Samaritan’s Purse is a relief organization that takes its name from Jesus’s Parable of the Samaritan. The parable tells of a man from Samaria who helps a wounded traveler who was robbed. The Samaritan pays for the man’s lodging and dresses his wounds, then tells the innkeeper, “Look after him. And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” (Luke 10:35)
In the past, a young man who works for Samaritan’s Purse — the son of our former missionary Henry Lake — brought volunteers from America to aid in relief work after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Since then, as a church we have been supporting the organization’s relief work.
This year, at IBF we collected about 40,000 yen by conducting flower arrangement classes. We received donations of presents enough to fill 14 shoeboxes, but in the end were able to send 10 boxes. We’re very thankful to those who donated!
Through these boxes of presents, we hope the joy of Christmas will reach those who are financially needy.
May the joy of Christmas be with your families too.
Do check out the Shoebox video below!
(By the way, according to Samaritan’s Purse Japan, 13,527 shoeboxes were donated!)