Open Doors, Damascus Church Reaching Out to Refugees with Supplies, Medicines, Love of Jesus
Contact: Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Director, Open Doors USA, 616-915-4117, jerryd@odusa.org
SANTA ANA, Calif., April 16, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- More than 1.3 million Syrians have fled the war-torn country, according to the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Syria is over 2 million.
People that are staying in their embattled cities are in need of assistance. Open Doors is helping more than 3,000 families spread all over Syria in partnership with local churches. The Alliance Church in Damascus is one of them.
Open Doors recently spoke with Alliance Church pastor Edward Awabdeh. "The fighting gets closer and closer to where the church is located," he says. "Many people see no light at the end of the tunnel. Things are getting worse, with more fighting and bloodshed."
Since April 2012, Open Doors, working along side Alliance Church, has been supporting many Christian families. Open Doors is helping facilitate food supplies, medical assistance and sometimes financial support by paying the rent of apartments for temporary shelter for the homeless.
Refugees that come to Damascus often arrive with only the clothes they can carry. There is no work and no income for them. Many families rent an apartment together with one or two other families to share the costs.
The families that flee to Damascus are visited by church team members. The families are registered with the church and the visiting team makes an assessment of their situation. Then material for the relief packages has to be bought.
"It is risky, yes," says Awabdeh. "When you need to drive through the city you run a high risk. Roads are closed. Twenty-four hours a day there is shooting and shelling."
It has been difficult to get the materials, the pastor explains. "Sometimes it takes two weeks to have enough of a product. Sometimes we do this in unconventional ways. For example, instead of buying cooking oil in small bottles, we buy it in gallons and we fill bottles with oil to distribute. For many products we have to go to the outskirts of the city and that is very risky. Sometimes we make agreements that we pay something extra to have people bring the products, and then it is their risk."
But ministry goes on. Last week the church opened a new distribution center and now the ministry is able to help hundreds of additional families.
"We thank the Lord for all the people that are praying for us. We feel the effect of that; we feel supported by that, personally and on the ministry level," says Awabdeh. "This is the time for the church to help; time to support the refugees. Who else can give hope and spread peace than the Lord?
"We see how the gospel, the message of Christ, fits in the suffering. Love touches the deepest wounds. It is a tool to open hearts....open hearts for the gospel."
Last month Open Doors launched a campaign, called "Displaced Peoples Project." It is targeting countries such as Egypt, South Sudan, Nigeria, Mali, Laos and Iraq because displacement of Christians is a worldwide problem. Thousands of Christians are being forced to leave their original family homes and villages due to persecution and ravages of war.
"The focus of this project is to embrace uprooted believers, not only in Syria, but also around the world," says Open Doors USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra. "Thousands of Christians are being forced from their homes, churches, schools and places of work. They find themselves completely destitute and face an uncertain future.
"Your gifts and prayers will equip and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ and at the same time enable those being dislocated to remain salt and light in their regions or in refugee camps in other countries."
For more information and to support the "Displaced Peoples Project" with your gifts, go to www.opendoorsusa.org/displaced.
For almost 60 years Open Doors has worked in the world's most oppressive and restrictive countries, strengthening Christians to stand strong in the face of persecution and equipping them to shine Christ's light in these places. Open Doors empowers persecuted Christians by supplying Bibles and Christian literature, training Christian leaders, facilitating social/economic projects and uniting believers in the West in prayer for Christians, who are the most persecuted religious group in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.
(For more information or to set up an interview, contact Open Doors USA Media Relations Director Jerry Dykstra at jerryd@odusa.org or call 616-915-4117).
