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When Paths Cross—Twice

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

For the past three years, Alliance workers Mark and Rebecca* served in a Middle Eastern country where hundreds of thousands of Syrians have taken refuge. In coordination with a nearby Alliance church, they adopted a couple of Syrian families with whom to connect, bless, and encourage.

One of these families, Ahmad and Fatima*, fled Syria nearly a year before Mark and Rebecca began to visit them. “As the war dragged on and on, they faced the hopelessness and desperation that refugees always face, and the hope of going back slowly diminished,” Mark said.

For three years, Mark and Rebecca prayed with Ahmad and Fatima, brought them food supplies, and helped pay for the birth of two babies added to their family. They all became good friends.

Possible Immigration

About eight months before Mark and Rebecca returned to Georgia for home assignment, Ahmad and Fatima told them they had been contacted about possibly emigrating. With Rebecca’s encouragement, they decided they wanted to go to the United States, but they had to go through multiple interviews first. Though Mark and Rebecca contacted friends who worked in an immigration organization for help, it did not look like the family would emigrate any time soon.

“[During] our last visit with them before returning to America, we prayed for them to be able to emigrate. The mood was somber and the outlook bleak at that point, but we prayed anyway—as we often did with them—that God would make a way.”

While back in the United States, Mark made plans for a month-long tour assignment in New England. Two days before it was to begin, he received a Facebook message from Ahmad and Fatima with a picture of their daughter on an airplane. They had arrived in America—and to New England no less!

Mark’s hosts in Massachusetts agreed to take him to Ahmad and Fatima in Connecticut, and Mark spent an afternoon with them and their kids. Ahmad and Fatima’s three-year-old son, who usually got upset by visitors coming to the house, was happy and laughing when Mark and his hosts arrived.

Since then, Mark has worked on contacting Ahmad and Fatima’s assigned caseworker to help them settle in. He has provided some much-needed communication among them, as the family doesn’t speak English. Additionally, it looks like a church in the area is interested in helping them.

Praying for Transformation

Ahmad and Fatima haven’t yet given their hearts to Jesus, but Christians have ministered to them in the Middle East and now again in the United States. Please pray that this family will experience the love of Jesus and come to know Him.

“We look forward to hearing how God writes the end of this story,” Mark said. “We believe we serve a God who is able to transform awful circumstances like war and tragedy into good. It is our prayer that God would do that among many Syrians as they are displaced.”

Mark and Rebecca would never have met Ahmad and Fatima on the other side of the ocean had it not been for the support of faithful givers to the Great Commission Fund. “Thank you for standing with us,” they said.

*Names changed

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