Unto the Least of These scheduled for Feb. 21-22

  • By Leah Brown
  • February 17, 2014
  • 418
                        
How many times a week do you see commercials telling us statistics about children in Third World countries or people who could be helped by giving just a dollar a day? But doesn’t it seem hard to give money or time to an unknown mass of people? Sure, statements showing where your efforts are making a difference are mailed out, phone calls are made, but does it feel like you helped anyone? Brent Miller didn’t think so. “It’s easy to get overwhelmed by big numbers,” he said. “Our goal is to allow people to hear individual stories.” So he did something about it. With his friends Joe Heatwole and Benson Beachy, he created Unto the Least of These, a mission conference that features individuals with incredible stories and the connections to help hundreds. “If people see a huge impact,” Miller said. “They will help.” So far, he has been right. Now in its fourth year, Unto the Least of These has been inspiring the community to give by creating a connection through talks from individuals like Melissa Ohden, Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh. Ohden, who will be speaking Friday night, is a survivor of an abortion attempt, pro-life activist and motivational speaker. She travels worldwide to tell her story and urges people to open their eyes to the effect abortions are having on future generations. In her blog, she often writes about her daughter and the fact that she would have never been born had Ohden herself been successfully aborted. She turned her experiences into a strong passion for helping others find God in all situations and bringing together others who have survived an abortion. Her blog, Voice for the Voiceless, can be read in its entirety online. Rostampour and Amirizadeh will be presenting Saturday night and will talk about their book, “Captives in Iran.” As Iranian women, they were not raised as Christians. They met in Turkey while studying Christian Theology and decided to return to Iran and begin mission work. They started two illegal house churches and passed out New Testaments to Muslims. They were arrested in 2009 and imprisoned. While in prison, they preached the Gospel to any who would listen. After 259 days they were released and cleared of all charges. “Captives in Iran” tells the story of how they were freed against all odds. Rather than focus on the multitudes, Miller, Heatwole and Beachy have selected a few individuals who represent thousands. With their help, he hopes to raise money to help all those you’ll never get a chance to meet. Unto the Least of These 2014 is scheduled for Feb. 21 and 22 at the Gospel Haven Church on state Route 241 in Millersburg. All are invited. Talks on Friday begin at 6 p.m. with Gary Snyder and Tim Troyer. Ohden will begin her presentation at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s session begins at 5 p.m. with Jeff Johnson, at 6:30 Rostampour and Amirizadeh will speak and the session will end with worship and a short talk from Luke Kuepfer at 8 p.m.


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