Programs Recap – Matching Gift Fund Activated!

Leadership Circle Matching Gift: The Leadership Circle is a group of generous Religious Freedom Coalition supporters who come together each year to create a matching fund to encourage others to donate.

Gifts to the Religious Freedom Coalition for all programs will be doubled by the Matching Gift Fund. One area of great need is for special needs adults in Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord.

Gifts to the Diaper Program will be doubled. Gifts to all Nigeria projects including the orphanage and help for IDP orphans will also be doubled.

For many years the matching gift fund was only available for the Christmas for Refugees program. This year gifts to all programs in the Middle East and Nigeria will be doubled.

Here is a look at the current status of our ministry programs.

Christmas for Refugees

The Christmas programs our ministry organizes for Christian refugees from Islamic terror are centered on Jesus.

The programs are about recentering Jesus on the lives of children driven from their homes and often orphaned.

Every event that is held for the children in December each year is geared to help them make a decision to truly accept Jesus as their savior.

The programs last hours and include a hot meal when possible and plenty of singing and games. But all activities point to Jesus. For example, there is always a coloring contest. The children do their best to color a Nativity scene for a prize.

Our programs have many thousands of participants each year in war torn Syria. Many who participate are orphans. Nearly half the population of Lebanon are refugees from war in Syria and Iraq. At least 100,000 of the refugees in Lebanon are Christians.

The children at our orphanage in Nigeria began holding Jesus centered Christmas events for the many new orphans and displaced children just south of Jos.

The “Happy Birthday Jesus” events held at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Mangu and other areas bring joy to children who have lost their homes, and many times one or both parents. The “Happy Birthday Jesus” events in Plateau State remind the children that regardless of the pain they have endured, Jesus is with them.

Many of the events are in the planning stage and the total budget has not been set. As soon as the Christmas events are scheduled and the number of children is known, I will send you a detailed letter about the Christmas programs. Please pray for the planning and execution of the Christmas programs.

Last year, areas we held Christmas programs in were attacked, and even more Christians killed! Please pray for the protection of Nigeria’s Christians.

Diaper Update

I have made two special appeals in letters to supporters asking for help with our adult diaper program. The greatest need is to help Christian special needs adults in the West Bank.

In “good times” Christians in the West Bank receive an average wage of $32 a day. Wages in the “West Bank” are about one-third the wages in Israel, but the cost of goods in “West Bank” towns such as Bethlehem are higher than in Israel.

There are no “good times” in the West Bank this year! Because of the ongoing Hamas- Israel war, more than 80% of Christians are unemployed. Many Christians were employed in tourism, but because of the war there is no tourism. Hotels and restaurants are shut down and tour buses just sit empty in lots.

Christians are no longer allowed to enter Jerusalem to work. Because of the war, Israel has stopped all work permits for West Bank residents, including Christians.

We are helping desperate Christians who are persecuted in the Middle East and Nigeria. Orphans who had no homes because of terror have now been provided homes.

Special needs adult Christians reaching the end of their lives are being comforted with adult diapers and the Word of God.

But Religious Freedom Coalition programs do not end with charity. At the same time, we are working tirelessly to tell the truth to elected officials and the American public. Tens of thousands of dollars are spent each year shouting Islamic terrorism still threatens the world!

Nigerian Orphans are not forgotten

Baptisms: Eleven of our teenagers at our orphanage accepted the Lord this year and were baptized the Sunday before the school graduation ceremony!

Bible Clubs: There are hundreds of children in Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Miango who still do not have homes. For many, the IDP camp is their new reality. Our support programs at the IDP camps have begun Bible studies for children at different age points. In the next newsletter there will be more information and pictures about the Bible study groups.

We are planning even more for orphans in Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Miango who have not as yet been placed in homes. Our Christmas programs in Nigeria will be expanded this year to include as many of these children as possible.

Please pray for the persecuted Christians around the world and for the safety of the newly orphaned children in Plateau State.