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Rescue Ministry Pivots as Afghanistan Falls, Still Hopes For The Impossible

By Sarah Einselen
Afghanistan Kabul
In this Aug. 16, 2021, photo, hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane along the perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani)

An American military veteran who now works with trauma victims is calling on Christians to pray for refugees fleeing Afghanistan amid the U.S. military pullout.

Victor Marx, founder and president of All Things Possible Ministries, says the organization has been working to extract Afghans in Kabul who are fleeing the Taliban. ATP and its partners successfully moved a family of eight out of the country this week, he said. They’re now trying to find a way to bring out about 300 Afghan orphans who had made it to the airport in Kabul on Wednesday night before being turned away.

It’s a mission Marx himself acknowledges is impossible as Afghanistan once again falls under the rule of the Taliban.

The situation in Afghanistan has gotten worse and worse after the Taliban retook control of the country earlier this month. On Thursday morning, a throng of people was struck by suicide bombers while trying to enter the Kabul airport to board planes out of the country. The blasts, believed to be the work of an ISIS affiliate, killed at least 12 American Marines and dozens of civilians, the Washington Post reported.

“What we’re facing, trying to get the orphans out, is an absolute impossibility. An active war zone,” Marx said.

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“But yet, we’ve done it in Iraq and Syria and other places. We’ve seen the hand of God.”

ATP’s overarching mission is to combat the effects of trauma. The organization rescues people from war-torn areas and also works with victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence, as well as with military veterans dealing with PTSD. As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated, ATP helped move about 5,000 Afghans to safety, Marx said.

Victor Marx All Things Possible Ministries
Victor Marx

“We’re trying to put together another plan to rescue them,” he added, referring to the group of 300. “Because many of the orphans are girls . . . what they’ll be subject to is horrific.”

ATP’s rescue operations have been paused for now until the U.S. military pullout is complete. However, the organization and its partners are preparing to continue long-term rescue efforts after the military leaves — potentially for the next year — to help Afghans reach safe houses elsewhere in the region. It’ll also be focusing its attention on long-term assistance for Afghans restarting their lives in the U.S.

Marx said prayer was the biggest way Christians could assist with ATP’s efforts.

“Prayer saves lives, opens doors,” he said. In particular, he’s asking people to pray and fast during the 24 hours beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, “asking God to move Heaven and Earth to do the miraculous” in Afghanistan. ATP will post specific prayer requests during that period on Marx’s social media pages.

The organization accepts donations and uses them to fund evacuation efforts, which can be costly, Marx said. The organization’s most recent IRS filing shows about $1.5 million went to program service costs out of total expenses of $2.2 million.

He also asked Christians to consider hosting Afghan refugees who are resettled in the U.S.

“Be ready as Christians to, if God speaks to their heart, to open their home to an Afghan family, or women or an orphan,” Marx said. “If people have businesses, be willing to hire and train an Afghan dad or an Afghan refugee woman.

“The majority are Muslims — it’s OK to love Muslims, we’ve been doing it for years,” he added.

Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas.

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