A grandmother was forced to see her only son, with his wife, killed in front of her by militants from a religious extremist group. She is devastated. After the atrocity, her relatives all fled, leaving her alone in a refugee camp in the north of her country which has been overrun by militants.
Another woman, a Christian, witnessed the murder of her husband and granddaughter by the same extremists. Some neighbors helped her flee the city, along with her sons and a daughter. For several weeks they lived in a refugee camp, but due to poor living conditions and the oncoming cold winter weather, they have followed many other refugees south to a large city in a warmer climate.
The advance of this radical religious group turned into a regional crisis in the Middle East in the summer, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, like these women. Now winter is setting in. There are camps to shelter the refugees, however, the northern areas are very cold in winter. Masses of refugees – who are Christians, non-Christians and members of a small tribe – are moving south toward areas that for the moment are free from control by radical extremists.
The house churches in the south and some families of believers took initiative to care for the displaced families. Most of the refugee families only consist of women and children. Many of their husbands, fathers and sons were killed in attacks, in the fighting, or they disappeared mysteriously. These women and children basically have nothing with them.
With all the limitations, by God’s grace the churches have been serving more than 145 families. They visit those who already have a place to live and they also find a place to live for some who could not afford anything. For instance, the grandmother is now living with one of the church families.
The church helps them not just with logistical things, but also in spiritual, psychological, physical and mental ways, since the people are suffering from trauma.
The church leadership formed 14 committees; each consists of three members. Every committee agrees to serve a number of refugees through regular visits and trying to give them assistance by sharing the Word of God, giving them clothes and medicines, and providing food items when they have the resources to do so.
In the colder northern region, the churches there are also providing relief. The leadership formed a Central Relief Committee consisting of different local churches and local Christian workers. This committee has three relief teams, each one led by one of the key pastors in the area.
The pressing needs are food and clean water and blankets. Because 40 percent of the refugees are children under 15 years old, there is a great need for milk, baby food, diapers, and other things necessary for children. The churches launched Children’s Clubs, to teach the children since schools are open but they cannot go.
In one place where there is distribution of winter clothes, every day about 500 people line up. The vast majority of them are children. Cold-related diseases are rampant.
Every day the teams distribute food – mainly rice or bread. Some people said they have not eaten any meat for the last few months.
Pray for the displaced families who have lost family members – may the God of all comfort heal them. May the Lord provide all their needs. Pray for the house churches in these different areas; they want to be the salt and light.
You can help these churches who are the hands of feet of Jesus to the refugees in the Middle East. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries is providing heaters, blankets and a bag of food for 500 families, at a cost of $28,000, or $60 per family. At this time, it is reported 400,000 families have been displaced, thus, much more could be done if the resources were provided.
Visit Middle East Crisis Response to give to the Middle East crisis response which is led and carried out by local Nazarenes.
