Nazarene Fund’s Mission of Rescue

After 15 years of fragile stability, Afghanistan has fallen back into chaos.

As has already been widely reported, once the United States pulled its troops out the Islamist Taliban quickly took control of Afghanistan.  For some reason, the Biden Administration chose to leave thousands of allies and even American citizens, behind.  These people are now at the mercy of the Taliban.

Atrocities like those currently occurring in Afghanistan are difficult to comprehend for those who only have known peace and security.  In particular, converts to Christianity are apostates marked for death by the Taliban.

Although many are outraged by these events, many of these same people have abdicated responsibility to their governments and chosen to believe they can do nothing. Others, however, are stepping up.

The Nazarene Fund

The Nazarene Fund was established in 2015.  This organization’s mission is to liberate the captive, to free the enslaved, and to rescue, rebuild and restore lives.

The symbol of the organization is the “nun,” the 14^th letter in the Arabic alphabet.   This letter stands for Nasara or Nazarene in English.  To the Taliban, this symbol is meant to express contempt or disapproval.  But to Christians this is a symbol of hope.

The Nazarene Fund has evacuated over 37,000 people (not just Christians) to places of safety since its founding.  In many cases, these evacuations are done in extremely dangerous conditions.

Modern Miracle

On August 18 a call for help went out.  The Nazarene Fund was organizing an airlift of 5,000 Christian converts marked for death by the Taliban.

A private undertaking of this magnitude is not cheap.  Jet fuel alone costs thousands of dollars per person.  The goal set for this effort was $20,000,00.

In just 48 hours, the Nazarene Fund raised over $21 Million.  This magnitude of money was raised by the faithful who believe all lives are precious.  Most donations were in small amounts.

On Friday August 20^th, the first aircraft chartered by the Nazarene Fund left Afghanistan.  Many more flights are being planned to rescue those in hiding. These will be smaller, more dangerous missions, however.

Silence in the Media

At the time of writing this brief article for Catholic Stand, no reports are posted in the mainstream media about this privately funded airlift.

Most likely, the Nazarene Fund is not the only private organization coordinating rescues in Afghanistan.  Why are there no reports (even vague reports to protect security if need be) in the mainstream media of such privately funded rescues?

As reported in the National Catholic Register, one refugee, Ali Ehsani has even appealed to Pope Francis to save his family trapped in Kabul.  The Catholic family is made up of five children and their mother. The father went missing last week.

Pray for Those in Harm’s Way

As the next several days unfold, many will be walking into harms way with the intent to bring others to safety.  Please keep these brave men and women in your prayers.

To contribute to the Nazarene Fund, visit the Nazarene Fund website, Here.