By an Alliance international worker serving in the Middle East
When Shazad* was three years old, fighting began near his home. Soldiers broke into their house. The boy’s father was executed right in front of him as he sat crying in the corner. Shazad lost everything. He was forced to move to a new country. He doesn’t know anyone, has no earthly possessions, lives in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with six other people, and is unable to go to school.
His mother said that he still wakes up some nights screaming, “Don’t kill my Baba! Don’t kill him!”
Chaos at Camp
Now seven, Shazad and his older brother, Mehdi, attended our pre-camp carnival. Both proved difficult. They were bigger than the other kids and used that advantage to bully everyone else. We had to constantly wrestle with them to keep them from hurting the other children on the bouncy castle. Everything was a battle with these siblings, especially Shazad.
Later, when Shazad and Mehdi came to register for kids’ camp, many of our team members, including me, groaned inwardly. I explained to Shazad that if he couldn’t obey, he would have to leave.
The first day was chaotic as always. Shazad and Mehdi were both handfuls, but Shazad was worse. He didn’t want to sit still or obey. The people running the games said that instead of playing, he was hitting other kids and running away.
We Don’t Suffer Alone
Yet God gave me compassion for Shazad. I determined that we would still expect him to hold to the rules, but rather than kicking him out, I’d have him sit with me as a time-out. Shazad had a few time-outs, but in general, things ran smoother.
After three days of kids’ camp, we took a day off to distribute food packages to needy refugee families near our center. Shazad’s family was on the list. As we sat with them and heard his story, my heart ached. I will never look at Shazad the same again.
Shazad has suffered what no child should ever endure. While I don’t understand why such tragedies happen to children like him, we serve a God who loves them enough that He became one of them and suffers alongside them. When Shazad wakes up at night, missing his father and crying out for the soldiers not to kill him, Jesus is right there with him.
Pray that Shazad and his family will know the presence of God in the midst of the difficulties and experience His love and provision.
*Names changed