The past few weeks have been pretty eventful for us. We finished up our time in Cyprus by traveling to the south for another week of debrief. During the week, leadership approached me to talk about the next 7 months. They asked if I would be willing to be a part of the squad leader team. Of course I said yes! This means that I will be traveling between teams and working with many different people. I am excited for this opportunity because it means that I will get to interact with everyone on our squad on a regular basis, learn from them, build relationships, and invest time into each person that we are traveling with. This also affords me the chance to be involved in the different ministries that each of the teams are doing and to see the ways God is working throughout each region.
This month, my two new teammates and myself, are traveling with the alumni squad leader team, learning from them all that this job encompasses, and visiting with the two teams working in Jordan. This week we are in the north, close to the Syrian border, working with team Radiance. This team is doing home visits with Syrian refugees, delivering supplies such as propane heaters, stove-tops, mats for sleeping on, blankets and pillows, as well as teaching English classes.
I had the opportunity to visit with a few of the Syrian families and to hear their stories. A translator accompanied myself and a few others to the homes of several families. Each living situation was different, and each family was different, but they were all beautiful, and I don’t know if I have ever had so much coffee! The hospitality of people who have almost nothing continues to impact me. I sat and listened as each family told their story. I was intrigued with the passion they had for their homeland of Syria, describing it as “Heaven on earth.” They talked about not needing money because food grew so easily out of the ground, about the beauty of the landscape. They spoke with the same pride that I would use to describe East Tennessee. But then they spoke about the systematic removal of their people from their land. Syria has long been called the hidden gem of the Middle East, but its’ beauty is hidden no longer. They described the process in detail, vehicles would approach, and give a 15 minute warning, if you were not off of the land in 15 minutes, more men would come, the women would be raped and the men shot. Their only choice has been to flee, to try to find life outside of the war-torn country of Syria.
Two of our teams, one in Jordan and one in Lebanon, have the opportunity to deliver more care packages to refugee families in the area. These care packages will include soap, food, and other essentials that are necessary for basic human life. This may be the only Christmas these families see, and the only version of Christ that they ever encounter. I am sharing a link to a giving platform to help raise money for these care packages. My hope is that God provides the money quickly and in abundance so that these families can see how He provides and cares for them.
http://give.adventures.org/carepackages
Please give what you can and share this with anyone you know.
2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
