They were running out of time.
Amira’s husband had already been killed in the Syrian conflict. So had her father and her sister’s husband.
The three Muslim widows—Amira, her sister Rama, and their mother—quickly packed what little they could carry. With their five small children, they fled their crumbling homeland.
Miraculously, they made it to Jordan in one piece—although Amira nearly died when a piece of shrapnel tore through her hip as they approached the border.
In a city on the Jordanian side of the border, they found an old apartment to rent in a neighborhood full of refugees like themselves. Like other Syrians, they discovered that work was hard to come by. After several months, their savings ran out and they struggled to pay for rent and food. The family was nearing desperation.
But God hadn’t forgotten the three women and their children.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)
In the same city, Cassie and her fellow teammates had pooled their resources to buy food for refugee families who were most in need. It was a way they could bless Syrians with the love and compassion of Christ. It also opened doors to share the Word of God. The team took to heart the Apostle Paul’s words:
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4)
They prayed daily that God’s power and glory would be revealed to the Muslim families with whom they shared the Good News.
One morning, as Cassie searched for refugee families who had the greatest need, she was directed to the three widows.
Amira, Rama, and their mother welcomed Cassie into their bare apartment. Rama served her a little glass of steaming tea while Amira related their story, detailing the sorrows they had faced in the years since the war began.
Cassie listened to Amira describe how her whole life had been destroyed. She talked about the deaths of her husband, father, and brother-in-law.
There are no words I can say to comfort such sorrow, Cassie thought. But there is Another who can bring comfort!
“Can I pray for you?” Cassie asked Amira, who nodded in consent. Cassie prayed a simple prayer. Her words were neither eloquent nor wise, but her prayer was full of faith that God loves to show up and reveal Himself.
A few words into Cassie’s prayer, Rama began to cry. Amira and their mother joined with their own tears. Something was stirring in their hearts, as if dissolving their layers of trauma and awakening in them spiritual hunger that had been buried in grief.
Cassie finished praying and sat silently a moment as the women wiped their faces. Then she spoke.
“I have a story for you…”
Click here to read the rest of Cassie’s story.
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**
Original article: FrontiersUSA.org/blog/article/the-3-syrian-widows
Main photo by UNHCR/ M. Hofer/ November 2013