Jordan (MNN) — We’re taught to make careful investments with the highest possible return. But what if we never know what becomes of some investments?
Syrian refugee numbers are on the rise in Jordan, and thousands are working to help them.
Advancing Native Missions sent out a container a couple of weeks ago to minister to the needs of as many refugees as possible.
We spoke with John Parker of ANM to see what kind of impact this will make.
“The containers that we send from our warehouse are all in response to a wish list or a needs list. That’s what they request.”
(Photo by ANM)
The container, which should arrive in Jordan mid- to late September, holds clothes, food, soap, toothbrushes, and hygiene kits.
From there, humanitarian aid contacts on the ground will pick up the shipment.
“They do it themselves or people working with them. They actually offload it into vehicles and go to different places and actually hand it out,” Parker says.
It seems that everyone is asking for help for refugees in the Middle East. Before getting annoyed, think about why that is.
Parker says, “The need is huge. There are about a million refugees there in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, and they’re saying it’s going to get much worse. There are even estimates of another million.”
In money-making cultures, it can be hard to sacrifice what we have worked for–especially when we won’t see the direct results of that sacrifice.
Parker explains that in this case, it’s hard to know the numbers of people impacted spiritually by gifts from people across the world. But it doesn’t mean people aren’t touched by the love being shown through these gifts. There are times where these acts of love draw people to dedicate their lives to Christ.
“So it’s a great need, but we can never underestimate what happens when something like a bar of soap is given out in Jesus’ name. I’m not sure how free it is there for evangelization, but they know it’s coming from Christians in America, so it makes a big impact.”
And in reality, it’s up to God to know the numbers of those turning to Him. He doesn’t call us to study the results of our work, but to keep on working.
One of the biggest components of this work that everyone can participate in is prayer.
“We should all be praying for the situation in the Middle East. It’s a disaster. And again, they’re saying [it will] get worse. And there [will] probably be some Iraqis coming, too, because of ISIS. So we need to be praying, again, that people like ISIS would come to know the Lord. Prayer can change that,” Parker says.
If you feel called to donate items or funds to the container ministry with ANM, click here.
Parker says that as long as the area allows them to ship containers, they will.
