I’ve never had as much trouble reading an article as I did with “Refugee Sabbath Highlights a ‘Sanctuary Church’ ” in the August issue. It was so difficult because it was impossible to see through my tears. To read the horrific experiences refugees have had to face through no fault of their own, along with ADRA’s acts of mercy, brought to mind Jesus’ words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . . , ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40, KJV).
Some have said we have to take care of our “own,” but these are our “own.” Our heavenly Father is their Father also. Our Elder Brother, Jesus, is their Brother too. We are all family. What a privilege to support ADRA and their volunteers with this lifesaving mission!
Doris Kopko
Roseville, California
I thank God for the article “When Jesus Sets You Free,” by John McVay (May 2017). The words that meant so much to me are: “We serve a God who hears the prayer that falters toward the precipice of doubt and unbelief. He hears that prayer as it is translated into the language of heaven by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26, 27).”
The prayers of that early Christian small group are rooted in unbelief. The sublime language of their prayers belies the faithlessness in their hearts. Yet—and please don’t miss this—the risen Jesus, our gracious Lord, hears and answers those prayers anyway. I have been so troubled by the text in James 1:6, 7: “Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the the Lord” (AMPC).*
Betty Ora
San Clemente, California
I just happened across the story of Dr. Gus Foster in Brawley, California, that was posted on the Internet in a Review from 2002. It was written by a niece of Dr. Foster’s. I was born at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley on February 10, 1943. My parents, James and Marjorie Gillespie, were church school teachers in Brawley at the time of my birth. Dr. Foster was a good friend of theirs, and he delivered me. Dr. Foster’s son later lived with them while he and my parents were attending Pacific Union College (PUC). I googled Dr. Foster and came up with the Review article about the wonderful things he did to help Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.
I was thrilled to find this gem because I knew some who were listed when I was a child. We lived in Los Angeles in the mid to late 1940s; my father was principal of Lincoln Park Union School. Later I attended PUC and ended up teaching there in the 1970s and later at Andrews University in Berrien Springs. I knew very little about the doctor, but was thrilled to see this article, which connected with my past. Thank you for posting this article on the Internet. It was a very nostalgic moment to read it.
Don Gillespie
St. Joseph, Michigan
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but the Adventist Church isn’t bringing the refugees into the country. It is the government that allows them in because of their plight, and this is usually done legally. Caring for refugees and ministering to their needs—or doing the same for anyone else, for that matter—is the duty of Christian believers, in my opinion. Yes, there are risks—there will be always be risks, but caring and loving are done by principle from the heart. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40, KJV).
Trevor Hammond
via Web
* Scripture quotations credited to AMPC are taken from The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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