This is Part 3 of a 5-part series of stories told from the perspective of refugee children. The stories are based off the lives of actual refugee children, but names and some details have been changed for privacy. The mission of Abba’s House is to welcome children like these into our care. Scripture quotations are NIV.
Sami’s Story (Syria)
Our life in Syria was totally “normal” until a terrible war started in 2011. My father was an important man in our community, and he started to be threatened by the government. Many of our friends and family were killed. That’s when we knew we had to leave Syria.
Our journey to safety was filled with setbacks. In Greece, we lost all our money. In Denmark, people made fun of us and accused us of being terrorists! At the same time, however, we met kind and supportive Christians in Denmark, the first Christians we ever befriended.
After two years, we eventually made our way to America. But we lacked the proper immigration paperwork, and to our horror, my father and I were put in jail for six months, separated from my mother and sister. In jail, I learned about Jesus through a group of volunteers. They reminded me of the good Christians in Denmark.
Eventually my father and I were released and our family settled in Kansas City. Just one month later, we got notice that we were going to be evicted from our new apartment. In desperation, my mother prayed to God to save us.
Moments after that prayer there was a knock at our door. A Christian woman said that she had heard about our situation, and that her church wanted to find us a new home! Because of this, my entire family trusted our lives to Jesus. Not only do we now have a new home to live in, but also a church home and that has welcomed us with open arms.
Facts about Syrian refugees:
- An estimated 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country since the outbreak of the war in March 2011.
- Syrians constitute one quarter of the world’s refugees.
- Texas has not settled a single Syrian refugee yet in 2018. The U.S. is way behind target resettlement goals for fiscal year 2018.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. – Ephesians 2:19-22
Abba's House 