Dear Friends,   Aid Beyond our Borders  Vitamins donated by GNC through Dr. David Rosenblum were carried into Iraq by a special group earlier this year. They were distributed through clinics.    We shipped a container of new children’s shoes donated by Buckner Orphan Care International to Ukraine for distribution to orphanages. Steve Taliaferro received and distributed the precious cargo and the Josh McDowell humanitarian organization arranged the shipping. What an example of working together for a common purpose! A container of Magi gifts for children, vitamins, new shoes, quilts and clothes was shipped to Croatia in October. Magi gifts will be loaded December 13 bound for Chihuahua, Mexico.   Palliative Care Patients/Parkland Working with Dr. Elizabeth Paulk and her staff gives us a wonderful opportunity to be present to people in greatest need at their most hopeless time. This work is filled with joy and sadness. The family of Mr. Garcia sold their furniture including linens, pictures and baby bed to pay for his casket (when we learned of their situation, we replaced as much as possible). We were amazed at such care and courage. Within the same week, a young man was unable to come home to see his dying mother because his boss would not release him. He couldn’t afford to risk losing his job by insisting. Today Bob Striler will pick John up from the shelter, as is now Bob’s custom. John is a professional who lived well until he was diagnosed with cancer. Now he is in a shelter waiting for his social security disability to the approved. The amazing thing is how happy John is to just enjoy each day and Bob loves sharing those days with him.   Medical Patients from Kosovo Twenty-six-year-old Florentina Dajci of Gjakova, Kosovo arrived here in May.  She was seen by a retina specialist and by the Retina Foundation. There is no treatment for her condition at this time but she left full of hope because of promising research. It was important for her to be registered in the database for future treatment as it emerges. Blerina Kusari, a 20-year-old also from Gjakova, Kosovo, is suffering from a congenital syndrome. We’re seeking ways to relieve her pain (possibly with surgery) in order for Blerina to return to school and a more normal life. Dr. Scott Oishi has accepted another patient – Naim Retkoceri of Pristina, Kosovo. He will attempt to improve the condition of Naim’s badly damaged arm and hand.

The Samaritan Story Retold     By the time Zanda Shumba called us this summer, he had been seeking help for three months. We could not see a way to help him at first but because of our policy to never turn anyone away who is in need, an appointment was made to see him.     Mr. Shumba, a young man with a family in Zimbabwe, had come to visit friends. Because of the adverse conditions there, I suspect he had come to see if there was a way to bring his family here. As Mr. Shumba was departing the U.S. through Dallas, he didn’t have sufficient funds to pay for an unforeseen change in his ticket. When he sought to leave later, after collecting the money, the ticket had expired.     We first talked with the airline. They were uncompromising and a ticket would cost over $3,000. We then began a lengthy process of merging advantage miles (a one-time deal because of a promotion by Citibank) that ultimately got Mr. Shumba passage home.     Meanwhile we learned that this young man, during his ordeal, had been in shelters, slept on streets, and had gone days at a time without food. This case has haunted me because of what it says about us. Can you imagine the hope with which he came to this wonderful land of freedom and plenty? What he learned about us, we need to note about ourselves.   In Conclusion     There is a question that awaits every person. It doesn’t wait to be answered but rather to be asked. The question is, “What am I doing here?” In one way or another, we run around all are lives trying to answer that question. At some point, some realize that the key to happiness is to finally give up our own ideas about what we’re doing here and to ask the One who created us “for what we were created.” When we ask – when our heart truly longs to know – our eyes begin to open. We see each other not as different because of religion, ethnicity or any number of other reasons but rather as brothers and sisters. Gently and tenderly all we need to give and to love each other comes. Then we are able to give what we cannot explain.   Thank you for your continued involvement.  In gratitude,  Rae England