Let’s Help These Refugees Today As this is written, President Obama has decided to seek Congressional approval for a military strike on Syria. The presumption is that the ruling Assad regime has used WMD (weapons of mass destruction) on the civilian population. Our Secretary of State, John Kerry, has accused the regime of using chemical weapons to asphyxiate citizens. In a recent poll done on line by a newspaper, 78% of respondents oppose the President using the military to “send a message” to Syria, while 21% support it. Speaker of the House Boehner supports action as does Minority Leader Pelosi. By the time you read this column, the decision may have already been decided. There is a side to this cruel episode that needs to be revealed. It concerns the Syrian refugees. Those people who have lost everything as a result of this civil war. In Jordan sits the second largest refugee camp, Za’atari. David Remnick writes in New Yorker, “In Za’atari, the dispossession is absolute. Everyone has lost his country, his home, his equilibrium.” He then proceeds to describe how this camp of 120,000 residents has become a city, with entrepreneurs establishing pizza shops, small appliance stores and more. It is now the fourth largest population center in Jordan, but run by several gangs. Since July 2012, when the camp opened, about 2000 babies have been born with 70 being born weekly. On the other side of Syria is Iraq, where 50,000 Syrian refugees have fled since the middle of August – just three weeks ago. They have fled into the Kurdish area of Iraq where a Christian presence is found. This was the area, in case you forget, where Saddam Hussein had gassed the residents because they resisted his dictatorship. There are thousands more Syrians at the border, waiting to cross into Iraq. It is here that an American Christian organization called Samaritan’s Purse is working with local Christians to help these refugees. This non-profit organization has delivered rice, sugar, lentils, chickpeas, bottles of cooking oil, thousands of baby diapers, baby food and thousands of shoes to the dispossessed Syrians. The local Christians, called “ministry partners” are doing what they can to provide humanitarian assistance in the name of Christ. The point is: Christ is being glorified and proclaimed to these refugees. One testimony is that of a refugee who shared that he left Syria when militants threatened to kill him, his wife and their six children. They are hoping to return to Syria eventually, but not until the situation stabilizes. They are grateful for the assistance received. Perhaps you would like to assist this organization in helping these refugees. Not only are they being helped with immediate needs, like food and shelter. They are told that the love of God is at work through these provisions. Unlike the deity they have learned through Islam, the LORD cares about people and has showed it in history through Jesus Christ and His followers. Franklin Graham, director of Samaritan’s Purse, has written “Please pray that God will be glorified as we help meet the needs of the refugees, for peace in Syria, and for those suffering the horror of being caught in the middle of brutal conflict.” To learn more about this topic or Samaritan’s Purse, or to make a much appreciated donation, please go to the web site http://samaritanspurse.org Let’s help these refugees today!