Fifteen years ago, I moved to a Middle Eastern country with a vision to work among a specific unreached Muslim people group. Twelve years later, I found myself ministering among- not one, but four- different Muslim groups, as endangered people from war-torn and unstable neighboring countries poured over the borders of my new home. I could never have anticipated the giant influx of refugees this country would receive, but the Lord was not surprised by it. Looking back, I realize that God began preparing me, along with other national believers, years ago- to serve among the very refugee populations living around us now.
When I first arrived in this country fifteen years ago, I desperately needed a language tutor, and the Lord gave me Karin. Karin is a national believer who grew up speaking two languages. At home, Karin spoke the prominent language of two neighboring countries; at school, she spoke the national language. Once I could speak the national language, I started attending Karin’s church. Over the years, our friendship deepened, and we began serving the Lord together in children's and women's ministries.
Regina became a friend of mine when I began helping her children with their English homework. She is the wife of Karin’s cousin, and originally from another neighboring country. Regina is a follower of Jesus, but was never taught to share her faith with others in the church she attended.
When numerous Muslims from four different countries were driven from their homes and began seeking refuge in our country, the Spirit began opening our eyes to the opportunities surrounding us. God cultivated a common burden in Karin, Regina, and me for these broken people- which drew us together to begin working among refugee women and children. We began with those from Regina's home country, who were living in a neighborhood near us.
Karin, Regina, and I began working at a refugee center- teaching languages and the arts. The women we have worked with over the years have faced daily challenges, and they still frequently share with us deep burdens of concern for the future of their children. Unable to return to their home country, and unlikely to settle as citizens in their new country, they live in limbo.
Until this year, the refuge children have not been able to attend any kind of national school. However, our work at the refugee center has provided some opportunity over the years to teach basic language skills and to build relationships. God has given us opportunities to hold special programs at the center for Christmas and Easter, where we have shared the Gospel message.
The children we work with today, ranging from age four to fourteen, require so much love to counteract the negative effects that war and prejudice have had on their young hearts and minds. They need constant encouragement and affirmation as they struggle to endure a difficult life as refugees in a foreign country. We delight in sharing God's abundant love with them from week to week.
I have been blessed to work with Karin and Regina as we build relationships among Muslim refugee populations. As women from different countries and cultural backgrounds, we each contribute our own strengths to the work. Regina, because she is originally from the same country as these women, understands their language and culture and can relate to them on a level that Karin and I cannot. She is daily growing bolder in sharing her faith as she works together with us. Karin also has the ability to share the Gospel with the women in their native language. I have the ability to share the Gospel through translation and to contribute financial resources that God has provided through my supporters in America. This unlikely team the Lord has brought together from three different cultures and countries is truly an example of his universal church in action- meeting the needs of the lost, broken, and unseen.
Please pray for us as we daily carry heavy burdens that these Muslim women share with us. What do you say to the woman who tells you that fifteen of her relatives were killed two days ago? How do you encourage the mother who shares that her son needs eye surgery for an injury he received during the war, which may cause him to be permanently blind in that eye? How do you comfort the woman who gets a phone call informing her that her brother was detained at the border and thrown into the army to be shipped off to war? Only the Lord has answers for the problems these women face, and it is our prayer and our goal to daily point them to Him.
