January 2015
It is a bittersweet time for our team, as we now have finished our time of ministry in the refugee camps. We are so grateful for all of the people God led us to that have impacted our lives, including our translators and the local church who are now like family to us. We are convinced of God’s strong love and faithfulness to all He promised (Romans 8:28). We know we will never be the same.
In these new camps, God broke our hearts as we listened to their stories of the trauma and reality of fleeing war-torn areas and living in refugee camps.
We are excited to share that the last weeks of our outreach were full of miracles and answered prayers! We followed Jesus to six new refugee camps that were completely unreached; meaning none of the people had heard the Gospel before. In each camp, we were eagerly received by crowds of children and invited into the homes of families. It was amazing to see crowds of people gather into single homes as we ministered.
In these new camps, God broke our hearts as we listened to their stories of the trauma and reality of fleeing war-torn areas and living in refugee camps. Almost every family has lost loved ones, some only can afford three to four meals a week, and others live in physically hard conditions in addition to the spiritual darkness and emotional trauma.
But in their brokenness, God is bringing His comfort, hope and peace. He is revealing Himself in dreams and in power as we and others share the Gospel. We were overjoyed as we saw the awe and wonder in the eyes of those who heard and encountered Jesus for the first time.
One woman exclaimed as we prayed for her, that the heaviness she always lived with lifted and she felt security for the first time. Others could only attempt to describe the healing, joy and peace they felt when we prayed. God is so eager to embrace every hungry heart here. In fact, during the week, people would come looking for us, asking for audio bibles and for us to come pray for the sick in their camps.
We were stoked to see Jesus’ name and healing made known. There are so many testimonies of how the Gospel is going forth as light in this darkness. We now understand why John wrote “There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). Likewise, this update cannot contain all that God has done and is doing here in the middle east!
“There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:15)
Highlighted Testimonies:
Camp Leader Saved
We were so excited to see the refugee camp leader of an unreached camp give his life to Jesus! He eagerly welcomed us into the camp to share with the few families that were gathered there. This camp was isolated and had never received visitors before, let alone the Gospel! We know that his salvation will open the door for many to know Christ.
Healing Hugs
Jesus’ embrace truly heals. Everywhere we go, people of all ages are hungry for love and eager to receive hugs (and sometimes they don’t let go). We were amazed to see Jesus heal one woman from her head pain through a hug! Susanna felt led to hug her for a long time, and afterwards, the pain had melted away.