Iranians in Diaspora #2
Hope is not lost
Submitted by Rev. Margaret Walls
First Presbyterian in San Diego
Today we traveled by train and automobile to Lelystad, northeast of Amsterdam. There we were met by Pastor Theo, a Dutch pastor, who has been called by God to minister to Iranian refugees living in a nearby refugee camp.
This is a “5-star” camp, the best of five remaining refugee camps in Holland. This camp is in a lovely setting, built on land reclaimed from the sea during World War II. There are 105 small bungalows in the camp, each providing housing for eight people – singles, couples, and their children. The camp residents come from many countries around the world. Pastor Theo and his wife Hetty, along with several people from various local Dutch churches, share God’s love and encouragement with the 40 refugees from Iran.
The worship time with Dariush was powerful. The highlight was when he invited the 25 of us gathered to sing responsively a song about Esau Messei, Jesus the Messiah. Their voices were evidence of their deep faith. Prayers ascended as incense to God, while our senses smelt the wonderful scent of kabob.
While we ate kabob and rice, residents of the camp were eager to share their stories with us. A young woman, Mehrnaz, came to the camp as a bride alone. Her husband, Navid, was stranded in Greece when the smuggler who’d brought them there demanded more money than they had. In an unimaginable and painful decision, Navid sent Mehrnaz, while he remained in Greece and was imprisoned for several months. In prison, he ministered to a person from Israel! The guards witnessed this kindness and they released him, but he was without a home. Now they are reunited and moving forward in the cumbersome and frustrating process of becoming residents of Holland.
Another mother, who’d been in seven camps, spoke of coming to the Netherlands with her 7-year-old daughter. She told us that her daughter had been witness to things no child should ever know of, including the suicide of a 13-year-old boy. All these Iranian brothers and sisters have faced rejection, and betrayal of one kind or another and have been waiting for a long time for a new home in their new homeland. They grieve. They cry and they cry out to the Lord, but none of them have lost hope. I thought of Job as I reflected on what they shared. They, like Job, refuse to turn from God and, like Job, they, too, would say I know that my Redeemer lives and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
Dessert was a very special cake baked and decorated by a new friend who earns money through baking in her modest kitchen, which she shares with 5 other families. We did what The Outreach Foundation does so well. We “showed up” to these people on the margins. It is impossible to put into words how much being with them has meant to me. Dariush, Pastor Theo and his wife Hetty have become family to me in just a few hours. The Lord bless our new friends now and always. May God’s face be upon them and continue to help them experience His shalom.
