When Bettie started the work of Good Samaritan Ministries in her Oregon home, she had no master plan of development. Development occurred in miraculous ways. Doors opened and the unexpected happened. She said, "You must believe me, I never thought of going to Africa. I had no intention to go to Africa, but beginning in 1986, Africa opened its door and asked Good Samaritan Ministries to come in." The Call of the Lord is this: "You shall train nations and peoples to give up their woes and their victim mentalities. You shall fully train them to be lifetime Samaritans. The Christian faith must be a faith with action, not a faith of religion or just words and works. It must be alive! Travel to Africa with Bettie to understand how hope comes unexpectedly to children and adults as they respond to the call of the Lord to help others. Read personal letters and travel journals to see the needs and the miracles. What is a Samaritan? It is not an organization. It is each unique, individual life. Many Samaritans are helping one another, thus creating sufficient help for the ones that lie stuck and half-dead on the road. Good Samaritan is not about works and projects though Samaritan schools, water wells and counseling centers have been established. As this book describes, "It is about spirit and truth. It is about life. It is about the life of one person who makes a difference in the lives of many." Excerpt from the book: "Often, in Africa, there is a feeling that somehow or other, if they had more help, if they had more money, they would be better people. I think Africa is a great people and God has provided for them according to His riches and His glory. Your greater work in Africa will be to see after the elderly, tend the young, and be compassionate to the widow and to truly be a Samaritan, a genuine neighbor, a giving person, a lifting up person. When you see someone that others would completely hate or ignore, it will be to that person that you go and help. This is the purpose, the intent, and the holy calling."
About the Author: Bettie Mitchell lives every day as a Samaritan. She is the founder of Good Samaritan Ministries, and a mother of three daughters, and one adopted son, while married to Jerry for more than 60 years. Her life story will challenge and encourage you. In 1976, at the age of 42, she was standing on the walls of ancient Nineveh at Mosul, Iraq, when she heard the call. This call would change thousands of lives during the next 35 years as she sacrificed comfort to respond to the suffering of others in her neighborhood and in Africa. With a team of Samaritans, led by the Lord, people were healed across cultural, religious and geographic barriers. An impossible assignment has become the only thing that is possible for a woman who deeply believes the shocking, radical words of Jesus recorded in the Bible. Bettie taught Bible classes at Portland Community College, as well as working for 18 years as a substitute teacher in public schools. During her life, she began traveling with her mother and now has traveled to 55 countries, including 24 times to the Middle East. She has organized and led at least 16 international tour groups before and after 9/11/01. In 1976, she heard the call while traveling in Iraq, (as described in her book, Something Worth Saving). Bettie was standing on the wall in the ancient city of Nineveh. She saw children playing. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted. The Lord asked her, "Do you see the children?" She said, "Yes, Lord." He said, "Here are the children, where are the teachers? I want you to go home and quit your teaching job, and teach nothing but my Kingdom." This call was confirmed three days later in a town called Irbil. Then in Ur when she received the message from the Lord, "Every thought in your brain is negative and judgmental." So the instruction from the Lord came: "I want you to take each thought and bring it to me...and I will change your mind." She agreed and did it. Born in Colorado and raised in Oregon, Bettie began the ministry in her home in Beaverton, Oregon. Read more about her life story in her book, Something Worth Saving. In 1986, Bettie was surprised when an African came to her office to meet her. In Bettie's sixth book, From the Bush to the Roots, find out how thousands of adults and children in Africa continue to be touched by non-judgmental Samaritan love.