A massive 'thank you' to all who supported the refugees from Northern Iraq 

On January 8th 2015, when I clicked "send" I thought, with a hint of fear and disbelief "Oh my goodness, what have we done? We probably should've prayed about this a bit more!"
 
Since that day God has given so much encouragement and blessing through you all; His people. That email was asking for donations of money, clothes and volunteers to collect clothing for the 2 million refugees who fled from Northern Iraq 7 months ago in just their summer clothes leaving everything they owned behind. The rains have since deluged the camps and some refugees have had to move again. Now the snow has come and some people are literally freezing to death
 
There was a really tight schedule of a week to collect followed by a week to sort/pack and deliver it all to Wellingborough for the onward journey to Iraq. It takes 4 weeks to get the lorry from Wellingborough, through customs and security checks and to Northern Iraq
 
15 churches across Great Yarmouth got involved spurred on by the reports that 17 babies have already died this winter from pneumonia (11 in the area designated for our collection) - you've donated over 400 boxes of good quality clothing for men, women, children and babies, as well as a wheelchair, crutches, walking sticks, walking frame and a commode. You have also donated over £800 for the delivery costs. Volunteers turned up to sort clothing where churches didn't have the capacity; to transport the collections to where the van would be loaded and even more volunteers arrived at short notice to load the vans. Yesterday the last of the 3 vans left Great Yarmouth for the onward journey to Iraq
 
I don't know whether Trish, Dan, and I will ever be able to express how humbled, encouraged and supported we have felt by all the people who have got behind this adventure. Thank you so much for what you have shown of the love of our sovereign God for us and the refugees. I'm sorry for the times it was frustrating, unorganised and "last minute" but we underestimated your generosity! It has been truly amazing to see God's community doing all they can to bless these poor people
 
Special thanks also to Anglian Home Improvements who provided the vans and for Phil Harvey, Distribution Manager there, who worked tirelessly during an already stressful week for him, to co-ordinate and drive the 3 vans which picked up the donations. Also we are extremely grateful to the produce sections of Tesco, Morrison’s, Waitrose, and Sainsbury’s who kept banana boxes for us over the week
 
And an update from Samara Levy in Brighton who started all this off:
On Tuesday a big team of us loaded and sent the first lorry this month (4th in total) from Brighton as it was full by the end of Monday. I have another lorry's worth leaving Brighton on Saturday if not before. And we will likely need a third lorry from Brighton next week

There is another lorry going on Friday from Wellingborough straight to Iraq, and then we will need another from Wellingborough next week

So I think there will be five lorries this month, all subject to funding as I still need to raise £12,000 to pay for the last two lorries from Brighton and Wellingborough

It has been such an amazing and exciting journey over the last five months seeing this project come to life and grow. It has also been a truly humbling experience to know that God trusted me enough to give this job to me, and seeing how he has provided for every need that I have had along the way, often before I even knew what I needed or what to ask him for. Since I started this, no prayer for this project has gone unanswered, and it is an amazing testimony of His love and grace, and such a privilege to be able to be a part of this

Over the last few months I have realised that this project is a ministry of love which is equally as important for the people here in the UK that are giving as it is for the people in Iraq who are receiving

If you would like to follow the progress of the lorries and future appeals you simply need to type in or click on this link www.facebook.com/winterclothesappeal  You don't need to be a Facebook user

Thank you so much for being a part of this, for everything you have done and for helping to make it such a special ministry to be involved with
 
Alison Roberts