Dear friends,
Together, two women fled their home country in Central Asia. Along their journey the first friend found Jesus in Turkey. But her friend, Somaye, was not convinced. One night, upon their arrival in Athens, Somaye had a dream. Filled with excitement, she shared what she saw with her husband, and together they set out on a search for answers. Soon, they found themselves walking through the doors of ministries, fellowships and churches in the city. In these places, they spoke with many people and boldly asked their questions about God, faith, life, religion and a man in white…
In her dream, Somaye and her husband appeared standing before many closed doors. A man clothed in white came to them, spoke to them, and led them to a door. The man opened the door for Somaye and her husband and they stepped through together.
Praise Jesus, he is opening up doors for many who seem to have gotten stuck in front of closed doors for so long! We’ve been privileged to participate in holding doors open, with you and with Jesus, for people to come in and discover His kingdom and who He is.
Even though their difficult situations might not immediately change, He gives peace, hope, joy, new life and new family in Him. Through Jesus we are transformed. We’ve been overjoyed to see this change in the lives of several friends these past months!
Somaye is just one of a number of new believers who were baptized during the summer camps for refugees we were involved with. Beyond the numbers of people baptized, each individual baptized believer stands for a story of God’s transforming life work which neither begins nor ends at baptism. His work started long beforehand, and the story of spiritual growth and discipleship continues as long as we are on this earth. We get the privilege of witnessing a small part of it. And besides that, for every baptized person, one more might be on the doorstep, looking in but not yet ready to make a commitment. Another might have already come inside already and put their trust in Jesus in their heart but is afraid for now to make a public confession of faith.
Stella became a believer 7 years ago in her home country. Years before, when she was 14, she had found a Secret Book in her house and had started reading it. As years went by, the message took root in her heart, and she accepted the good news of Isa Masih (Jesus) in faith. She went to several of the state-tolerated churches and asked “Please baptize me, I believe this!” but because of her background in the dominant religion, the churches feared state reprisals and refused to baptize her. Now 7 years later in Greece, she could finally be baptized in freedom. When she came out of the water, she radiated with joy, threw her hands up in the air and shouted praise to her Father!
Amanda, a 15-year old girl, quietly confides to a friend in their tent in the night, “I really believe everything I hear and I want to follow Jesus, but I’m afraid of my mom”.
It’s clear that Amanda has placed her trust in Jesus. At family meal day several weeks later, one of our teammates chided her for whispering to her teenage friend during the Bible message, assuming them to be typical, unruly teenagers. It turned out she was explaining the gospel to her friend! - quietly, so her mom wouldn’t hear.
Amanda is not alone. There are multiple teenage girls whose faith remains a secret to their family and wider community. The need for secrecy brings unique challenges for discipleship. We praise God for their passion and faith and pray for wisdom and safety as we walk alongside them on their journey with Jesus.
When Edris was too young to remember, he and his mother were abandoned when his father took a second wife. Edris grew up believing no one was there to look out for him. He left school at the age of 12 and through hard work provided for himself and his family. But after building up a life for himself, he became ever more discontent and felt there must be more to live for.
After asking many questions during men’s camp, he came to the conclusion that Jesus could fill this hole in his heart. He committed his life to Jesus and he is taking his first steps into his new life.
Chris is one of the many Iranian men to flee danger in his home country, leaving his family behind. This reality weighs heavily on Chris daily and he struggles with emotional instability and anxiety. Still, the love and warmth he felt in the Christian community at Helping Hands drew him in, and he gave his life to Christ. Now, like Edris, he is taking his first baby steps into this new life.
Being baptized doesn’t mean all your problems are automatically over. Josh suffered imprisonment, torture and deep personal loss in his home country, first for the crime of political activism, next for the crime of having visited a house church. He escaped with his life and ended up in Greece. Praise God, he found new hope in Christ, but that doesn’t mean the effects of his past are all gone. Scars of trauma run deep in his heart, and depression continues to haunt him.
Through our friendship with Josh and so many others, we have become strongly aware of the connection between the spiritual and psychological realms. As well as the importance of both spiritual deliverance and emotional healing. Often it’s not even clear where one ends and the other starts. By God’s grace we are able to offer friendship, time and a listening ear. Though, at the end of some days we marvel at how unqualified we are for the job. There is a huge need for professional mental health and counseling services for refugees. Please pray for God to provide in this need.
