Enterprise Dispatch Blog

HOWARD LAKE, MN – A group of volunteers, coordinated by Open Arms Mercy Ministry, met in the Howard Lake Community Room Sept. 20 to assemble medical caregiver kits that will be shipped overseas to volunteer AIDS caregivers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Arrangements were made with a medical supply company for a bulk shipment of items that the volunteers divided up into smaller kits.
The kits were shipped to World Vision, a Christian relief agency that will distribute them.
Steve Basney, pastor of Open Arms Community Church in Howard Lake, explained, “This was a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate Christ’s unconditional love in a practical fashion. AIDS is by far the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, and the church needs to be on the forefront of addressing this crisis in a compassionate manner.”
“The statistics on AIDS are staggering,” stated Pastor Basney, “Fifteen million children worldwide have lost one or both parents as a result of AIDS. Every week, AIDS claims roughly as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War. There are entire countries so severely affected, that the average life expectancy is under 40 years of age. Behind all of the statistics are real individuals and families, often living in very desperate circumstances. These people matter to God, they need to matter to us, also.”

Joni Decker of Howard Lake is the head of the Open Arms Mercy Ministry. She was quite pleased with how well the Sept. 20 event went, stating, “We had a great time working together and it went very smoothly.”
Decker sees this as a trial run for future events to assemble caregiver kits.
“We started relatively small and put together 50 kits. Now that we have a clearer understanding of how to do this, I have set a goal of 500 kits for our next event. Also, it would be great to involve other churches and individuals from the community. We can all work together to touch other people’s lives,” Decker explained.
To learn more about Open Arms Mercy Ministry (which is involved in a variety of projects) or how to get involved with assembling caregiver kits, contact Pastor Steve at (320) 286-5858.
Anyone desiring to make a donation for caregiver kits can do so by making out a check to Open Arms Mercy Ministry, and mailing it to: Open Arms Community Church, PO Box 541, Howard Lake, MN 55349. (Indicate that the funds are for caregiver kits.)