Below is an encouraging post from a friend and supporter of ATP Ministries, JeraMae McDonald.
You can view her full post on her website here.
Imagine your sweet child… whose smile and laughter never fail to make you grin, whose tears hurt you no matter how many times you’ve seen them, how much you adore their little hands and feet, their curious faces as they learn about the world, the child who relies on you for everything and looks to you for safety. Now imagine that child ripped from your arms by a hate-filled murderer. They are now in possession of a man high on evil, whose blazing eyes behold slaughter and chaos, and are void of any empathy.
This is the reality of what’s happening in Iraq and other areas where ISIS wreaks havoc. Children’s entire families are executed in front of their little eyes, just before they’re forced into a life of sex slavery, or handed a gun, or brainwashed to think the greatest and holiest thing they could do is commit suicide by blowing up themselves and others around them.
We’ve all seen the commercial about cruelty to dogs, where Sarah McLachlan sings of being in the arms of an angel… don’t deny it, we all cried the first time we saw it. I’ve seen the outrage and dismay on social media about the treatment of circus animals, the elephants in Thailand, the hunting of whales in Norway, the rounding up and killing of dolphins in Japan, and the [now successful] crusade to end the Yulin festival in China where they torture and kill dogs.
I’ve seen celebrities and friends advocate for animals, but where is the outrage over the brutal deaths of humans in the Middle East?? Let our HEARTS BREAK for these children as well.
I have to tell you about people taking some actual significant and life-saving action: Victor Marx, his wife Eileen, and their ATP (All Things Possible) ministry. Now, this isn’t an ad for the ministry; in fact, the only contact I have had with them was a few years ago when Victor visited our Calvary Chapel Church in Hawaii, and he said “hello” as we walked out when service was over. I followed Marx on Facebook after that, and lately my heart has been tugged by the content being posted. I didn’t want to think about everything happening in Iraq, and at first it was “out-of-sight, out-of-mind,” but now that I have my own daughter it strikes a chord I can’t tune out. My respect and adoration towards these people compel me to write about them and help spread hope in any way I can.
Victor, his wife, and their small team physically go to Iraq and are on the front lines of the terror – being in the utmost danger with explosions blasting in the near distance and bullets whistling past them – so they can save and reach those who have been forever affected by the hand of ISIS. Only recently, one of their selfless team members was attacked and gave his life for a little girl. He, Shaheen, is a hero in an aching land. These people are prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice for these hurting souls.
Walkers, not talkers, my kind of ministry! Victor is not politically correct, but is a WARRIOR for God (and a retired marine) whose desire is to combat wickedness and change peoples’ lives who are in a suffering country. His group’s actions and genuineness set them apart from many other organizations, and my heart is set aflame by their work; I wish I could go with them on their next trip, but the reality is most of us aren’t equipped with the training needed and the finances for required security, insurance, emergency medical evacs, secured and guarded lodging, and extra armored vehicles, just isn’t there for them to host more people. Yet there are things that we can do, and what they need is sponsoring of children.
They need help to attain resources for these kids and their high risk missions to get to them. I’ve never donated to anything before (Sorry Lord…I know shame on me!), I tend to be a skeptical person and I need to know where my contributions are going- but Marx’s ministry is non-profit whose members do not personally pocket any donations, it all goes to their operations and resources to answer the call of help from the Middle East. If it’s in your heart to help these children, these mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, I am posting some information and a link at the bottom for you to do so. If you are unable to help financially, prayer is always needed –prayer and ENCOURAGEMENT. Keep the victims and Marxs’ high-risk missions close to your heart!
“The children of Iraq are the future of either terrorism or something better. These children will be adults when our kids are adults. They can be taught love by Americans or they can be convinced through the propaganda of ISIS to hate our children… get your kids involved [with sponsoring] and teach them to love and pray for the most vulnerable suffering children..” -Rachel Bratene
