God is not far from us
I thank God through Jesus Christ for all
of you. – Romans I:8
“Faith makes
you act crazy.”
Rev. Ibrahim
Nseir is pastor of the National Presbyterian Church in Aleppo, Syria. He is
speaking about the apparent foolishness of staying in Aleppo and believing he
can make a difference in his community during the war.
We MCC
people who are visiting our partners in Syria are meeting with a roomful of
people who are displaced because of the war and are part of the church’s
ministry.
Fatima tells
us about her son who was kidnapped by the gangs four years ago. She and her
family had to flee their house in order to pay the gangs to release her son,
and now her family is homeless. It was only this church, she says, who would
help them with cash payments supported by MCC.
Hussein and
his family were also displaced when gangs targeted his home. The church has
helped his family with food boxes, blankets and some cash. “Without you, we
could not live day to day,” he tells us.
Maryam was recently
divorced and she and her children had no place to go. “When I had no one to
help me, the church was here for me,” she says. Today, she sings in the church
choir and teaches Sunday school.
The people
in the room know that their support is coming to them from MCC through the
Presbyterian church. Maryam tells us, “I always thank God for you and pray for
you and ask God to bless all of you.”
The next
day, Sunday, we worship with both a Syrian Orthodox church and with this
Presbyterian congregation. Outside the Syrian Orthodox Church building, we are
taken to a well that we are told MCC helped to fund several years ago when
water was scarce during the fighting in the city.
We visit
with leaders of the Presbyterian church before worship and then are led into
their new sanctuary. The old one was completely demolished during the war.
“Rebuilding
this church is a sign of hope that Christians can remain in this land. By
faith, we believe tomorrow will be better than today,” Rev. Nseir tells us.
Later that
afternoon, we walk in the old city and we see where the old Presbyterian church
once stood. “You have suffered with us and rejoiced with us,” Rev. Nseir says,
“And your presence with us today is a sign of hope that God is not far from
us.”
Ron Byler is executive director of MCC U.S.
(The names of the displaced people
mentioned above have been changed for security reasons.)
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