As the Syrian Refugee Crisis continues to make headlines, it can be easy to get lost in statistics and political storylines; beyond the headlines, each of the 4 million Syrian Refugees all have a story of their own.
Syrian refugees receive food and life saving aid
In the refugee camps there are many stories to be told. Children have no school and no activities. The elderly grow sick and weak. Everyone is hungry and most want to return home, but their homeland has been overtaken by an unrelenting monster known as ISIS. Since the inception of the Syrian Civil War and the refugee crisis, Call of Hope has been in the Bekaa Valley refugee camps in Lebanon sharing God’s love by providing food, clean water, medicine, shelter and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of the 4 million refugees have a story of their own, here are a few from the work of Call of Hope.
HEAR Their stories:
Showing Love to Yana
Yana*,a young Syrian mother now living in the Lebanese refugee camps, has three little children. They are all blind. A small girl and two little boys. When the Call of Hope front-line worker asked about her husband, Yana snapped back, “I have no husband!” “She lies,” yelled the neighbor. “Her husband lives here in the camp.” When Yana’s third child was born and also blind like his siblings, the father was frustrated and angry. He left the family and married another woman in the camp. Call of Hope‘s front-line worker committed himself to helping the family. He was shocked at the poverty and filth. The children were dirty from head to toe and had no underwear. He taught them to clean themselves and assisted in toilet training. He also now teaches the Bible to the children in Braille.
Sharing Love with Uma
One day, Uma, an elderly Syrian woman was eavesdropping on a conversation between her tent neighbor and a Call of Hope front-line worker. As a mother and grandmother of soldiers still fighting ISIS in Syria, Uma was particularly interested in the concept of loving one’s enemies. When the opportunity presented itself, she invited the Call of Hope front-line worker to her tent to explain “loving our enemies” to her family.
Explaining Love to Abu
Often the frustration of refugee camp living boils to the surface. Abu was very angry to see a cross on Call of Hope literature distributed throughout the camp. He bellowed at the front-line worker, “Are you descendants of the Crusaders?” Tenderly our Call of Hope front-line worker responded,”This cross has nothing to do with war. It expresses the love of God to all people.” Abu was unprepared for such a soft answer and he meditated on this response. After much thought, he permitted the distribution of Call of Hope materials and invited our front-line worker to his tent twice a month for a time of sharing with his family and neighbors. Abu ponders the Bible stories and is shows interest in experiencing the love of God personally.
Refugees line up in Lebanon to receive packages full of life saving aid.
In the midst of tremendous suffering, the Love of God shared by Call of Hope breaks down walls of resistance. The vital missionary work of Call of Hope continues day and night in these refugee camps – which are some of the most desperate places in our world today. Please pray for the millios of refugees, that their hearts will be open to the Gospel as they encounter the love of God through Call of Hope front-line workers. Please also pray for our front-line workers and consider making a donation to further their work.
