Food & Hygiene pantries need restocking

After a very busy month at LIA, we are in need of donations for our food and hygiene pantries. Our shelves are very low and some are empty. Please share these needs with your family, friends, church small groups, etc.. Please help us and please share these needs with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets and ask people to help us as well.

Donations can be dropped off Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., at our LIA office, which is located at 279 W. Main St., suite 2, in downtown Dothan behind the former Dakota Coffee building.

Thanks and God bless you all.

Here's a list of needs:

Non-perishable canned food:Vegetables, Ravioli, Spaghetti, Tuna, Ham, Peanut Butter, Fruit, Pudding, Soups.

Hygiene items:Shampoo, Shaving cream, Razors, Toothpaste & toothbrushes, Men & Women's deodorant, Lotion, Feminine products, New socks, New underwear, Baby diapers.

Human trafficking funding terrorism

Human trafficking is showing up everywhere in the world, and criminal organizations and terrorist organizations are benefiting from selling people.

ISIS is the epitome of evil. The following link is to an article in the Washington Post about how members of ISIS raise money through the selling of women as sex slaves. Here's the link, http://tinyurl.com/hrtnq8y

The following quote by an ISIS member selling young girls proves that point as well, "Supply and demand makes her that price."

The fact there is demand shows the evilness in this world. The fact there are more than 30 million slaves in the world (a conservative number) shows how evil the world is. The fact the U.S. Is one of the top importers of sex trafficking shows how evil our own nation is. All of the top importers of sex slavery are western nations.

Yes, we need to pray more than ever, but we also need to take action more than ever as well. We must share the love of Jesus with everyone, no matter their ethnicity or religion. Jesus says in Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Jesus commands us to be His witnesses. Are we obeying? Obviously not everyone who claims to be Christian in this world is obeying our Lord's command, or this world wouldn't be so evil. It's past time to change that. Everyone who claims to be Christian must be His witnesses and show forth His love to all people. When people truly experience the love of Jesus they can't help but change.

We also must stand for justice and help those who cannot speak for themselves, so when we see or suspect human trafficking, we must report it.

Only God can deliver this world from evil, and we need to do our part by following and serving Him as Jesus told us and showed us.

Laundry/Shower ministry makes a difference

Being homeless is tough on many different levels. It's easy to see how people can quickly lose self-esteem and hope when they are homeless.

They don't have shelter, no consistent food source, no toilet or shower, nowhere to wash clothes, and those are just a handful of issues.

Imagine trying to find work when you can't shower or wash clothes. Most employers are not going to give you a second look, not to mention how it makes you feel about yourself. The homeless really do care about their hygiene. They want to be clean. They want to smell good. They just don't have many options.

They do at the Love In Action Ministry Center in Dothan, Alabama. Here, they find a hot shower with shampoo and body wash. The men can safely shave in the spacious shower room.

They find people filled with the love of Jesus ready to wash their clothes. While they wait, they can enjoy a hot meal and look for newer clothes.

It's all part of Love In Action's Mission Statement, which is, "To proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion." We have been doing that for 16 years, and God uses it to draw people to Him. When you are hungry, in need of a shower and laundry, and someone is there to help you, it makes a big difference. It let's the homeless know they are cared for by God and by people of God.