It is the middle of the night. Two families hurriedly gather the small parcels of belongings they can carry with them. The mothers cradle the most precious cargo—children whose lives are being threatened by forces beyond their control. They head into the desert as refugees, searching for safety.
One family made this journey two thousand years ago . . . the other, only last week.
According to the United Nations, more than two million Syrians have fled the civil unrest that has plagued their nation since 2011. More than a quarter of them have settled in Jordan, where Alliance international workers (funded through both IM and CAMA) join with the national church to bring Christ’s love to the hungry and hurting refugees.
“I sat with my new friend on a thin mattress on the floor amid bare, dirty walls covered in mold,” an international worker wrote last month. “My heart was broken when she showed me photos of her sister and six-year-old nephew, who were killed when a bomb landed on their home.” The woman’s other nephew survived but lost both legs in the explosion. He is four years old.
In a recent article on CT’s Web site, the pastor of the national C&MA church in Mafraq, near Jordan’s northern border, spoke about how overwhelming the situation could be. “Their needs are numerous, and they start from scratch,” he told the authors. “So whatever you can do for them is not enough. And it’s not for one time. It’s continuous.” CT reports that the church registers 100-120 families each week for aid.
Portions of the Alliance Year-End Offering 2013 will be dedicated to the efforts of our workers in Syria to alleviate some of the physical hardship of the refugees while introducing as many as they can to the person of Jesus, the Savior who was once Himself a refugee in a foreign land.
What You Can Do
Pray
Join the Alliance family in praying for our international workers worldwide, who daily share Christ’s love with physical and spiritual refugees young and old. Use the Alliance Weekly Prayer Requests to assist you.