Liverpool #5 - Celebrating Women!
Meet the Outreach Liverpool team, from left to right: Pastor Saulius Karosas (City Church in Lithuania), Rev. Shawn Hevener (Presbyterian Fellowship of Fountain Inn, SC), Rev. Dr. Mark Mueller (Executive Director, The Outreach Foundation), Celia Tuttle (Presbyterian Fellowship of Fountain Inn, SC), Rev. Dr. Larry and Kathryn Michael (South Highland Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL), Rev. Andrew, Christine, and Anderson Chaney (First Presbyterian Church, Greenwood, MS).
By Christine and Andrew Chaney
First Presbyterian in Greenwood, MS
One of the experiences The Outreach Foundation team most anticipated was our women’s event with the women in the church Shapoor pastors. Yasmin said, “It was perfect!” The event featured biblical skits, sharing of stories, lunch, and making flowered wreaths. Refugee women in particular carry heavy burdens for their children, family safety, and loss of connection with friends and family. This event provided these dear friends with an opportunity to share their stories openly and experience God’s love for them as women. Yasamin reflected further, “This was the start of a new ministry for women to help them heal. It was so positive and encouraging! “
Following this event, Shapoor led some of us on a grocery shopping trip to purchase food to deliver to the refugees at the Greenbank Court Hostel. Refugees are given only 35 British Pounds ($45 USD) a week to buy food and necessities. Several employees at the hostel were interested in who we were and why we were buying so much food. It was a chance for us to witness about being servants of Christ. We marveled at Shapoor’s system that he used to distribute food on the sidewalk in front of the hostel. Many refugees appeared to pick up bags of food including a few children who helped their parents carry bags of food. There were also diapers and toys given to the family of Negin and Caver, who graciously opened their home to our group on Tuesday (see our blog post).
The Outreach Foundation team experienced a special connection with this beautiful family. Later, we were devastated to learn that they received a letter informing them that they must relocate from Liverpool to Blackburn. They will have to move away from their beloved church friends. This is a situation that often occurs for refugees and became for us an opportunity to reflect on so many scripture passages on the transient nature of our life and the confidence we have only in God’s sovereignty. Later in the day at our team meeting, we prayed for them and shared how in mission we enter into the suffering of others often without answers. We noticed, as a group, that there was a theme of passion among these new Christians that we wished we had as well. We hope to take that passion back with us, and we will consider how our faith has been strengthened by their witness.
From there we met with Shapoor’s Alpha ministry, which gathers refugees to hear the gospel in its most basic form. Shawn Hevener (Presbyterian Fellowship of Fountain Inn, SC) led the group in a study on the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8. Mark Mueller then asked, “What did you think about what you just read?” Much discussion ensued! One refugee explained how his group was en route to Liverpool on a boat, but the motor stopped and they were left stranded in the middle of the ocean. It was raining, cold and stormy for almost a week on the sea. He felt tired and afraid, filled with extreme anxiety and stress. The people on the boat were from different religions. He talked to Jesus as if they were in a relationship. He said, “Jesus, if I get to the destination I will serve you all my life!” He shared that God knows each one of us and loves us.
Another refugee shared the story of his transformation. He was in a detention service in the UK and he did not have any belief. There was both a mosque and a church there. He does not know why, but he went to the church. He read the Bible and he prayed. He was overcome by a peace he had never felt before, and he fell asleep in the church. He went home and a few hours later he was awakened by deportation who told him that he could stay in the UK. As if this wasn’t enough, seven men made decisions to give their lives to Christ this evening. This, along with the eleven baptisms from Sunday, has ignited our team with a desire to see this done at home. We are grateful to Shapoor for exposing us to ways that this might happen and we are looking forward to returning with him.
Our day wrapped up with even more outreach during a traditional party outside in the park marking the end of the Iranian year. The festival is known as Chaharshnbe Suri. Celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, it is the first festivity of the Iranian New Year. We ate a traditional Iranian dish given to us by our refugee church friends. Everyone danced around the fire to the upbeat Iranian dance music with our new friends from Iran!