The Middle East is a beautiful region rich in natural resources, history, and culture. Its significance to many has created unseemly never-ending wars and conflicts that have caused the displacement of over 20 million people. Research on the needs in the region show that nearly 35 million require daily humanitarian assistance. (Pew Research Center)
The hardships that follow from living in a conflict zone spare no one and many of our brothers and sisters in this area are in urgent need of our help. The financial instability that our spiritual family faces is grave. Toppled governments and civil unrest makes it nearly impossible to earn a living, especially when the valuation of your country's currency is on a steep decline.
Below are the present needs for 10 disciple families/individuals. As always, 100% of your contributions will go directly to assist our brothers and sisters. God bless!
Raquel, the mother of 10 children, has been a disciple of the Church of Christ International Rio de Janeiro for 25 years. She baptized by her eldest daughter, Tania. This 70-year-old sister always took her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to church. Over the years, she assumed guardianship of 5 underage grandchildren after one of her sons was murdered by Ja drug trafficking gang in a neighborhood where she previously lived with her whole family. Since the mother of her grandchildren was chemically dependent, she lost custody of the children. Thankfully Raquel stepped in successfully fought for guardianship. Sadly, after she had taken in the children, Raquel passed away a few months later. Her daughter Tania, a single sister in the church, then took on the responsibility of caring for her nephews as her own.
Tania is now in the process of rearranging her life to accommodate the needs of the children. The church has rallied behind her to aid her as she looks for an adequate home in a safe neighborhood away from drug violence. The local churches are doing their best to provide financial support, but with limited resources, they are still in need of funds to secure housing for this family. Your help for Tania and the children are greatly needed and appreciated!
Request: $1,000
Support for ICOC Families in Mozambique
Especially The Family, in partnership with the Ascend Academy, would like to bring the needs of eight disciple families before you for your consideration. Their local church members have organized themselves carefully and are striving to help these families overcome the economic devastation they are facing.
The church in Mozambique has estimated that the total cost to help these families is $3,900 USD in total, an average of about $488 USD per family. The church benevolence group plans to work with the recipients to help them be successful in their use of these funds. We pray we can rally together to help them and receive some much needed relief.
Thanks for your consideration!
I was baptized on May 28, 2017, but my story began many years before, when a group of Mexican missionaries came to Nicaragua to evangelize my country and make disciples of Jesus. That first year of the mission in Nicaragua (2007) my brother was invited to a Sunday service and he invited all of us. I remember we were very happy because we were praying for a church that would live true Christianity. My sister Gema and my mom Dolores, were baptized within a few months of visiting the church, but my brother and I decided to wait (our hearts were hard). Three years after our first visit, my brother Carlos was baptized (both he and my sister served as interns at the Church for many years). Over the years, God surprised me when my wife surprised me that she was going to study the Bible and for God's honor she decided to be a disciple and was baptized on August 17, 2014 (she is 7 years old in the faith). While looking at my family with admiration, my heart was not ready to accept the call, until a circumstance (a gallbladder operation) made me reflect on how fragile life is, led me to ask my brother to give me studies. Months later, God changed my heart and I was baptized in honor and glory of God on May 28, 2017.
God has changed life, but it has been years and years of struggle with my Ulcerative Colitis disease that has led to the deterioration of my liver and even Cirrhosis. This time it has not been easy for my family, I lost my job because I no longer have the strength due to the medications I have to take. I am fighting to stay hopeful and praying for physical recovery. Your love and generosity is a blessing!
I was baptized on September 29, 2019. Becoming a disciple saved my life. Before knowing God, I was going through a very rough phase in my life. However, thanks to the grace of God, not only was I saved, but so also my wife, mother, and sister! God is amazing! Today I come before you, to ask your assistance to pay for my son's laptop which broke before I could finish paying the installments. Due to the pandemic, my son is in great need of this computer to pursue his studies and I currently cannot afford an additional payment. Your assistance to our family would be an incredible blessing!
Request $900
Hello Brothers and Sisters.
This is Sylva. She lives in Beirut, Lebanon, and attends Lebanon Church of Christ. She was invited to study the bible and the lesson of the "Cross" made all the difference in her life. She got baptized on August 19th 2011. Since then Sylva showed nothing but a serving heart ready to be always available for the church no matter the challenges she was going through. Today she leads, with love and compassion, the pre-teens and the kids kingdom ministries.
Her dream is to live for Jesus and bring as many people as possible to Him.
She is a mother of two adorable children, and works as a math teacher. Over the years, Sylva and her family suffered from a financial crisis especially when her dad went through medical treatments in 2006 (cancer patient with diabetes). Being the only child of the family, it was truly hard on her and a big responsibility to be able to handle all the challenges. For the past two years, the economy in the country has become very difficult for all of them, especially that her husband was out of work because of COVID. She had to tutor privately in order to put food on the table and take care of her family as well as parents.
What she earned was used to pay bills and food but not mechanic bills for the car for several years. Therefore, her basic need is to fix her car since she works a long way from home and there is no proper transportation in our country. Finally, Sylva would like to thank you for your generous hearts.
Request: $1,000
This is Abeer from Egypt
Abeer is a dedicated wife and a mother of 2. She has been a disciple for 28 years, and has faithfully serving God’s kingdom. She is a hard worker and a loving sister who has impacted a lot of lives and served many. Abeer has always faced the trials and hardships in her life with hope in heart.
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has to go through 3 months of chemo sessions since it is spreading beyond the ovaries, after which she will undergo surgery. Her immunity is dropping and relative medication, tests, and monitoring are urgently needed.
There is still a long way to go, but she is handling it with a lot of faith and acceptance.
Abeer and her daughter are the only providers for the family.
The Church of Christ financial committee sat with Abeer’s husband, Ramez, to lay down the needs and came up with a financial plan and an estimated figure that will cover the first chemo sessions and part of the operation fees. The total amount needed was around $10,000 to be divided equally between her husband, the local church in Cairo (which is over its budget) and the Middle East council.
Although every member of the church is helping, hospitalization and her treatment are very expensive and a lot remains to be done.
Your support is highly appreciated.
Request $1,000
Hi everyone, my name is Lissette. I am 19 years old and I have been a disciple for 4 and a half years. I am requesting help because these past few months it has been very difficult to carry out my studies. My sister and I have to take turns using the one laptop that we own as a family. Since I am majoring in digital media, my files also take up a lot of space and it is very difficult for us to do our work quickly.
With COVID still being a great threat, my school is currently providing virtual sessions and having a dependable laptop is more important than ever. Your help towards my education would be incredibly helpful. I thank you so much for your support!
Request: $1,000
My name is Tendai Murove and I am 44 years old. I was born and bred in Harare Zimbabwe.
I came to the church in November 1997 and I was baptized on January 1998.
I had a great marriage with my beautiful wife Gertrude but unfortunately in April 2008 a few days after giving birth to our first-born son Kutenda my wife suffered a post-natal stroke and she died on the 7th of April 2008 leaving me and a 5-day old infant.
Ever since my wife passed away I have been raising my son on my own with the help of family members including my sister who played has been like a mother to him.
It has not been easy to provide for my son since I am usually only able to secure temporary jobs or contract work.
Your assistance will help me pay school fees for my son and my medical expenses since I have type 2 diabetes.
Any assistance you can grant me and my son will be greatly and deeply appreciated.
I came to the church at the invitation of my mother who is also a disciple. I was looking for a deep peace and a love that I never found in the world until I met Christ. I was baptized on September 29, 2019.
Currently my 3 children and I live with my mother. It can be very difficult for a single parent like myself to find a safe and affordable house to rent. The father of my children is inconsistent with his responsibilities to support our children, but I am working hard to make things work. My need at the moment is to fund the construction of a safe home for my family on the land I inherited. I am requesting your help with the initial cost of $ 20,000 pesos (aprox $1,000 USD) thank you so much!
