Syria (Christian Aid Mission)
— Hundreds of Syrian children reveled in Christmas cheer this season,
gaining joyful memories in the face of a New Year that brought ominous
obstacles to peace.
(Screenshot)
A sharp rift between regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia, along
with the bombing of a school near Aleppo, torpedoed the progress of
three rounds of international peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s nearly
five years of civil war.
The rift began right after New Year’s, when Saudi Arabia on Jan. 2
executed leading Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others
convicted of terror charges. A leader of protests by Saudi Arabia’s
Shiite minority, Al-Nimr was convicted of sedition and other charges,
though he had denied that he promoted violence.
The execution of Al-Nimr prompted protesters in Iran to attack the
Saudi Embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad, and Saudi Arabia
subsequently gave Iranian embassy personnel in Saudi Arabia 48 hours to
leave. Saudi Arabia backs several of the Sunni Islam opposition groups
fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad, and Shiite Iran supports
Assad.
While foreign powers such as the United States and Russia tried to
encourage Iran and Saudi Arabia to mend severed diplomatic relations
that were sabotaging negotiations on Syria, Russia’s continued bombing
of civilian targets in rebel-held Syria also threatened peace talks –
and took the lives of Syrian children.
Vladimir Putin meeting with Hassan Rouhani.
(Photo, caption credit: Kremlin via Wikipedia)
Various aid and rights groups have accused Russia of bombing
hospitals since it began flying sorties in late September (which Moscow
denies), and this week the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)
accused Russia of killing at least 12 children in the aerial bombing of a
school in rebel-held Injara, nine miles outside Aleppo. A teacher also
reportedly died, and several others were critically wounded, according
to SOHR.
The opposition coordinator in Syria, Riad Hijab, claimed this week
that Russian bombers struck three schools, killing 35 children, and that
such attacks preempted opposition talks with Assad’s administration.
“We want to negotiate, but to do that, the conditions have to be
there,” Hijab said after meeting with French President Francois
Hollande, according to Reuters.
Many of the families fleeing fighting in Syria have drifted to the
southwestern cities of Sweida and Dara, though Dara too has seen its
share of mortar-fire and gunshot over the past year.
During the Christmas season, an indigenous ministry organized
Christmas programs in both cities to enable children, for a few hours,
to be children – enjoying games, skits and Christmas songs.
A Christmas program in Syria provides a few hours of fun for children facing the gloom of war.
(Photo, caption courtesy Christian Aid Mission)
“The faces of the children shined with joy, as they have not
experienced much joy in the past year of hardship in Syria,” said the
ministry leader, whose name is withheld for security reasons.
“It was wonderful to see them shed the heaviness and worry of living in such perilous times and to play as children.”
The ministry, with assistance from Christian Aid Mission, put on
skits telling the story of Jesus’ birth as well as presenting the
Gospel, he said.
“Each child received a little treat, which for them, in this place of
lack, was big,” the director said. “Perhaps the greatest gift that we
gave them was a Bible for each child. We would like to thank you for
your prayers for the ministry, and for the support you send. Your
assistance helped us to provide Christmas outreaches where we were able
to share the Gospel.”
Another ministry in Syria, this one in Aleppo, also cheered children
with Christmas programs, and in Lebanon, one of the neighboring
countries receiving Syrian refugees, an indigenous ministry brightened
children’s daily lives with a Christmas party and a Christmas dinner.
About 83-percent of the 1,428 refugees the ministry is serving are
Muslims, the Lebanese ministry director said.
At
a Christmas outreach in Aleppo in a predominantly-Muslim area, a
ministry based in Syria cheered children with skits and songs, also
strengthening them physically with distribution of food.
(Photo, caption courtesy Christian Aid Mission)
The organization, unnamed for security reasons, is helping nearly 320
families, and that number is expected to reach 370 families by the end
of the year.
“We know the Lord Jesus has given us a critical window of time to reach them,”
the director said. “When we look ahead at what this situation will
likely be in five years, we think that some of the refugees are going to
stay in Lebanon, and others will immigrate to Europe, the USA, and
Australia.
“We would love to see them as believers of the Lord
Jesus, who strongly know and follow Him and take the Gospel with them to
all those places.”
With knowledge of refugee culture and customs, as well as local
supply contacts, the indigenous ministry is well-positioned to help with
immediate emergency needs for food, medical aid and shelter, he said.
“The best way to reach them is to provide food, support for some of
their costs for medical needs, and shelter,” the leader said. “As we
show the love of Christ, we will make and keep relationships with them,
and we hope that will result in them having a relationship with the Lord
Jesus.”
(Photo courtesy Christian Aid Mission)
The ministry’s long-term goal is to establish a church among the
refugees, with leaders developed from among them, he said. At his own
church, 60 Muslim women already regularly attend a women’s meeting,
along with about 70 of their children. Between 65 and 100 Muslim Syrian
children attend the church’s Sunday school each week.
“From time to time we do a dinner for men and share with them about
Christ, the Bible, and talk openly and frankly about the Gospel,” he
said. “We have two full-time ministers, one part-time minister, and a
few volunteers who are reaching out.
“The Lord Jesus is working, and we are planting the seed and praying to see the fruit.”
Help local ministries meet needs and share the Gospel with displaced families.
Source: Mission Network
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