Praise in the Midst of Storm

Matthew 9:36 “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

-  People to People Ministries; Letter from Turkey National Leader Pastor Ismail Serinken

The Serinken Family

TURKEY - After the devastating earthquake, we are facing the biggest homelessness crisis of our day in our world. 11 cities and 13 million people were affected by this massive tragedy. The situation is dire, and the need is great. We’ve been helping over 50 families, especially from the Antioch region, with our limited resources. Multitudes are coming to our city of Ankara to seek shelter, as it is one of the safe zones in Turkey. Those who are coming are fearful after such a horrific tragedy and are desperate.

Here is the story of one of these families: Ahmet is a Christian brother from Antioch who is 25 years old. He is the only Christian in his Muslim family. During the massive earthquake, he rescued his mom, sister-in-law, and her three children. One of the children was a ten-day-old baby. He was able to get them all out but got trapped beneath the rubble. A few hours later, his friends and neighbors were able to pull him out. Unfortunately, the family lost everything in this earthquake. They came to Ankara with only the clothes on their backs. We rented them a house and bought them clothes and food. One of our church brothers gave Ahmet a job to start a new life here.

In this dark time, we hear many miracles as well. Small children, including babies, are being miraculously rescued from beneath the rubble weeks after the earthquake. I want to share one interesting story of a girl who is 10 years old. She was under debris for many days. When they pulled her out, they asked if she was thirsty or hungry. Surprisingly, her response was no. She said that a nice lady in white clothes came to her and brought her food, spent time with her, and told her that she would be rescued. She said that when they found her, the lady disappeared. Of course, we know that this was an angel of the Lord. Please continue praying for Turkey, especially so the people will be drawn to Jesus.

In this time, we praise the Lord that we can show them the love of God by providing them with their needs.

We want to thank everyone for sending earthquake relief funds during this difficult time in our nation.

Blessings,

Pastor Ismail Serinken

To give to Disaster Relief and current humanitarian efforts in Turkey visit give.iphc.org/project/ptp-disaster-relief-overseas, Project #09055D.