Access to medicine makes the difference between life and death for millions of Iraqis fleeing ISIS.
That’s why the medical clinic of the Assemblies of God church in Baghdad daily brings life-saving medicine to refugees throughout Iraq.
Our area director for the Middle East recently asked me to tell you the stories of three at-risk Iraqi refugees—Zaid, a Christian from the city of Mosul (modern-day Nineveh), Um Banat, a Shiite Muslim fleeing Sunni Muslim terrorists, and Yousef, a Sunni Muslim convert to Christianity.
Zaid escaped to Baghdad when ISIS swept through his city two years ago. He desperately needed medicine for diabetes and heart-related issues, but fled with nothing but the clothes on his back.
Unfortunately, our medical clinic staff did not reach Zaid in time.
When the clinic’s physicians found him, he was dying. His right foot had been amputated and there was little more the doctors could do. They prayed with him and grieved that they had not been there sooner.
Many refugees in Zaid’s camp also urgently need medicine. The clinic can only reach them in time with your help!
By partnering with Baghdad’s Assemblies of God clinic, you can help provide medicine for refugees for one month at a cost of $35 per person. Our goal is to supply the clinic with a month’s worth of medicine for 1,000 refugees.
THE NEED FOR LIFE-SAVING MEDICINE GROWS MORE DESPERATE EACH DAY!
ISIS swept through Iraq during the first week of August 2014 and within that week, Baghdad’s population swelled from 1 million to 2 million people.
Most of these refugees are Shiite Muslims fleeing from their enemies—Sunni Muslims. Yet religious background makes no difference to AG clinic personnel: to them, every person deserves help and a clear presentation of the gospel.
The church’s medical clinic is reaching out to all refugees, regardless of their religious traditions.
For Muslims, crossing religious lines to meet others’ needs is out of the question. “The response of the church is unprecedented,” explains the AG area director for the Middle East. “At no other time in the history of Iraq’s church have we seen the scripture about loving one’s enemies fulfilled in this way.” This is how the clinic staff met Um Banat.
Um Banat is not her real name: it means “mother of girls,” a shame in Islamic societies, and was given to her in recent years because all the males in her family have died fighting ISIS. She lives with her mother and daughters in a refugee camp.
Muslim women are not allowed to work for a living, so Um Banat’s family has no one to provide for them. They live completely off the generosity of others, not knowing day to day if they will have enough to eat, let alone receive the medicine they need.
As I write, two members of Um Banat’s family are in critical condition and await medicine. Will you help us provide for Um Banat’s family and refugees like them? A gift of $35 supplies a refugee with medicine for one month.
Many Muslims are attracted to the love of Jesus evidenced by the Christian staff members who distribute medicine. A Christian presence provides an opportunity for these Muslims to ask questions about Jesus.
This is true for Yousef, a Sunni Muslim refugee. He witnessed his brother’s death at the hands of Shiite Muslims, which made him question why Islam allows the killing of its own people.
He started attending the Assemblies of God church in Baghdad to seek answers, and he learned about a different way of life—a way of love. He committed his life to Christ and is now involved in refugee ministry, caring for the Shiite Muslims who are historically his enemies.
Zaid, Um Banat, and Yousef—each story so different, yet with one common thread: Christians reached out to them in their time of need, serving as God’s hands extended.
Millions more like them await life-and-death medical attention and a Christian witness.
The Assemblies of God medical clinic in Baghdad is caught in the crossfire of terrorist strikes, yet continues to provide medicine and the gospel to refugees. Will you prayerfully consider partnering with the brave men and women of the clinic to provide physical care and spiritual hope to refugees who have lost everything?