Help Bring Hope to Afghanistan
We can all find ourselves facing crisis fatigue as we’re bombarded around-the-clock with urgent news from every media platform. I have found myself overwhelmed, in tears, and at a loss for words in recent weeks. It’s in those moments that God’s Word anchors my soul and enables me to stay in the fight for those who are literally hiding and running for their lives.
“O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear to do justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more” (Psalm 10:17-18).
Despite all the obstacles they face, Afghan families continue to find their way to freedom—approximately 20-40 people are evacuated on a daily basis. Our partner network had a list of 900 people who were approved to leave Afghanistan; 401 have been successfully evacuated. Every day, our partners on the ground experience the Lord’s work firsthand as they encounter people who have been detained by the Taliban and then inexplicably released. One family with small children was being held at gunpoint, but they were miraculously released.
But the situation is still very dire. The Taliban has doubled their numbers over the past few weeks, and traveling is increasingly difficult. A mother and her children escaped across the border to safety after watching her husband’s beheading. This week the Taliban killed one local worker and stabbed another. Afghan orphans are being relocated to safe houses, but many women and children remain great risk as they navigate obtaining visas. Please continue to lift these families up in prayer as ISIS reappears and border security tightens. Also, pray for our partners as they face tremendous pressure and dangers in their efforts to evacuate those in crisis and for the asylum countries who are receiving Afghan refugees.
There is some good news. Operation Soccer Balls was successful. The Afghanistan Youth Women’s National Football Team and their family members—a total of eighty people—have been successfully relocated to Lisbon, Portugal.
The first thing the girls asked for was soccer balls, which we are thrilled to provide, along with personal items, clothing, and other immediate needs. We are honored to have been a part of the international network that included former US military and intelligence officials, US allies, a US Senator, and humanitarian groups to help get these girls to safety. Reload Love is committed to providing these girls and their families with the immediate necessities required for a fresh start.
Thank you for your generous donations. Our Afghanistan Emergency Relief campaign will continue through Thursday, September 30. If you have not done so already, please share this effort with your friends and family and encourage them to make a donation. Above all else, we ask that you continue praying for the innocent children, women, and families who must flee Afghanistan in the hope of finding freedom.
Jennifer Santiago and the Reload Love Team