Monday, August 29, 2011

Seven Families

Recently, I have had some issues with health insurance.  Denied because we are adopting.  Denied because of my "heart condition" which they assumed I have after seeing I had taken a medication for Jakin's heart after his diagnosis and before his death.  Adding to my husband's insurance was WAY too expensive, so I began searching for alternatives.  Then I came across Samaritan's Ministries.



Samaritan's is basically a Christian MedShare.  Instead of sending a jaw-dropping amount of money to an insurance agency, I send a set amount of money every month to another Christian in need of financial assistance with their bills.  Samaritan's is based on the principles set in Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.".  But, not only do I send my monthly share, I send a note of encouragement and agree to pray for the person whom I will send my share to.  When I have a medical need, I send in a request packet and Samaritan's sends my need to another person in the share who does the same for me.

I did a lot of research and we prayed about what to do about my health care.  We chose Samaritan's and I sent in my paperwork and we just got my first monthly newsletter.  As I browsed the newsletter, I was impressed.  The article on The Morning Center, a maternity care center they are trying to get off the ground, touched my heart as I see women everyday at the crisis pregnancy center I work at that would benefit from such a program.  Then I saw two pages in the newsletter titled, "New Rewards".  It didn't take long for me to realize these are babies born to Samaritan's members.  I scanned the two pages and prayed for these babies and their families. I also looked to see if any of them had any mention of being stillborn.  I wondered how Samaritan's handled that.  There are currently 17,000 families that are members of Samaritan's...statistically, there would be babies that had been (sadly) lost before birth.

I turned the page and found specific ways I can be praying for the persecuted church.  Again, I didn't expect to see that there, but it broke my heart to read of the persecution going on around the world.

As I scanned the next page, I saw the title "Final Rewards".  It listed two members that had passed away and gave a few paragraphs about each person and included their family and address where encouraging notes and financial assistance could be sent if someone would be so led.  Then, in the second column I saw the following paragraph:

The families listed below have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth.  We list them here to honor the lives God gave and saw fit to take home.  We also list them so that continued prayer and encouragement can be provided during this time.

Then there were seven families listed.  Seven precious couples whose lives have changed in a way they probably never expected.  Listed also there was their addresses.

Would you please join me in prayer for these seven families.  God knows their names and their needs.

  

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Praying for these seven families!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I meant to put my name above. This is Jennifer from Eli's Valley.

Heidi Grohs said...

Praying.........

Amanda said...

I love this ministry!! What an amazing way to help and encourage others. I will definitely be praying for those seven families..I am so glad you were able to find such an amazing "benefit" plan to be a part of..I can't think of a better person to encourage others..Many hugs..

belle said...

how wonderful! i have tried to join their membership and my process got stalled due to circumstances. thanks for posting this. circumstances have changed and i feel like this is God's way of telling me to get back to His business of sharing the burden the way He intended!

be blessed today

Rachel said...

what an amazing ministry opportunity. Thank you for sharing this. I will be praying for those seven families.

crystal theresa said...

this is a wonderful ministry! i love that you found it.

those seven families are in my prayers.

Holly said...

I just love that you found them and what they stand for and what they do. They have true integrity as a company. My heart breaks for those 7 families. :( a prayer for them certainly