Westside Ministries

11/7/10

Before arriving this morning, we knew two things about this ministry: they were poor, and they had somehow managed to rescue a refugee over the summer. We were excited to share the story of Myung-Su, the refugee who they funded. As soon as we arrived, we knew that these were amazing people. The pastor was in the kitchen in sweats, making french toast for breakfast for the entire congregation. Quite a few people were even wearing their "Run DMZ" shirts that they had purchased over the summer.

As we shared the stories of the five refugees, we got a response like none other that we had seen before. When Myung-Su beat Justin at arm wrestling, they cheered, as if he was their son, and he had just scored the winning touch down at the football championship game. A similar cheer sounded when the Chinese police officer overlooked the refugees on the bus.

This group was so impressed by the change that they had made in just one individual's life, that they decided to continue their commitment to this issue, and to LiNK. They wrote us another $2500 check to rescue a second refugee, and pledged to raise the funds to rescue an additional THREE refugees by January 1, 2011! We were blown away by their generosity, not because they rescued 2 refugees already this year, but because these people in the ministry are not rich. They are literally giving all that they possibly can, and probably even more than that. It's the poor helping the poor. Many of the people originally came the the United States illegally, so they understand the situation-- many of them have lived or experienced the same stories.

I was (and still am) so inspired by this small, humble group. Honestly, now I feel like I'm not doing as much as I possibly can for this cause. This experience has inspired me to give the remaining four weeks of tour more than my all.

Around noon today (11/8), we got a call from our VP (Justin), letting us know that not only had that ministry done all of that yesterday, but this morning, they sent off another $2500 check, and had received a $10,000 check, bringing their total refugees rescued to SEVEN since July!

Wow, Westside Ministries. I am touched by your generosity. There is just no way to say Thank You enough. If everyone in the world was as kind and as wonderful as you, this world would be an incredible place.