The Chairman’s Report for December, 2024

In this issue of the newsletter
Update: War in Lebanon continues as Christians killed and wounded
Update: Our ministry partner in Beirut reports as bombs fall nearby
New: Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel … The West Bank under Trump
New: Heartwarming story of just one orphaned infant we assist in Nigeria

Christmas in a war zone

Christians killed, homes destroyed

Lebanon: Bombings continued during Christmas program preparations. To illustrate the reality of the situation, below is an email I received in November from our ministry partner in Beirut, Lebanon:

‘Today was horrible! 11 strikes on Beirut since morning! We could hear them all the way to our office; the sound was loud, and the smoke filled the place. We were taking pictures and videos, but our hearts were broken for the people who live there. Lord have mercy on them!

In the midst of all this, churches are contacting me every day checking if we’re preparing for Christmas – there must be hope in every situation, we can’t live without it, and we thank God because He is the source of our hope.

Redacted sentence for security reasons

We continue to pray for peace in the region and keeping our heads up waiting for a miracle from above.’

Our ministry partners in Lebanon continued to work on the Christmas preparations with churches even in cases where they had to travel through areas that had been bombed by Israel. Churches close to the targets Israel has bombed have been damaged — some beyond repair.

Various ministry buildings in Beirut are housing 176 displaced families from south Lebanon where most of the fighting is. In all, 1.2 million people have fled the fighting in the south. Christian schools in the central areas are taking in as many families as possible. Education has ended for tens of thousands of Christian children because their schools are closed.

Christians who have no association with Hezbollah have been killed. There will be no reprieve from attacks by Israel or Hezbollah for Christmas. Neither Hezbollah nor Israel recognize Christmas Day as a holy day. On Christmas Day the fighting will continue.

There are many videos on YouTube placed by both Israel and various Islamic organizations. The Islamic organization’s videos claim Israel is killing only innocent people, and Israel’s videos claim they are only killing terrorists. Neither claim is true. In war innocent people die right along with those waging war. Christians are caught in the crossfire.

Please pray for the Christians of Lebanon, pray for our ministry partners, and pray for the safety of the Christmas events we will hold during December.

The West Bank

Mike Huckabee: Ambassador to Israel

President Trump’s appointment of my good friend Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel could mean profound change in the Middle East. Huckabee’s appointment could signal the beginning of a process that leads to the annexation of the West Bank by Israel.

Israel had complete control of the West Bank including Bethlehem and other Christian towns from the 1967 war until December 1995. As part of the Oslo Accords which were forced on Israel by President Bill Clinton, the West Bank was “officially” transferred to the Palestinian Authority. However, numerous Jewish settlements in the West Bank have changed its character.

There are now almost 600,000 Israelis living in West Bank “settlements.” I put settlement in quotation marks because some are really cities. Modiin Illit is the largest, with a population of over 83,000. There are also 200,000 Israelis living in East Jerusalem which Europe recognizes as being in the West Bank.

Conservative and religious parties in the Israeli parliament want to annex the West Bank. Legislation is being advanced. Why is this important to mention?

Governor Huckabee has in the past expressed his view that the West Bank should be a part of Israel. He said, “the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.” Ambassadors do not make policy; they express the policy of the President they serve. In this case the appointment of Mike Huckabee may signal that President Trump will allow the annexation of the West Bank by Israel just as he allowed Israel to annex the Golan Heights.

UPDATE: The Religious Freedom Coalition is now assisting 189 of the poorest Christian families in the Bethlehem area. The families receiving food packages have individuals with extreme physical impairments. Some also receive adult diapers from our programs.

Religious Freedom Coalition programs in the West Bank only assist Christians. Ninety percent of Christians on the West Bank are now unemployed. Would an annexation of the West Bank by Israel help or hurt Christians? There are a lot of variables and different outcomes, most of which are not favorable to Christians.

This year tens of thousands of families in the West Bank and other Middle East areas will benefit from the Christmas for Refugees program. The children will have an event that includes worship, music, games and gifts. The children’s families will also receive living essentials depending on the area. In the West Bank, food distribution will take precedent.

Nigeria Mission

Newest Orphans: Our support of Nigerian Christian families is allowing them to take in the children of relatives killed by Sunni Muslim terrorists.

Review: During December 2023 and even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Sunni Muslim tribesmen attacked Christian villages in Plateau State just south of Jos. Hundreds died leaving behind about 1,000 orphans ranging in age from infants to teenagers.

The younger, more vulnerable new orphans were moved into IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps in the Barkin Ladi and Mangu areas. Relatives were sought out by tribal leaders to take in the orphans, but the burden proved too great for many families to take on.

The Religious Freedom Coalition set up a program to offer a monthly stipend per child to families taking in an orphan who was a relative. As a result, hundreds of the most vulnerable have found homes!

In one special case, it was not a relative who came forward to help, but a young woman who was disabled.

Miss Zainab , a determined disabled athlete and Public Administration graduate from Plateau State Polytechnic, defied all odds when she took in an orphaned baby.

After completing her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2017, Zainab planned to pursue her postgraduate degree at the University of Jos. However, life had other plans.

This is her story in her own words of how baby Veidi came to live with her:

I went for the 2023 general election at my local government in Barkin Ladi when I heard some ladies at the village lamenting about a forsaken baby whose mother died during the Fulani herdsmen attack at the local government area in Riyom.

The mother was on delivery when the attack broke out and she was not spared. When the soldiers were gathering the corpses, they discovered a woman who was heavily pregnant was still breathing.

They found the baby was still alive and the baby was operated out, but the mother was dead by then. The soldiers decided to take the baby to a relative or anyone who cared enough to take the baby but everyone rejected the baby.

I heard of this unfortunate incident, and I was shattered at the thought that an innocent baby is being rejected in such a way.

I then casually told them that a baby is never to be rejected and so I’m willing to care for the baby even in my condition.

I heard a knock on my door the following day to find some security personnel asking if I had shown interest in a baby we spoke about the previous day. I said yes and they immediately handed the baby over to me.

Despite being in a wheelchair, her compassion won a place in her heart for baby Veidi. Zainab receives a monthly stipend from the Religious Freedom Coalition’s Heart for the Persecuted Church program. Friends at her church have also offered their support.

This is just one of countless stories of orphans created daily in Nigeria by different Sunni Muslim groups, including the Fulani Herdsmen who have no compassion and offer only terror and death to Christians.

Your donations to the Religious Freedom Coalition in 2024 made a difference in the lives of Zainab and her newly adopted child.

All about Jesus

In addition to aid for new refugees we continue to build and make better the orphanage in Jos, Plateau State. The transition house for aged out orphans has opened, and it is a lot more than a house. There was room for ten orphanage graduates to prepare for adult lives.

The house was arranged in such a way as to have the male and female quarters separated, but when it comes to Jesus, they are together in one accord. All the young adults at the transition house travel to the orphanage twice a week to participate in the services. They are also a part of evangelistic outreach.

The orphanage services on Sunday have become so popular that they are an outreach to those living nearby who do not have a church home.

Arrangements have been made for the young adults at the transition house to study online college classes to prepare them for better work opportunities. Some of the young ladies had learned cake making while at the orphanage and now bake cakes to have an income.

Rose and Princess are shown above with one of their creations to help financially.

Please pray for all the Christian children of the Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world. Pray for the orphanage children in Jos as they go to minister to the less fortunate.