Clothe Syria is off to a great start, and we are so thankful to all of you who are rallying support! We now have 15 bags of clothes and several more on the way. We also have donations coming from Tennessee, and people in Texas and New Mexico are now getting involved. From the beginning we said that God would be the one to move this forward because it is truly His idea...and He has proven Himself faithful.
Some exciting news!
We have discovered an organization in Pennsylvania that will coordinate shipping and deliver the donated clothing into the hands of the Syrian refugees. They are GAiN USA (Global Aid Network), you can check out their website here and their Facebook page here.They have already sent one shipment to the refugees in Jordan, and said that the timing of our request was perfect. (Isn't that just like God?) They are sending another shipment and our donations can go with it! This will be just the first of many, as they are shipping at the end of the September, and all the donations that are coming in will not be here in time. We are looking forward to partnering with them for this endeavor as we continue to receive more donations!Sharing the love...
I (Natalie) have been given several opportunities to share the vision for "Clothe Syria". Earlier this week I did an interview, to be published later this month, with the Bulldog Growl, Mexico High's school newspaper. Sunday, September 15, I will share at my home church, Victory Christian Fellowship. That evening I will be sharing at Mexico United Methodist Church, and on the 22nd I will be speaking at Kentucky Road Christian Church. Please let us know if you have a group or belong to a church and want us to come and share the vision of "Clothe Syria". We'd love to share and meet those of you who are getting involved!
Just some logistics...
If you live in Missouri and have clothes you want to donate but are unable to travel to a drop off location, we are willing to come and pick them up. Please contact us to set up arrangements. Those outside of Missouri in the surrounding states, if you want to spread the word and get several people involved, we would also be willing to drive to your state to pick up the donations!
We are currently working to find more drop-off points for donations to make it easier for everyone to access. Right now donations are being stored at my (Natalie's) house and my parents, but we will run out of room shortly, so if you have a dry, big, safe place that you might be willing to offer as temporary storage until donations are shipped out, please contact us!
We have had several inquiries regarding monetary donations. If people would prefer to send funds (which are needed for shipping) rather than clothes, we are establishing a PayPal account for that purpose. We will post an update soon with the opportunity to donate directly here on our website.
Seriously, thank you!
The vision for Clothe Syria is from God, and I credit Him for any good that we might be able to do through this meager offering. However, it is worth noting that without a bunch of people around me being the hands and feet of Jesus, this just wouldn't be possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you who have offered your support, whether it's a bag of clothes, money, an encouraging word, your prayers, or your passion - we are so grateful. I'm also incredibly thankful for my family and friends for rallying and doing a lot of work behind the scenes to get Clothe Syria off of the ground. Hurray for the body of Christ!
And on a personal note...
The word is spreading quickly through the Mexico High School and several clubs are getting involved as well. It is very encouraging for me to see the high schoolers get excited and passionate about helping. Several did not even know what was happing in Syria, and I have been able to inform them about the war that is going on over there, as well as encourage them that they can make a difference in the world, that I am not anybody special, I just decided to do something and they can too!
Today, I was reading about the Syrian refugees on this website (http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/anti-americanism-spreads-in-syrianrefugee-camps/279538/) and this quote really hit me hard!
“The public response to appeals has been considerably weak,” Tamer Kirolos of Save the Children’s Amman office told me recently. “After an earthquake or natural disaster, there’s no bad guys, so people can empathize and say, ‘that could happen to me’ or feel you’re giving to a good cause. People in the West just don’t see themselves in this environment. It’s just another conflict in the Middle East. At the end of the day there’s no clear sense of who’s the good guys. The situation is so complex. Nobody understands it. So they’d rather ignore it.”
I do not want to be a person who ignores what is going on! God has blessed me with freedom, peace, and opportunity, I want to use those to the best of my ability. The words that I live by are “Love God, love people”. God loved me so much that He gave his Son to die for me! As long as there is breath in my lungs I will share that love and hope, to the ends of the earth! Clothe Syria is just one small way I am doing that! Thank you for your support and your donations, keep them coming and keep spreading the word!
Friends, we are making a difference.
"I was naked and you clothed Me...Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me." - Matthew 25:36b, 40
All for Him,
Natalie
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