SCHOOL UNIFORMS SIGNAL 1 OF 3 GOOD THINGS!

“You’re growing so fast…we’ll need to make sure those sleeves are long enough to last all school year!” Those words could be said by any mother anywhere in the world holding school clothes up.  But as this refugee mom said them to her son in a refugee camp on September 27 in Kurdistan, Iraq, three things about her words had very special meaning to me and each of them good. 

First good thing: her son is growing fast…we all know that means he’s been eating!  Nutritious food is there for him; much of which comes from the food bags the Child Sponsorships provide.  Second good thing: he’s back in school!  The third good thing wasn’t discussed, as parents stood in line talking with each other.  But it’s an undercurrent they all feel… for now, the kids are safe.  For children from the Ninevah Plain, these three were impossibilities until recently. 

A very special word of thanks to our child sponsors and many others who gave generously a total of $23,700 to make this year’s Backpack/School Supplies Campaign a huge success!  Open from March to July every year, this fund is the engine helping those kids receive an education. 

All this September, IM staff has been buying backpacks, school supplies and uniforms  (can you imagine the thousands of tops, pants and dresses?) to give to these kids in many areas in and around the Ninevah Plain that ISIS radical soldiers roamed not too long ago. They stole everything from these families but not any more. 

As far as we have come, though, we have a long, long way to go…there are millions of children in need…in fact, the UNHCR states that 6.7 million people in Iraq are in need of humanitarian assistance (see source noted below).  None of us can fold up and go home…the real work is just beginning, and God has us here “for such a time as this.” 

The persecuted Christians of the Ninevah Plain are in the news this month as one of the groups President Trump mentioned on 9/23/19 as he called on the nations of the world to end religious persecution.  

My heart was really torn as I watched some parents and children turned away in tears without uniforms, “what about my son or daughter?”  Because they aren’t sponsored, we are unable to provide these basics for them.  These are the children who are registered in our program but who are as yet unsponsored.  Honestly, this is wrong and we need to help these kids! There is a simple way to change this from bad to good. 

If 56 people sponsor five kids each today and then help out with the expenses of their uniforms, we can take care of everyone in our program this month! 

Will you sponsor refugee children today?

Better than Starbucks: here’s the deal…for the price of 8 Starbucks Venti White Chocolate Mochas ($4.75 in Denver + 4 % tax = $39.52), you can help transform a life and bring love and hope to an entire family.  Our teams are Believers, trained, efficient and accountable. 

For less than $200 a month, ($195), you can sponsor five refugee kids!  Give them love, give them hope, give them Jesus.  Click on the Sponsor a Child on the right hand banner

A HUGE, HUGE word of thanks to our staff for their tireless efforts to take care of these precious children!  We couldn’t do any of this if it weren’t for them. Their sentiment is, “we do it because we love Jesus and we love the children; it is a privilege to serve Jesus and these families this way.”   – Dee A. Cook 

Ephesians 2:10 – لاننا نحن عمله مخلوقين في المسيح يسوع لاعمال صالحة قد سبق الله فاعدها لكي نسلك فيها (.   Translation: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Source:  https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/67416

Note about the pictures…the blouses look pink stained because of the light, but they weren’t. Every uniform was new and in pristine condition for the kids!