Region / Country: Middle East and North Africa
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Oman
Why I keep serving students in Syria
Haya* lives in Syria. She trained as a dentist, but life has not turned out as she expected. The war has changed everything. We asked her to share her story.
Trusting Jesus in the darkness
I witnessed the death of many young men, women, and children all around me in every corner of the city. My father’s house and my dentistry clinic have been bombed several times, and it pushed me to think seriously of closing down my clinic and emigrating to another country. But God in His mercy closed every possible door of emigration. I heard Him saying: “It’s Me; do not be afraid”, just as Jesus told the disciples when they saw Him through the darkness, walking on the water towards them in the boat.
Photo by aladdin hammami on Unsplash
The darkness of the war in recent years has created many catastrophes, and I felt God’s call to do something. I knew that in the middle of the darkness there is a real need for those who carry the true light of Christ.
I cried out to God and told Him:
“I am Yours! I believe in You, and I am waiting on You even in the middle of death, the loud voice of bombs and the threats of kidnapping. You know that I am a mother and a wife, and it is my right to look for a safe place for my family. But I do not want to be in a place where You do not want me to be.”
The jar and the treasure: hope for the harvest
During that time of hardship, God’s Word was my lighthouse, the place where I ran to find encouragement. Every time I read it, He was clearly telling me that I am a clay jar that holds His most precious treasure. I have discovered that the secret of surviving is in the treasure and not in my weak clay jar.
I have lived all my life in a country where it is really difficult to serve as a woman in a man’s world – even in ministry. But I was surrendered to God’s will. The Bible clearly emphasises the vastness of the harvest. Convinced of this truth, looking for lost sheep outside the church and bringing them into the church became my goal.
Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
Open doors
God opened doors for me to serve with university students, in addition to my ministry of counselling, and offering post traumatic support for those who have survived the war. The ministry has grown to include most of the cities in this country. We financially support and counsel battered war victims – mostly women, teenagers and children.
The Lord has blessed us in recent years even though it was very dangerous to serve. We had many conferences and gatherings, and He has protected us. I see the fruits of this ministry in the young men and women who have come to know Christ in a personal way, and they are now helping me with the ministry. When people are truly satisfied in their relationship with God, the course of their lives changes from looking inwardly for satisfaction, to investing their lives in serving others as their Lord did.
Keeping going in the battle
I believe that God called me for this great work of His, and I am determined to continue as He leads. God is present in unsafe places as well as safe places. I have faced many hardships throughout my years of ministry. Sometimes I have felt sorry for myself; I have wanted to withdraw from the ‘battle’ just as Elijah did. But I am thankful for my Saviour’s love that has sustained my journey.
*name changed
Middle East and North Africa
When the least-reached encounter Jesus
We met in the supermarket. Sahib* had come to Eastern Europe as a post-graduate from the Middle East, to study engineering. He started coming along to our club for international students. Then one day Sahib heard about our IFES national conference coming up. He wanted to come too.
“This club is for students of different backgrounds and beliefs,” I told him. “But the conference is for Christians.”
But Sahib came anyway. The only Muslim out of nearly 200 Christians. During those three days he heard the gospel preached over and over. He even came to a talk about sharing the gospel with Muslims! What on earth is he going to think? I wondered nervously. But at the end of the conference, Sahib shared his story with me:
Sahib’s story
Several years ago, Sahib’s brother had died tragically in an accident. His father, who never recovered from the grief, died six months later. Sahib’s nephew (his late brother’s son) went to live with him and his family. Then last year, while working in a military camp, he and his nephew were just metres away from the explosion of two ISIS cars. Sahib miraculously survived, but tragically, his nephew didn’t. Having lost three of his closest family members, Sahib sunk into a deep depression. He wondered why he was still alive. In desperation he had decided to move overseas to study again.
But then at the conference, he told me, something had changed. He’d suddenly felt the darkness and depression lift. He felt like he’d woken up. “It’s not an accident that you’re alive today, Sahib”, I told him. “I believe God saved your life for a reason.”
Soon after that, Sahib joined his local IFES group and has started going along to Bible studies and church services. Sahib still hasn’t accepted Christ, but we believe that God is at work in him.
Kasim’s dilemma
The decision to become a Christian has huge implications for Muslims. It might not be possible for them to return to their family or home country. If they do return, they could face extreme persecution, a serious lack of fellowship, and limited opportunities for career and marriage, as well as painful rejection from family members. It’s not appealing — and yet, to leave the people you love behind…? This was Kasim’s* dilemma.
Kasim is from Central Asia. Every international student from his particular country is monitored closely during their time overseas, and when they return their phones and luggage will be checked. While studying overseas, Kasim met Christians, got involved in our international fellowship group and started reading the Bible privately with a local pastor. Wonderfully he turned to Christ, and soon after got baptised in secret. Despite the dangers, he started to share the gospel with his friends in his dormitory. Then came a turning point.
Kasim had a dream to move to a western European country to do a Master’s degree. He’d even been studying the language of that country! But increasingly he felt convicted that he had a responsibility to go back to his home country and tell his people about the most important gift he had found here. If he moved overseas again then who would tell his people about Jesus?
So now Kasim is back in his home country, completing his obligatory service in the army. Praise God that, so far, he is doing well spiritually. We pray that in the future he’s able to help pioneer student ministry in his country.
Unparalleled opportunities
The opportunities currently open to us across Eastern Europe are unparalleled. Students from 17 different countries attended our Christmas evangelistic event. Many of them are from desperately unreached places. Our own context is not without its challenges, but it is more open here than it is in many of these sending countries.
Each week we organise activities where international students can come and socialise together, enjoy friendships in a safe environment, learn about local culture, discuss different topics, improve their language and, if they are keen, open the Bible with us. We pray on that many more students in this generation would, like Kasim, come to know the Lord.”
Reflections from an IFES staff worker serving students in Eastern Europe
Open Doors records the persecution of Christians in its World Watch List. The ten countries where persecution is the most severe sent a total of 220,647 students to study internationally in 2016, according to UNESCO statistics. Pray with us that these international students would meet Christians, hear the gospel during their time studying overseas, and return home to share their faith with those living in darkness.
* name changed