Indigenous Ministries

Indigenous Ministries

Beyond the Map

Show Your Love and Help Refugees; Iraq Relief Fund Goal for February: $10,000

By Leave a Comment

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14, For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. ESV

Sitting on the edge of the door of their tiny UN caravan in the middle of a massive refugee camp, the little boy stares out at another little boy riding a bike. He can’t go to school because he has no backpack, he has no bike. Behind him, his mother looks at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, wondering where their food will come from tomorrow. Dad has found some jobs, but they can’t depend on steady income; they all want to go home, but their home doesn’t exist. What can we do for this family? We can help them. Our motivation as Believers reaching out through national churches to refugees is that of Christ’s perfect LOVE. Nothing more, nothing less.

This month we are raising $10,000 to demonstrate Christ’s love for refugees in Iraq to send with our US team there next month. Would you like to join us? Please prayerfully consider a generous gift to this vital fund which allows not only practical aid for refugees, but also the sharing of the Gospel; God’s love demonstrated towards us through His only Son.

These resources will, like precious aid our Indigenous Ministries family has given, be distributed through our national churches in outreach to Christian and Muslim refugees. In Baghdad, our team reports many needy refugees they work with in refugee camps are so grateful for the relief help and are responding to the Gospel. Our teams will also be handing out plush animals with players containing the Bible.

Sponsor a Refugee Child in Iraq Today

By Leave a Comment

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.

 

 

 

Trauma Kits & Baby Blankets Shipped to Iraq

By Leave a Comment

In January, we shipped six large boxes to Iraq. Inside the boxes were 288 plush animals (Sarah is holding two). We also shipped 187 baby blankets, knitted hats and scarves and hygiene items to be given out in refugee camps in Iraq. Thank you very much to our generous donors, busy knitters and seamstresses who made this possible!

John giving out the first animals with Scripture players in Iraq, July 2017

Question: What’s the goal with shipping these fuzzy animals all the way to the Middle East? Is this a good use of resources? Glad you asked! These 18” cuties each come with a solar powered player with the Bible and Bible stories loaded on them in Arabic and Kurmanji. Since these children often don’t have much to do in the camps, we’re capturing this time they and their families have to give them God’s Holy Word digitally. Please pray for these broken families, as they listen to the Bible over and over. We know God will do mighty things through His Word! Heartfelt thanks to MegaVoice ministry for a special partnership in this project. To send more animals with Scriptures, go online select “Refugee Child Trauma Care Kit.”

Beautiful International Update

By Leave a Comment

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.

Special Happening – Northern Iraq, Children’s Sunday School

By Leave a Comment

This month in Northern Iraq, something very special is happening! Children’s Sunday school is being taught to the children of the Yazidi women in the English classes. These pictures are of Yazidi children in another area, but they were so excited to receive their Christmas packages and Bible lesson, that we thought we’d share their faces with you.

Would you please keep our team in your prayers as the children are being ministered to? These refugee families have been through so much, and it’s a joy to share Biblical truths with the women and the children.

Thank you for your special part in this with your prayers and financial gifts which empower this ministry to be effective and ongoing!

Christmas in Kurdistan, N. Iraq

By Leave a Comment

The Church in Iraq has a long standing tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Although Christians are currently a minority, until the 7th century, they were the majority religious group with many churches in the region.  Nominal Christians, Catholics and evangelical Christians in Iraq now number approximately 600,000, most of whom are located in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq.

In our church plant in the north, for several weeks the children work very hard rehearsing Christmas songs and a drama and then proudly present it in the Christmas service.  There are beautiful decorations in the church, and special foods and sweets served after the service.

Church members visit refugee camps during the month handing out food packets and sharing the Christmas message to families.  The youth go along singing carols. With so many families in crisis, what a special joy it is to share the Hope in Christ we have because of His birth!

Church in Baghdad Celebrates Christmas

By Leave a Comment

Armenian Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6; Assyrians and Chaldean Christians celebrate on the 25th of December. Officially the evangelicals celebrate together on December 25. In Christmas celebrations, they welcome brothers and sisters from Muslim backgrounds into their fellowship to share in the festivities.

On the evening of December 31, they have a big celebration including worship, listening to the Word of God read and preached and enjoying dramas. They play Biblical competitions, and then they pray for the new year. In the last minutes before midnight, while handling the candles, they congratulate each other for the new year, and share a big cake as a family of Believers.