“Unto the Least of These”

The other day, when I was listing the travels of my children and grandchildren, I forgot one important trip. (I think that’s the only one I forgot.) But Rob and Melissa had a week or two in a Latin American country for their church, helping the group build a church, or something like that. Melissa, I think, worked in the food department. The secret for the success of such an endeavor is organization. With good planning, much can be accomplished in a week. I was and am very proud of this grandson and his wife for taking part in this program.

Many churches engage in this type of activity and other groups too. One of the most remarkable, in my opinion, is Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham. It goes where disasters strike, supplying sleeping tents, blankets, little cooking stoves, drinking water, and the like, as well as clothing and food. But in the process, Graham says one of their chief concerns is to show love for the disaster victims, especially the love of God for each individual in every country. I believe Samaritan’s Purse is now connected with the American Bible Society, an old organization which some of our founding fathers had a hand in establishing. ABS has Bibles printed in as many languages as possible, depending on funds available.

Another group doing similar work is Medical Teams International, based in Portland, Oregon. And that reminds me of an additional traveler in the family, though distant. A nephew-in-law of my late husband, Dr. Ken Magee, has made several trips to other countries with a medical team, to Iraq, to Afghanistan twice, I believe, and to one in Africa, a village at the edge of the jungle. He writes about this work in his retirement. He probably never heard of a blog in those days (most of us hadn’t, or perhaps none had), but a blog would have been idealif one had the energy after doing the work one wrote about. Dr. Ken now does hospice work. I am also proud of this family member and his wife Jo.

I recommend the three charities mentioned here. They will spend your donations wisely.

♥