spotlight: preemptive love coalition

This month many of us will celebrate Thanksgiving, a tradition that dates back hundreds of years here in the US. We'll eat, we'll play football, we'll talk about Christmas, we'll spend time with family and think about all we have to be grateful for. Almost 400 years ago, refugees, fleeing religious persecution, arrived in a new land, a place completely unknown to them. And although, history has had so many unpleasant twists and turns since then, these refugees, these pilgrims, found welcoming friends among the unpredictable unknown. They found people, willing to help them, to show them how to survive in a sometimes harsh new place. 

If you keep an eye on international news, you are aware that refugees are still pouring into new places, seeking a fresh start but often finding a harsh, unpredictable new place filled with unknowns. If you are an American celebrating Thanksgiving, you share in their heritage. So often we watch the news, horrified by the conditions of refugee camps, devastated by images of those who didn't even make it to that camp. We shake our heads and we don't know what to do. How do we help from so far away? How do we even make a difference in a problem so large?

Today I want to spotlight an organization called the Preemptive Love Coalition. Preemptive Love Coalition was started by Jeremy and Jessica Courtney, who found themselves in the position to be able to help a little girl who needed surgery in Iraq. That moment started a mission to connect those with life threatening heart defects with the medical care they needed while also training and empowering local medical providers. They were able to expand into Lybia, Iran and Pakistan as well. 

Located in Iraq, the Preemptive Love Coalition found itself in the unique position of being on the frontlines when ISIS came onto the scene in 2014. Already on the ground the Preemptive Love Coalition jumped in to help where they were needed. They have since also been able to move into Syria where they continued in bringing aid to refugees displaced by civil war. 

Preemptive Love operates on 3 basic principles. The first is that they love anyway, regardless of what battle lines have been drawn. The second is to show up, to be there even when it's scary, to ask the questions we're afraid to get answers to. The third is to get out of the way by stepping back and encouraging others to own their own futures. 

Today you can find Preemptive Love Coalition continuing their work in bringing life saving surgeries to communities in conflict zones as well as delivering aid to the frontlines of areas victimized by ISIS. In addition, they are busy providing grants to small business owners and education for children in places where violence has put a hold on schooling. In all of this they continue to make efforts toward peace in these areas, all while counseling policy makers around the world. 

It should be noted that Preemptive Love is not a Christian ministry, although the Courtneys are said to be known for their love of the Lord. They employ and reach out to a diverse group of people, in hopes of waging peace in war torn areas. And while the organization itself does not claim a religious affiliation, their actions speak volumes. They risk their own lives, they grapple with the worst of humanity and yet persevere. They go to the places that no one else wants to go and do the work that they have been called to do. 

If you would like to learn more about the Preemptive Love Coalition or give to their causes, you can find them here.