Things don’t always happen in the way that they were originally planned out to be. This was something that was made clear to our squad as we set out on this 11 month journey. Some of the countries we are being sent into have established contacts to host us and some don’t. In fact, most of the countries we have gone to have never hosted a World Race team before.
There is a necessary characteristic of pioneering amongst expedition. At any moment, we could be directed to a different country than what was listed when we first applied**. But this country or that country isn’t what brought us here – God did – and once he has our “yes” he can take us wherever he wants.
My team is supposed to be in Greece this month, but God opened the door for us to take part in what he’s doing in Jordan. Knowing that we didn’t have any contacts, we got to work to see if we at least knew people who knew people that could get us connected to someone living in Jordan. After many hours of research and emails, we had finally found one!
During our time in Jordan, we will be serving in Mafraq to assist in caring for the Syrian refugees. Words can’t describe how excited I am! It really is an absolute privilege to be here that I have no intention on taking for granted. So I decided to do some research…
Here is what I found.
>> Thousands of Syrians flee their country everyday, many of whom decide to escape after seeing their neighborhoods bombed and loved ones killed.
>> The risks of the journey to flee can be as high as staying. Families will walk for miles through the night to avoid being shot at by snipers or being caught by soldiers who will kidnap young men to fight for the regime.
>> Jordan has taken in an estimated 1.4 million Syrians in 4 years. This is the equivalent of the United States taking in HALF the population of Mexico while Jordan is only the size of Indiana.
>> Za’atari refugee camp, located 6 miles outside of Mafraq, is the second largest in the world. It provides the shelter and care for ~85,000 refugees.
>> ~80% of Syrian refugees live outside of the camp in the city of Mafraq, Jordan.
>> Jordan, being one of the region’s smallest countries, weak infrastructure and limited resources are nearing a breaking point under the strain.
My mind can hardly wrap around those facts and all the devastation there, but I have such an indescribable sense of anticipation in my Spirit. God is already here and working within this catastrophic crisis. He is using this Syrian exodus to bring His people back to Himself. The Holy Spirit is moving to bring hope to the hopeless, to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and to comfort all who mourn (Isaiah 61). This world needs the love of the Father now more than ever.
P.S. There was a documentary that I recently watched called, Salam Neighbor, (available on Netflix) that gives you an inside look on the refugee crisis and life at Za’atari refugee camp. This was incredibly eye opening for me and I recommend watching it!
Stay tuned for more on our experiences in Jordan!
**Yes, that means those of you reading this who are applying for specific countries may end up getting disappointed. Don’t let a specific country/region be the reason you sign up for a route. I knew almost nothing about 80% of the countries we have served in – and the ones I never even heard of ended up being my favorite and most life changing.
