older brother is also in our program. Anjlena is outgoing and loving and enjoys playing with dolls. She loves the color red and also likes dogs. Anjlena attends Sunday school and is a hard worker. Even though she is young, she understands everything in a class given at the refugee camp. When she grows up, Anjlena wants to be a teacher.

 

Karmin

Grade: Primary Level 5

Karmin fled from ISIS with her family, and now lives in a refugee camp in Northern Iraq. Her older brother is also part of our program. Karmin is very sad, because she left everything when she fled from her village. Karmin is also playful and kind, and likes music and group games. Her favorite color is yellow, and she loves cats. In school, Karmin’s favorite subject is Arabic. She attends Sunday school and is a hard worker. When she grows up, Karmin wants to become a doctor.

 

Matyos

Grade: Primary Level 2

Matyos lives with his parents in a refugee camp in Northern Iraq. He is aggressive because he has been traumatized by fleeing from ISIS and leaving everything behind. Matyos is also playful and cheerful, and loves playing soccer and group games. His favorite color is green, and he likes cats. Matyos’ favorite school subject is Arabic, and he does his work on time. He also attends Bible class. Matyos wants to be a doctor when he grows up.

 

 

 

Next month I’ll be in several women’s ministry settings in the Middle East in churches and refugee camps. You can minister to these women with me with your prayers and your generous financial assistance. God has opened many doors to reach out to women – Christian and Muslim – with encouragement and the Word.

Please help me with women’s conferences overseas, ladies! This fall you can choose Egypt, Iraq, the Philippines. Cost: $3850. Pray, teach, sing, help with crafts, bring a group from your church. The time is now. Women are waiting, and you CAN make a difference!

Seamstresses Needed – Last month we shipped 187 baby blankets to Iraq for refugee children. We will be collecting cotton (nice quality) flannel blankets through September to ship them into Iraq. Ship them to the Indigenous Ministries office address. Please send in $4.50/lb to cover cost of shipment and handling overseas. Call our office with specific dates, questions.

Baby Blanket Specifics:

Please use good quality flannel, and sew each blanket with 1/4” hems twice rolled and pressed on all 4 sides.
Size: approx. 40” x 40”.

Ladies, get groups together to sew and pray over these blankets as a ministry in Jesus’ name. Thank you for loving these precious refugee babies.