(Photo courtesy Global Aid Network via Facebook) “Operation Speak Comfort”, help speak words of love into the lives of a refugees.

However, Global Aid Network is trying to find ways to help refugees, particularly children, right where they are.

GAiN already tries to provide humanitarian relief for refugees. But now, as part of one of its initiatives, GAiN will be providing notes of encouragement and comfort along with the aid as part of the ‘Operation Speak Comfort’ initiative.

GAiN’s Mark Gaither explains, “One of the things we run into when we are interacting with children, especially in very difficult situations, is just the lack of hope. Very often they’ve lost everything recently. If they’re in a refugee camp, they’ve been traumatized and displaced, they’ve lost most of their possessions. And in addition to giving them something physical, like a blanket or food or clean water and things like that to help restore that sense of dignity they’ve lost and to ease that suffering, very often we’re sharing words of comfort.”

Volunteers have the opportunity to send comforting notes to refugees and others who are living in difficult circumstances. But why send a note? Because it lets these people, who have been inhumanely treated, know there is someone who cares about them specifically. That there are people who believe refugees deserve Biblical justice.

“Connecting physically and emotionally helps explain to somebody who’s suffering that Jesus cares about them as a whole,” Gaither says.

These notes are a way to take care of the whole person — including the spiritual, physical, and emotional aspects. And, it’s important to do so because Jesus doesn’t only care about the spiritual part of a person, He cares about the whole person. Therefore, so should His people.

(Photo Courtesy Global Aid Network)

Sending a note to refugees is easy. All that’s needed is a good WiFi connection and five minutes to type out a short encouragement. Click here to send a note!

Still pray for the refugees both in the Middle East and elsewhere. Pray for the children growing up surrounded by violence, hate, and destruction. And pray for these people to not only hear God’s Word, but to experience Christ’s love in such a way that they have open hearts to the Gospel.

Packing GAIN meals is a great way to teach the next generation about missions.
(Photo, caption courtesy Global Aid Network via Facebook)

Mark Gaither, director of marketing and communications at Global Aid Network, explains, “Once a year we do a big project together. So we’ll have anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people from all over the United States converge on our logistics center…and prepare this aid over a week’s time.”

GAiN works in more than 30 nations providing both aid and the Gospel. All the supplies GAiN provides make a final trip through this logistics center before being sent to their destinations. But what’s happening across the globe causing need in all these places?

“We have food shortages and we have humanitarian crises in several places. This is an unprecedented time in human history. We’ve never had more people displaced from their homes from this time than any time since World War Two and perhaps more than that,” Gaither explains.

Crisis Around the World

Middle East: The Middle East is filled with different refugee camps and cities which are overflowing and overburdened with individuals fleeing the violence of their homelands.

West Africa: The region is still recovering from the Ebola crisis and food security is a major issue in this area.

East Africa: Refugees are fleeing severe oppression and need aid.

South East Africa: Extreme droughts are threatening famines.

South Sudan: Both the youngest and one of the poorest countries in the world is suffering from too little food.

But GAiN is unique in the fact it has access to areas where no other aid organizations can really go. In fact, in some of these areas, the Gospel can’t even be openly talked about without threat of persecution or possible deportation.

Water filters are among the items GAIN USA is shipping to Liberia.
(Image courtesy GAIN USA)

“So we’re able to go in places where even the UN isn’t even able to go because we have indigenous workers, Christian workers that are part of the culture. They live there, they know the people, they know the culture, they know the suffering. And they have access to the people that most others wouldn’t,” Gaither says.

For GAiN, going where people are hurting the most, have the least to use, and need help is in its DNA. But when GAiN goes to these places, workers don’t only bring aid; they also bring the Gospel. As Gaither says, GAiN cares not just about the physical well beings of others, but also their spiritual needs by helping people build relationships with Christ. And you can help!

How to Help

Volunteer: Join GAiN this June and help pack supplies! Or, check out GAiN’s other volunteer needs and get connected!

Give: For every dollar given, 96 percent goes directly to ministry and aid. To donate to GAiN, click here!

Go: GAiN has opportunities for individuals to join them on the field and directly help those who are hurting. For upcoming trips with GAiN, click here!

Pray: Pray for Christian workers on location to be bold and faithful in their faith and also that they would be safe and protected. Pray also for the people who hear the Gospel to come to know Christ.

To learn more about who Gain is and what the organization is doing, click here!

(Photo courtesy Global Aid Network)

International (GAiN) – Summer’s nearly here and it’s time for Gospel camp, but it’s probably unlike any you’ve seen before.

Global Aid Network (GAiN) is smack-dab in the middle of Quilt Camp this week…running till Friday.

You might be wondering ‘What is Quilt Camp?’  It’s a week set aside for quilters to come together at GAiN’s Logistics Center in Mount Joy, PA and jump into a marathon quilting bee.

The ministry needs help preparing all stages of quilts to be completed during GAiN’s June Mission Packing Project.  Quilters bring 2 yards of new, 100% cotton quilting fabric to help with supplies and everybody grabs scissors or needles to help.

Next question: What are all these blankets for?  With the scope and size of the global refugee crisis, GAiN , the humanitarian aid arm of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ International), is trying to meet the physical need, but they are overwhelming.  GAiN’s ministry partners, indigenous Christian workers in the Middle East, continue to bring help and hope.

(Photo courtesy GAiN)

Refugee kits containing meals, clothes, a blanket, and other needed supplies help ease the burden of homelessness.  And along with each tangible expression of kindness comes the good news: “Jesus loves you!”

The aid they send includes shoes, food, vegetable seeds, clothing, medical supplies, tents, school supplies, and other necessary items-to refugee camps, hospitals, orphanages, and schools in needy communities around the world.

That’s a lot…and it doesn’t arrive magically.  Someone has to pack it.

(Photo courtesy GAiN)

Enter: You.  Last year, around 1,500 people met at the GAiN Logistics Center in Pennsylvania in June, rolled up their sleeves and started getting things ready to ship.  Stories about who these supplies were going to were told.  Prayer moments turned into prayer movements.  Everything done with the names and faces of friends yet to be met.

That’s what opens doors.  Over and over, we hear the same stories about the question asked most often when a refugee receives a kit from a total stranger … ‘Why?’

There’s still time to get involved.  Registration is still open.  If you want to join us in sharing the warmth of God’s love in the toughest places, there are several simple ways to help.

• Give a yard of fabric that can be used to sew more quilts. (Here’s a quick link: http://ow.ly/ZKTa0)
• Like to sew? You can make a quilt or blanket and send it to our Logistics Center.
• Host a blanket drive at your school or church.
  (More info: http://bit.ly/GAIN-Blankets)
• Make a week of it for family vacation and help pack the containers
• Pray over the teams that will be acting as the hands and feet of Christ
• Ask God to provide opportunities to share the hope of the Gospel

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network via Facebook)

Over the next few months, the food crisis is predicted to become a dire issue. Right now, food and lives are hanging onto a rocky surface.

“We’re trying to educate and get everybody aware of what’s happening so that we can get ahead of it and prepare and hopefully save lives,” Global Aid Network’s (GAiN) Mark Gaither says.

The ministry is helping stabilize food sources in nations hit by the drought.

They’re handing out seed packets to communities, and bringing in drip irrigation water systems to promote healthy growth for the seeds. Using this system, people can grow gardens with a lot less water and labor.

Communities depend on rain, runoff, rivers, and creeks. But, as the drought scorches the land and dries up water sources, it’s becoming more difficult to even get a bucket of water.

GAiN helps to drill and repair wells, which entire communities depend upon.

“There are thousands of wells all over Africa that go down deep enough, but for whatever reason, they fall into disrepair.”

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network via Facebook)

Though wells are good for drinking water, they can have adverse affects to crops. A person may carry a five-gallon bucket of water to their garden and drench it but, “Unfortunately, when you do that, the vast majority of that water soaks in, runs off into the dry ground, that’s far away from the roots, or evaporates. The amount of water the plants are actually getting is minuscule compared to what you’re pouring.”

That’s why drip irrigation water systems are mandatory to drought affected areas. The technology slowly gives off bits of water, which saturate the roots with the right amount of water and keep them moist for hours.

The results are incredible, says Gaither.

“The same water that you’re irrigating or using will grow ten-times the amount of food because of the technology.”

GAiN is sending seed packets with no GMOs and open-pollination, which will encourage vegetable growth and raise seed quality in the countries.

With the help of the local church and indigenous ministry partners, GAiN is using the food security program as a way to share the love and Word of Jesus.

They are giving three seed packets to ministry partners and people in the church – one to keep and two to give away. When volunteers hand out seed packets, they tell people how much Jesus loves them and that He is providing these seeds for them. Then, the people are invited to watch a viewing of The JESUS Film. Many have come to Christ because of this.

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network via Facebook)

“The local church and our ministry partners, indigenous local partners, would then follow up for discipleship, and then churches would plant and grow as a result of planting vegetables.”

However, there are some setbacks.

“Some countries are, because they’re struggling financially, they’re looking at all humanitarian aid coming in as a potential source of tax revenue. And so in some places where we try to ship food, they’re trying to tax at a rate of 70-percent,” Gaither explains.

“That is a ministry killer because then, instead of much-needed ministry dollars going directly to the people who are receiving the benefit of the humanitarian aid, the vast majority of that is going into government commerce, and who knows what’s going to happen?”

The next few months could promise drought and food insecurity. But, with your help, it could instead result in months of flourishing.

Help plant seeds and churches today!

Pray for government officials to decrease taxes on humanitarian aid being brought in, and for the rains to start again.

Also, an exciting opportunity to send seeds has presented itself through GAiN.

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network via Facebook)

“For no cost, thanks to a generous donor, you can go and learn about our seed program, choose from one of three countries where we’re sending seeds, then participate and you will be sending a seed pack to a needy family in the country of your choice. And then, as we then fulfill, we ship the seeds, deliver the seeds, you’ll get follow up information on where those seeds have gone and hopefully what has happened.”

(Photo Courtesy GAiN)

In fact, nearly 900,000 people die each year from diarrhea caused by drinking unclean water. Children make up a majority of these deaths, and all the losses are preventable.

Global Aid Network is working to counteract this slippery killer.

As part of its work, GAiN has established a WaSH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) program in underdeveloped areas of the world. The program is meant to help improve community health, as GAiN helps community leaders design and create the best and most appropriate water solution for them.

This happens in a variety of ways. GAiN uses wells, rain catchments, spring boxes, and filters as avenues to a long-term fix. As for sanitation and hygiene, the ministry works to construct latrines and toilets, along with providing health and hygiene training. All the while, they’re opening a door to share the Gospel.

When GAiN enters a region, the organization doesn’t only try to create options for clean water. They also look for opportunities to share the Living Water of Christ. And you can help!

(Photo Courtesy GAiN)

Pray for God to continue to provide different ways for people to access drinkable water. Pray He would provide the funds GAiN needs to continue its work, and for all who hear the Gospel to have their hearts changed for Him.

But also, would you consider donating to the cause?

You can give to provide water filters, restore broken wells, or to dig new wells. Other ways include hosting a drive with friends, family, or even your church to bring in the funds to donate.

Don’t forget though, once the funds are raised, you could witness firsthand the changes made in a community by joining one of GAiN’s humanitarian outreach trips. Click here to learn more!

Map of Turkey

The deportations are a part of the EU’s deal with Turkey in an attempt to decrease the number of migrants flooding Europe. As part of the deal, any migrants who have illegally come into Greece since March 20 are to be deported to Turkey, unless said migrants apply for asylum.

As can be expected, applications for asylum have significantly increased. But regardless of whether refugees are in Greece or Turkey, Global Aid Network is there trying to help. Through its Disaster Relief program, GAiN is helping refugee families by providing survival kits for families. One kit feeds a family of five for a month.

And while a survival kit may not seem like a lot, when numerous countries and organizations are trying to combat what is being called the worst humanitarian crisis of this time, it is helping save both a culture and a generation.

(Photo courtesy GAiN)
Syrian refugees fleeing violence in their country cross into Jordanian territory, near Mafraq February 18, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Think about it: without organizations like GAiN and partners, volunteers, and donors like yourself, people facing war and terror would be left on their own, and an entire country has the potential to be wiped out. Already nearly half of Syria’s children have not been able to attend school in the past three years.

If there was ever a time to act and help save a generation, a culture, it’s now. And you can help simply by donating to GAiN and help a family survive over the next month.

When you donate to GAiN, families receive necessities to survive physically–and spiritually. As GAiN workers hand out kits to families in need, they’re also able to share the Gospel and show these hurting and mistreated people the love of Christ.

(Photo courtesy GAiN)
Syrian refugees and their families rest after crossing from Syria into Jordan near Mafraq, to escape violence in Syria, February 18, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

As GAiN President and CEO Al Goff has said before, when others show these refugees and migrants love, they want to know why. The answer: Jesus.

Pray that God would continue to use GAiN to share the love of His Son, Jesus Christ.

To learn more about what GAiN is doing in Greece and Turkey, click here.

To donate a survival kit through GAiN, click here.

(Image courtesy Wikipedia)

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed Friday the death of a 30-year-old woman in Liberia’s capital city. It’s the third Ebola flare-up in the country since spring 2015.

While it’s no longer an international threat, the three nations most affected by 2013’s Ebola outbreak — Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone — are still struggling to contain it.

Global Aid Network (GAiN) is helping churches throughout Liberia respond in the name of Christ. They’re committed to stay as long as it takes, but they’ll need your help, too

GAiN describes their long-term response to the Ebola crisis on their website:

When Ebola struck Liberia, imports of staple foods, like rice and vegetables, stopped altogether. As increasing numbers of people succumbed to the disease, the diminished workforce struggled to plant and harvest food.

(Photo courtesy GAIN)

As Liberia’s economy spiraled downward, many lost their jobs, so few could afford what little food existed. Consequently, food security and sustainability became a major challenge. During that time, Wolobah Taylor, the national director of Cru in Liberia (known as the Great Commission Movement Liberia), and his team delivered food, water filters, medicine, and medical supplies.

Now that the epidemic in Liberia has subsided and the nation begins the long process of recovery, food security remains a serious problem. Rather than undertake the slower, less lucrative work of growing vegetables, individuals devote themselves to producing cash crops like rubber. What is helpful in the short term for individuals, however, may prove harmful to the nation at large. People are consuming, not producing. Consequently, some individuals will prosper for a brief time at the expense of economic recovery for all.

Everyone–outsiders and insiders, amateurs and experts–all agree that the immediate future of Liberia appears bleak. The devastation left in the wake of Ebola may last for decades. Even so, Christian workers remain hopeful.

GAiN partners are delivering clean water filters to communities, and will continue as God supplies resources.
(Photo, caption GAiN)

They are strengthening the local churches to raise resources and mobilizing congregations to take the lead in agriculture. They see opportunity for churches in Liberia to help the nation overcome food security issues. They are helping to provide ongoing awareness and health education to stifle any new outbreaks of the virus. They are delivering clean water filters to communities and will continue as God supplies resources.

As the crisis subsides and mourning gives way to dancing, faithful Christian workers give thanks to God and bring glory to Him through their praise. Because they faithfully served the physical needs of their neighbors—and continue to serve as they receive provision from supporters like you—their spiritual message of life in Christ resonates within those who were helped. As this darkness passes, the light of the Gospel shines brightly. Now, more than ever, barriers to ministry have fallen and the fields are ripe for harvest.

A report released by The ACAPS Ebola Project details secondary impacts of the widespread Ebola outbreak on the region. While 28,598 people were infected and over 11,000 were killed, secondary problems like those listed below threaten the “lives and livelihoods” of over 22 million people:

(Photo courtesy GAiN)

• Ebola created increased demand for healthcare resources and workers, at the expense of other healthcare programs.
• Lack of access to clean water and sanitation (WASH).
• Deteriorated security left children and women the most vulnerable.
• Heightened risk of children dropping out of school.
• Higher prices and lower harvest yields undermined the region’s already-fragile food security.

Partner with Christians in Liberia through GAiN to help the nation overcome these challenges.

Sisters stay warm with a blanket provided by Global Aid Network .
(Photo courtesy GAiN via Facebook)

According to UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) statistics, nearly one-third of all people forcibly displaced are refugees — “people outside their country of origin because of feared persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order, and who, as a result, require ‘international protection.'”

Another sizeable population consists of those displaced within their home nations, or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). They make up about 64% of the global total, or 38.2 million people.

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers, but each statistic has a face and a name. Most importantly, each one needs the salvation offered freely by Christ. Through their Blanket Initiative, Global Aid Network (GAiN) is both restoring human dignity and offering Gospel Truth.

Where does National Quilting Day come in?

(Photo credit: Kate Henderson via Flickr)

The first National Quilting Day was observed in the U.S. in 1992 as a celebration of quilt-making, quilt-makers, and the growth of quilting as an art form. Twenty-four years later, National Quilting Day is still observed annually on the third Saturday in March.

As you gather with friends to mark the occasion tomorrow, tell them about GAiN’s Blanket Initiative.

As explained here, the Blanket Initiative is part of GAiN’s Care ministry. Together with partners throughout the developing world, GAiN provides survival kits and disaster relief including shelter, blankets, clothing, shoes, school supplies, and other items necessary for rebuilding households and communities.

Refugees are one specific focus of this ministry, as the global number of refugees and displaced people keeps rising. More refugees means more people without access to simple things like food, water, shelter, clothing, and bedding.

GAiN’s Blanket Initiative is meeting these needs and opening doors to refugee communities in 12 nations. Each blanket GAiN delivers creates an opportunity to tell refugees about Jesus and His saving love.

(Graphic courtesy GAIN)

On National Quilting Day, there are several ways you can help GAiN take advantage of these opportunities:

• Make a quilt or blanket to donate to GAiN.
• Donate quilting fabric and/or supplies.
• Help cover shipping costs ($7/blanket).

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network)

In some parts of Syria, children are playing outside for the first time in months. Families can enjoy sunny days at the park. Doctors and emergency workers finally have a chance to rest.

Even so, everyone is holding their breath.

Violence has declined significantly since a “cessation of hostilities” went into effect on Saturday, February 27, but no one knows if it will hold.

While the eyes and debates of the West have focused on the future of the 4.5 million Syrian refugees, about 12 million Syrians still remain in-country. Since the war began in 2011, most of those who could get out have gotten out, leaving behind the most vulnerable segments of the population—the elderly, the handicapped, families with small children, and those who simply couldn’t make the trek to safer land. For many of these, their daily reality has been the stuff of a nightmare that won’t end.

Depending on which criteria you use, anywhere from 1 million to 4.5 million people currently live under some degree of siege. Supply lines have been cut. A combination of militants, barbed wire, and landmines surround many areas, especially urban centers and their suburbs. To put it simply, humans can’t get out, and help can’t get in.

Consider what this means. Food and medicine either have run out or will run out soon. In one besieged town of 42,000 people, the residents have attempted to ward off death by surviving on spiced water and tree leaves. Across the country, many have already starved. Even in neighborhoods thus far unaffected by the worst parts of war, there is the constant knowledge that, at any moment, shelling might begin.

(Photo courtesy of Global Aid Network)

But with the cessation of hostilities now in effect, fear is fading away and aid is trickling through. Peace talks continue. People in the region wonder: Has the storm finally passed, or is this soothing breeze merely the eye of a storm still raging? Worse, is this calm the eye of a storm still amassing?

No one knows, but everyone agrees–considering that Syria’s infrastructure has already crumbled, considering that many of the markets have already gone bare, considering that the young and the old and the handicapped have already been surviving without essential food and medicine, and considering that a resurgence of the war will mean that precious hope was tasted and then snatched away–that what’s coming will be far nastier than what has already passed.

The oppression of this storm has been heavy, dark, and unrelenting for Syrians still inside their home country. Please pray with us. Pray this soothing breeze will bring lasting peace.

Meanwhile, GAiN ministry partners–indigenous Christian workers in the Middle East–continue to bring help and hope. Refugee kits containing meals, clothes, a blanket, and other needed supplies help ease the burden of homelessness. And along with each tangible expression of kindness comes the good news: “Jesus loves you!”

See the original article here.

The Reality

(Photo credit: SpaceShoe via Flickr)

And as refugees take flight, Greece is being overwhelmed by the amount of people entering Europe through its shores. Greece has already been in a rough place financially, and the stress of providing for thousands of refugees has made the situation more dire.

Al Goff with Global Aid Network (GAiN) explains, “It’s not just Arabs from Iraq and Syria. It’s Afghans, it’s even people coming from Libya, and Algeria, and other places…and Pakistanis trying to come to Greece for the same thing. [They’re] trying to go into the rest of the European Union, [but] other countries are only letting certain groups through.”

When refugees first arrive in Greece, they often arrive at refugee camps, where GAiN is stationed, on the island of Lesvos (Lesbos).

“The refugee camps…are basically staging sessions. [Refugees] come in…soaking wet, they’ve come with nothing…they’re rescued out of the sea and then taken into camps. These are basically holding camps from anywhere up to 24 hours,” Goff said.

In the camps, volunteers help make sure refuges are warm and have dry clothing and food to stabilized them before they journey to Greece’s mainland. Then, they’re put on ferries headed to Athens where they’ll be better processed. But it’s in Athens where problems arise.

The Real Problem

Goff explains, “They start getting processed as refugees or migrants to determine what their nationality is. Many are arriving without papers: no passport, [nothing] that would identify who they are and verify their claims that they’re a migrant or refugee. So it’s really difficult for the international community who’s trying to help these people to help in a good way and in a timely fashion.”

(Photo courtesy J Aaron Farr via Flicker)

Why don’t these people have proper documentation? It can’t be that hard to grab your birth certificate, a driver’s license, passport, or something else to prove you are who you claim to be.

“Many times…they’re passing through checkpoints where everything is taken away from them. We’ve even met people whose gold teeth were pulled out of their head before they walked out. They weren’t allowed to carry out any money. Basically they got out with the clothes on their back,” Goff says.

When these terrorist groups come in, Goff says it’s a situation of “run for your life”–especially for women, children, and young girls. The consequences of staying are too horrific.

“In the Middle East, it’s really bad. I can see why they’re trying to get to Greece,” says Goff. “They’re basically living in squalor. They’re trying to get to safety. The situation there is extreme in terms of some of the situations they’re walking into.”

For the majority, most refugees want to return home, not travel on to Europe. But eventually it becomes clear there is no going home. There’s only moving forward.

GAiN’s Difference

To help, GAiN is working with partner organizations under the Greek organization, Euro Relief, by providing volunteers in the camps for shift work. There are three separate shifts, which combined, cover a 24-hour cycle.

(Photo courtesy Claudio Ungari via Flickr)

During the cycle, volunteers help feed refugees, provide comfort, and share hope in efforts to help refugees rest before they leave for Greece’s mainland. The work gives volunteers a rare opportunity to share the Gospel first hand while simultaneously sharing the love of Christ through their actions.

Goff explains, “These are people who are very vulnerable, and we don’t ever want to spiritually abuse them, or be in a position of power and really do it badly.”

Because these refuges have been abused by their own governments, countrymen, and the people paid to transport them to Greece, when someone shows them love or kindness, they’re curious. They ask “why.”

“Oh my goodness do they ask. And you know, there’s a wonderful story we tell them…I’m here because I work for a refugee and He sent me to help you. We tell them the story of Jesus, the story of when [Herod was] trying to kill Him, and His family took him to another country, to Egypt, to get Him to safety,” says Goff.

How to Help

You can be someone who helps share Christ’s story and love. GAiN is in need of manpower from volunteers who are willing to travel to Greece for weeks or even months to help. To learn more about volunteering, click here.

If traveling isn’t a possibility right now, please pray for the safety and providence of these refugees. Pray for the work of the Gospel in their lives. But also pray for the work of the Gospel in the hearts of those from ISIS and others who seek to destroy.

Finally, GAiN needs financial support to continue buying supplies and caring for the refugees in Greece. Would you be willing to consider donating? Any amount helps.

To donate, click here.

To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-778-7806, and ask to speak to GAiN’s humanitarian outreach.