Dear Friends

The images out of Afghanistan have no doubt touched you as they have me and the rest of the world. Watching their fear and desperation is heartbreaking. What makes this even more difficult and personal is the fact that Gateway of Grace Ministries serves Afghan families that have family members who are fearing for their lives. Nearly all the families we serve have spouses who worked for years alongside U.S. soldiers as translators and engineers, supported intelligence gathering and did many other jobs.  

Our team has been communicating with our Afghan friends, assuring them that everyone associated with Gateway of Grace is praying for them, their families, and for Afghanistan. I also have been speaking personally with several Afghan women. One of them was an engineer in Afghanistan who fled when the Taliban learned she was working with American soldiers. Or course, her engineering degree did not transfer to the U.S., so this mother of three small children simply could not afford childcare with the jobs she could find. She eventually felt forced to send them back to Afghanistan and provide for them from the U.S. Now, her children’s future is uncertain.

This mother of three and another young Afghan woman joined Grace Community’s church service on Sunday. They wanted to be among Iranian Christian refugees and to have them pray over them and for their families.  

These are just two of the many stories unfolding this week among the Afghan families Gateway of Grace serves. In each, they are asking for prayers and grateful for the love that has been shown to them.

There is, however, a very practical side to refugee ministry. If you will allow the image of families clinging to the side of the Air Force cargo plane to sink in, that is a sobering reminder of how most refugees leave their country, with nothing but the clothes on their back. So, Gateway of Grace is preparing to meet a very high-level need that we could not have imagined at the start of the year.

Many refugees will arrive just as my family and I arrived more than 20 years ago, overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty, and in need of help in every way – yet not knowing one person in America.

The situation we see unfolding in Afghanistan is what helped shape Gateway of Grace’s ministry philosophy of holistic care for refugee families. So, we expect to help provide essentials such as food, furniture, housewares, counseling, connection to medical care, school enrollment for children, job search, and certainly English as a Second Language classes. In short, we will be a neighbor to our Afghan friends as we are to so many other refugees.

So, what should be our first response to a situation that feels overwhelming, even hopeless for those facing it? We will trust God’s promises to anyone who calls on him. He promises not only to hear but act lovingly on their behalf.

Gateway of Grace Ministries will stand in the gap for our Afghan friends, their families, and the nation with a special Zoom prayer gathering this Friday at 6:30 pm.  We will also pray for Cuba, Haiti, and Iran. Please make plans to join us this Friday evening. Email Samira at for the zoom log on information. 

Blessings, 

Samira