Prescription for Hope, Part 2

By MAD21

A few weeks ago I posted Part 1 of my interview with Ashley Wagoner from Prescription for Hope, Samaritan's Purse. A wonderful organization that works with people all around the world to help those affected by and infected with AIDS/HIV. They bring them health care, educational programs, and the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ. As promised, here is Part 2 of this series. Thanks again to Ashley and her team for taking the time to talk with us about their experiences.

Prescription For Hope

MAD21: In the communities around the world where PFH ministers to people who suffer from HIV/AIDS, what is the general view of life itself? What kind of value do they place on an individual’s life? Since so many of the people who are infected are outcast from their communities, does anyone care if they live or die?

Ashley: The outlook on life differs, and is dependent on each country where we work. We do come across all sorts of stigmas, mainly due to lack of knowledge about the disease. For example, in many areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a prevailing myth that AIDS is a curse from the ancestral gods. Those who have AIDS are then quarantined, and left to live out their lives in isolation, without true knowledge of the disease. Becoming HIV-positive in these societies can be a lot like receiving a death sentence.

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Prescription for Hope, Part 1

By MAD21

A few months ago, I posted an awesome interview I had with Stacey Wilson from Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child. I was recently blessed with another opportunity to interview someone from a different group within Samaritan's Purse called, Prescription for Hope. I was less familiar with this group so when I had the chance to talk with them, I was happy to do so if anything to learn more about it myself.

Thanks so much to Ashley Wagoner and everyone else at Prescription for Hope who may have helped put these answers together. I pray they will be richly blessed for taking the time to talk with us.

This interview will be a 2-part series. I hope you enjoy it, but mostly I pray that you learn something, and that it will encourage you to act. To love the "untouchables" as has God has loved us.

Prescription For Hope

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Butterfly Boxes

By MAD21

Please watch this video of how one little girl's legacy is Making A Difference. The video says it all:

Calling All Shoeboxes!!

By MAD21

The time is drawing near for Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan's Purse) to begin collecting those shoeboxes. Don't know what that means? Read: "The Graham's and Samaritan's Purse," "Got Boxes?" "A Boy Who Overcame Terrifying Events," or go straight to OCC.

The blog Becoming Last just posted a YouTube video of a boy who had just received his box. If you haven't ever packed a box in the past because you didn't think it mattered much, go watch this child's joy before he's even opened it. It will change your mind.

A new really cool thing this year? They now have the ability to track some of the boxes, so you can find out  where your shoebox ended up!

Now, go to the OCC site to find out where your nearest drop off location is, get a bunch of friends and family together and have a box party. Get packin'! Make a Difference in a child's life.

A Boy Who Overcame Terrifying Events And Became A Mentor

In a previous article, I wrote about one of my favorite ministries, Samaritan's Purse. They recently posted a great article about a 27-year-old boy named Sarko who overcame terrifying events in his life that left him handicapped an orphaned. In "Turning Brokenness Into Blessing" they share:

"The morning of March 16, 1988, started out like any other for young Sarko. He climbed aboard the bus for the ride to school, eager to meet up with friends from his kindergarten class. Several minutes later, there was a massive explosion and screaming. The bus with 30 children aboard had been hit by a missile...he found out he was the only child in the bus who had survived....[and] All of Sarko’s immediate family was dead. His parents and 10 brothers and sisters had been killed in poisonous gas attacks launched on Halabja by Saddam’s military forces on the same day as the bus bombing..."

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