Lebanon/Syria #7: Opened Eyes
“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul… for, this man is my chosen instrument.” - Acts 9:11,15
Never in my life have I ever compared myself to the Apostle Paul. I know, it's preposterous. But here I am feeling a little like the man whom God used to take the good news of Jesus to the Roman world. To clarify, it was only a few days of Paul’s life to which I relate. Acts chapter 9 records Paul’s days of closed eyes after Jesus blinded him on the road to Damascus until he was visited by a very freaked-out Ananias. Like Paul, friends took me by the hand and led me into Damascus. Like Paul, I sit in a room on the “Street Called Straight.” Like Paul, those days were and are bewildering and overwhelming days. I have heard so much in so little time. Unlike Paul, I can’t expect that my eyes will be opened to understand, yet God has given me a heart to care, to love, and to support. So though I arrived blind and now may see dimly, I choose to do what I can to walk beside our sisters and brothers in Syria. I hope you will read on, as I struggle to tell a tiny part of their story.
I would like to introduce to you Mathilde and Firas, two bond servants of Christ Jesus, sent to shepherd God’s people in the Al-Hassakeh Governorate of Syria. This far northeastern corner is in the region called Jazeera, or “the peninsula.” It is the tip of Syria bordered by Turkey in the north, the Tigris in the northeast, Iraq in the southeast, and the Euphrates in the southwest. It is a contested region, forgotten by much of the world. While the Syrian government claims most of its territory, Turkey has annexed a swath of the north and the Kurds have declared it an autonomous region. It is to this impossibly difficult region that Mathilde, Firas, and their families are called.
Mathilde pastors the Presbyterian Church of Hasekeh. The native home of her family, this congregation of ten families shines a mighty light for Christ in a city of 250,000 people. Mathilde is a lioness with a shepherd’s heart. It seems fitting for one given a name that means “battle strength.” I marveled at her passion and conviction as she related the struggles of living with serious opposition from antagonists to their work and ministry to the people in their community. The Hasekeh Presbyterian Church weekly teaches God’s word to more than 200 children, 100 women, and 200 teenagers. Their relief ministry reaches the hungry and the financially destitute regardless of culture or religious affiliation, a ministry not broadcast online for the sake of the dignity of the people they serve. The church manages a government-licensed school in Hasekeh, numbering close to 1000 children with more than 85% coming from Muslim families. I shake my head in wonder that a Christian church is providing quality education for a Muslim community.
After Mathilde ran out of time to tell more of her story, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Qamishli began his. I smile as I think of the beautiful diversity of God’s people. While Mathilde very obviously would take on anyone and anything that came between her and her flock, Firas exuded a calm strength of a man of conviction and courage. He pastors a congregation of 40-45 families in Qamishli and 10-15 families in Malkieh. Firas has the gift of networking and peacemaking, having been able to enlist the help of several of Qamishli’s other churches in serving the community. Their large Sunday school, youth ministry, and women’s ministry are actually served by teachers and helpers from several congregations (usually Orthodox) in the area. One has to admire the way God’s people unite and serve when under the most difficult of circumstances.
Qamishli and Malkieh both reside in areas completely controlled by Kurdish forces, with other militias aligned with the Kurds pushing their own agendas. As a result, it is a very, very difficult place to boldly live as Christians. In this environment, the church in Qamishli runs a school of 1300 elementary and middle school students. They teach Christian values and subjects that prepare their students to add value to the world as opposed to a radical Islamic agenda. It is a wonder that the student body comes from 95% Muslim families. These families choose to place their children in the school, a testament to the quality of education offered.
So here is the hard part. Firas and Mathilde gave us a snapshot of their ministries. But they also told us of the stories of the opposition they endured since the civil war began in 2011.
Hiding for days on end from conflict all around them.
Surviving an RPG strike on the house they inhabited.
Running for their lives from wheat fields set on fire by a faction maliciously trying to control the resources of the area.
Threat upon threat to acquiesce to unreasonable demands designed to promote the agendas of greedy and power-hungry people in the area.
Courage? Yes, they have courage. Conviction? Absolutely, chosen like Paul to love a people forgotten, to maintain a light for Christ where darkness reigns. I walked away from our session to tour a city of magnificent history. What I saw today in broad daylight is not worth sharing. What I struggled to understand of a people in great need commands my attention. I was blind, now I see dimly. I don’t want to forget. I hope you don’t. These are brothers and sisters of ours. The Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is on November 7th. The people of Hasekeh and Qamishli need our prayers and I invite you to pray with me and with my church for them. Let us not remain blind.
by Kelly Green, Gateway Church, Findlay, Ohio