Help us finish 2013 strong!

Dear Friends,

Seven….biblically, seven is the number for completion and perfection. On the seventh day God completed His work of creation. From the seven days of Genesis to the seven seals of Revelation, Scripture is saturated with the number seven. Seven years ago, God created Operation Bandanas, and on November 2nd, 2013, we will celebrate that milestone.  I wanted to celebrate this special occasion with you.

For those we have provided the Psalm 91 bandanas to over these seven years, our military chaplains and our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, I want you to know it has been an honor and privilege to serve you through this ministry. We can never thank you enough for all you have done for us through your service, but our gifts of Psalm 91 bandanas have been a tangible way for us to express our love and appreciation to you. You have not been forgotten, and we are forever grateful to you for your willingness to maintain our freedom and safety at whatever cost. We are blessed to have been given the opportunity to support you through the ministry and mission of Operation Bandanas.

To all those who have donated your time and treasure, we would never have been able to reach this milestone of support to our military without you. You, the body of Christ, have provided enough donations to provide 232,713 Psalm 91 bandanas to our troops. God brought us together from all across the country in pursuit of a common good. And many hands have lovingly folded, packaged, and prayed over the bandanas. I cannot thank you enough for co-laboring with me to spread God’s words of comfort, strength, courage and protection to our servicemen and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots around the globe.   We were given the opportunity to spiritually encourage them along the way and point them to our great God.

God had a plan and purpose for this ministry, and I am thankful to have been the one called to be the engine on His train. Mark Batterson said it well in The Circle Maker, “I’m in awe of the strange and mysterious ways in which God works, but I have come to expect the unexpected because God is predictably unpredictable. God always has a holy surprise up His sovereign sleeve!” I wholeheartedly embrace that word for no one has been more in awe and more surprised than I to have witnessed and been a part of tHIS amazing work!

I encourage you to visit our newly updated website, www.operationbandanas.org, to read and see what God has done and how much the Psalm 91 bandanas have come to mean to our troops. You can read lots more and see more pictures by purchasing Lovin’ Our Troops, A Story of Service on Two Fronts which God very clearly called me to write. There has been too much that has happened over these seven years to not put it in writing!  It’s your story too!  And we still need your help in meeting the current requests for the Psalm 91 bandanas, so your tax-deductible donations, particularly as we approach the end of 2013, are very gratefully received.  I pray we finish the year strong!

Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and resting in the shadow of the Almighty,

Mary Bass Gray

Founder and Executive Director

Author, Lovin’ Our Troops, A Story of Service on Two Fronts