Exciting News

I heard exciting news today! My friend from the (summer) was baptized yesterday morning! PTL!! Please continue to pray for the growth of our brother. Also, please pray for the other brothers and sisters. I have heard news that they are experiencing persecution. Their cost for following Jesus is completely different than what it is for us here in America. Yet how amazing it is to see that they consider Jesus worth it all. What an encouragement for all of us to be standing up for our faith. Thank y'all for your prayers!!!

-James

When in Greece...

In the past week, many tears have been shed knowing that my time in Greece would end today. Goodbyes were hard and will continue to be difficult when the team I have been with this summer part ways on Thursday. In this moment, I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given this summer to serve refugees. They are so kind and loving and selfless in a way I have never seen before. I love them dearly and they are already missed. God is good all the time. All the time He is good.

-Emilie

I am so sorry I haven't updated you until now, but these last two weeks have been so different. We were able to serve in new and creative ways and I can't wait to share with you all about it in person. All I can say about the end of our time is God is faithful and sovereign, and we have seen that firsthand.

Please lift us up and we are traveling back to the states today. See you soon!

Blessings and love,
-Kallie

Providing New Beginnings

God never stops providing. This is what I have learned over the past two weeks since being banned from the camp. While we are all still hurting, we have also seen God's provision through everything. 

Our team was able to come together and brainstorm with a new way to reach refugees. While we still are unable to go into camps, we have refurbished a rental space for refugees to come to us. In this place we will have more freedom then we ever did in the camp. We have already been able to meet refugees on the streets and meet with them at the space. On Monday we will host our first official event. Eventually we hope to have daily hours for refugees to just stop by.

Another blessing has been being able to truly live life with some refugees. We have been able to host and serve several Syrians at our home. Last week we took two families to the beach and swam with them in the ocean. These are things we never had the time or energy to do in the past. I feel blessed to have the chance to love on these people and point them to the one who loves them the most.

Tears fill my eyes when I think that our last day begins in a few hours. But I have no regrets. God has moved this summer. I only wish I could stay longer to see what else He will do here. Please pray for those who are staying and that they will not grow weary. Pray that the new center will be used to bring the Good News to many! 

Eagerness & Interest

The highlight of my week was meeting with a man, I have mentioned before, named A. This past week, he had lost his father from a bomb explosion in Syria. In addition to studying the Word with him, I played chess with his sons, M & M, while drinking a hot cup of Chai. Every visit with A is such a joy because of his eagerness to learn from the Bible. 
Please be lifting him up; that he would remember what he learns and that the Holy Spirit would be speaking to him. Please be interceding as well for his family. 

Also continue to lift up the family from Syria who live downstairs. The father, T, has expressed interest in receiving a copy of the Bible. Please be lifting him and his family up; that they would receive a copy and be convicted from what they read.

-James, Refugee Highway

Hard Soil

This week was rather short for our team in the camp. Since our midsummer break lasted up until Tuesday, we did not return back to work until Wednesday. On the first day, one of my teammates and I went to visit a good friend named K. I knew that he was not open to the message, but I felt the need to go visit him. After drinking a cup of nice, cold coffee, my teammate and I shifted the conversation to a topic of greater importance. Sadly, K told me to not talk anymore about the Way because it makes people angry and it is hard on the mind. Although my friend heard truth that day, he and his friends refused to let Christ into their lives. 

Please be lifting all of them up, that the seeds of truth that have been sown will take root.

-James

Resist Not

It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.  Romans 9:16-18

Pray for no resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of team members as well as the unsaved.

Team of the Day
Refugee Highway

We must keeping looking for them...

There are people in this camp who are wanting to believe. We just have to keep looking for them. 

These were the words from my teammate as he spoke to me about his experience. Although some have chosen to reject Christ, others have believed and are hungry for truth.

Still, I have heard that the brothers and sisters in the camp are scared to go out and share. Indeed, it is frightening to know that following the Way may lead to such negative consequences. Please intercede for the new brothers and sisters, that they will see the importance of sharing and that they would be filled with boldness.

-James

Characters in a Great Story

"I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer." 

-Sam, Lord of the Rings: Two Towers

Neighbors of Refugees

While we go to the camp to serve refugees, there are also refugees in our own apartment building. My heart has been broken this week for the Syrian family living in the place downstairs. A teammate and I went down and brought them some cookies one day, which gave us the chance to make friends with them. That night, I was invited to come back to their house and watch the Jesus film with the family. We had technological difficulties and were not able to get it to work so instead, they invited me to sit and talk with them. Immediately, we got into a conversation about God. 

The night was spent discussing the differences between our two beliefs. Although they were able to hear truth and the difference between our faiths, they insisted that it was the same. Our whole team has had to explain to people on multiple occasions that our belief is in fact very different from theirs. Yet, many choose to not accept that truth and simply say, "You have your faith and I have mine. They are both good ways." But as we know, there is only one way and that way is Jesus Christ. 

Please lift up this family, that He will reveal Himself to them and that I will do all He wants me to in that process.

-James

Divine Appointments in Camp

Over the past couple weeks God has been teaching me about divine appointments. Everyday at the camp we go out and try to meet people to share with. For me it is easy to just get lost in strategy and forgot to listen to where God is calling me. Instead of praying for guidance, I just go full speed ahead. When I was recovering from sickness one day, I was unable to wander around the camp. So instead I sat and prayed. It was a unique experience because every time I sat down, not a minute later a person would come out of nowhere and take me to their tent. Even in my weakened state, God made a way for me to meet and witness to others. 

In a similar way, Kallie and Emilie were just walking down one of the roads not looking for anyone when they met one lady. She is in the camp alone and had never met anyone else on our team. After the girls had talked with her some they got her information so they could visit her later. After they left, she too left the street she was standing on and when back to her tent. There seemed to be no reason why she was standing by the road, but if she had not been then she met not have met Emilie and Kallie. 

It was after that day that I was reminded of my lack of control. While taking action to meet people in the camp is important, if I am acting on my own power than all is for naught. God taught me that day that he is the one in charge. I will continue to act but I have to remind myself of who is taking the lead. I am only a follower of a call and I must listen to know where to go.

Please pray that God would lead us to persons of peace and that we would had divine appointments with them!

-Refugee Highway Team

Little Girls

The little girl raising her hand is Irimas. Every time she sees me she gets a huge smile on her face and yells out, "James!" We are basically best friends even though she tends to randomly bite my arm every now and then.

Please pray for Irimas and the other children in the refugee camp. pray that they will have the opportunity to understand the love & the plan for their lives that Christ has for them.

-James
Refugee Highway Team

He Who Goes Before

This week God has been showing me how he has an elaborate plan that started way before we arrived here. One woman, Narim, has had many relationships with team members over the 4 months she has been at the camp. However, I only found out this week that God has been working in her heart for much longer. 

When she was fifteen she had a vision of Jesus and ever since then she has secretly called him her savior. Unfortunately, there were not many Christians in her area to help develop her faith. However, out of a tragedy she was brought to a camp where she has been able to hear the full gospel preached to her. I see now how God has a plan for her life and I feel overwhelmed with joy to be apart of it. 

James was talking to one man and felt called to ask him if he had ever had a dream of a man in white. The refugee was shocked! Over the past few months he has had the same dream three times of a man in white was beaconing for him. Because of the dream, the man's heart was softened and he listened as James told him that the man in white was Jesus.

I see now how God knew all along that each of us would be here this summer. It is amazing to witness how God has already began a work in people's hearts at the camp. 

Please pray that:

•God will continue to guide us to those he has begun a work in

•Narim will grow in her faith and have the courage to share the truth with her family

•James' friend will continue to seek after Jesus

Family In Him

I struggle today with how to adequately convey my feelings from this past week and how the Lord is working.

The word the Spirit brings to my heart is الأسرة. In English, "family." Twice this week, some of our close friends that we have been visiting frequently and sharing with told us "we are family." One of these families is the one I asked you all last week to pray for an opportunity to share with, and God provided! We were able to share THE story with them. And they were very open and had many questions. I realize the difference that an established relationship makes with this particular culture. It was that same visit that they called us family and asked us to return with an Arabic Bible that we may study together. All I can say is praise God.

Another significant moment from this week is when I met a young woman named Marah. She is 20 and speaks very good English. I have visited her every day, sharing the story of Jesus and more stories. We have become fast friends. She takes care of her father and her 4 younger brothers and sisters while their mother is in Germany. One day, I saw her sitting by herself and I could tell that she looked very sad. I asked her what was wrong and she just began to cry. I knew that it was just being in their situation. She feels very hopeless. I began to cry with her. I told her I wished I could do more. We went back to her tent and shared some verses with her and talked more about Jesus. Please pray for Marah, that Jesus would reveal himself to her in a mighty way. That she would find hope in Him. I want desperately for her to have hope.

I think our whole team is understanding how the work is really all in God's hands. We know all we can do is keep sharing and being there, but the Spirit has to do the work. Some people are so close, mainly some men that our guys have been diligently ministering to. Please pray for them, that the Spirit will make himself known to them. We are having to constantly remind each other to not be discouraged, because we do not yet know what the Lord is doing in the lives of the people we are sharing with. 

-Kallie

Accepting the Gift

Our second day volunteering in the camp marked the first day of Ramadan for Muslims. Once a year Muslims fast for a month during the day time and eat during the night. While this is usually a time for rehabilitation and celebration, in the camps the atmosphere is very different. Many of the refugees are tired and dehydrated. Even though they do not have to fast because they are traveling, they continue to participate in Ramadan because they want to give themselves the best chance of getting into heaven. 

One lady in the camp described it to me like this; life is a test where good acts count as right answers and on judgement day if you passed the test then you get to go to heaven. So they are unsure of their eternal fate until they face God at the end of their days. During this time of Ramadan we are trying to share with them that salvation cannot be earned. The law has already been fulfilled and the test has already been taken. Salvation is a free gift! While most are willing to listen, they still cling to their belief that they can pay for their own sins. 

Please pray that:

•the refugees will realize the need for an ultimate sacrifice to pay for their sins

•they will open their hearts to the assurance of salvation through Jesus

Where is your treasure?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”   -Matthew 6:21

Echoing on my heart this week is this verse. God is revealing to me how my treasure can only be in him if I am to go where he has called me to go, and do what he has called me to do. If my treasure is in anything else, I will never be effective.

After talking with the people in the camps, we realize how much they have lost. For most, it is heartbreaking. We connected with one young woman who is alone in the camp, and lost her entire family to a bomb that destroyed her house. All they have left is their religion, and we have to ask ourselves if we have faith enough to share with them and ask them to give that up too. Sharing, though, seems to be the only logical thing we can do, because we want desperately for them to have hope, and we know where they can find it.

Ramadan began this week in the camps. This is a month long fast in which they do not eat or drink from sun up to sun down. It is very difficult with how hot it can get in the camps. Please pray for them this week as the temperatures are rising.

On the other hand, Ramadan provides us with a unique opportunity to build relationships and share. We changed our hours in the camps to accommodate for this. We now work 2-10. Two other girls and I were able to connect with a family and they are the sweetest people. They invited us for Ramadan on Friday night and prepared a three-course feast for us which I have pictured. It was so humbling. They have lost so much, yet they give so much. They are our favorites, probably. They know we are followers of Jesus, but always shut down spiritual conversation. Please pray for our next encounter with them, that they we will be able to share easily.

As exhausting as this week was, we are realizing how difficult it will be after 2 months to leave the relationships we are making. Please pray for us this week that we will have energy to share and that we would be salt and light. Please pray for open hearts and that the truth we share would change their hearts. Thank you, my friends!

-Kallie

Refugees' True Savior

Everyday we are greeted with smiles and hugs when we walk into the camp of 2000 refugees. Many welcome us into their tents and share with us the little food and drinks that they have. Just in the week we have been here, we have developed several relationships with all ages and people groups.

One way we are able to meet people is through daily food & water distribution. Many people are unable to carry everything themselves so we have the opportunity to help them. While we walk with them to their tent, we get to hear a little bit of their story.

Although the people are kindhearted, there is so much pain and sorrow in the camp. In every tent there is someone who has lost someone dear to them in the war. We met one lady who returned home one day to find that her house and family were gone forever. She had to make the journey alone and now she keeps herself busy to escape her pain. Several woman are left caring for their children because their husband passed away or is in another country waiting for their arrival. The people may seem happy but they are broken and in need of hope. They are in need of the Savior.

Please pray that:
•the refugees will seek healing in Jesus and not turn to worldly things for comfort

•we will be bold in sharing about the one who gives eternal hope 

Gospel Wildfire

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly...

2 THESSALONIANS 3:1

As team members share the Gospel, pray that it would spread rapidly, like wildfire.

TEAM of the DAY

Refugee Highway

COUNTRY of the DAY 

Greece

Meet the Team: Refugee Highway

Last week, five strangers came together to follow a call from God to reach refugees. Over the past few days we have grown close and look forward to what God has in store this summer. Now that we have met each other, it is your turn to meet us! 

Kallie, the team leader, attends University of Louisiana in Monroe and is the veteran of the group. She has a sweet spirit that brings out the best in everyone while also being able to keep the team focused on our goal.

James is a Third Culture Kid and currently attends Baylor University. He is a selfless worker who keeps his eyes open for needs and serves lovingly without complaint. 

Emilie is a student at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania. People are drawn to her because she is fun-loving and has a passion to care for others. 

Garrett is a student at the University of Tennessee. He is a gifted storyteller and has a spirit of boldness when sharing the gospel. 

Lastly, my name is Hannah. I am a Third Culture Kid and currently attend Liberty University. I am a hard worker with the desire to serve both my team and the refugees. 

Even though last week we were strangers, now we are brothers and sisters in Christ following our father together. Please pray that God would be able to use all of our individual strengths to best reach the lost refugees.