Dear colleagues and families in Christ,

Greetings of Peace to you from the Levant! Continue “Love to Levant”

In early March, the “Love to the Levant” project’s first container arrived safely at its destination here in the Levant. Chinese workers are now working in cooperation with the local church distributing goods that have come together with everyone’s love and blessing—coats…shoes… being handed out one by one to the suffering refugees.

It’s amazing how fast God worked—which not only left us amazed at His mercy to refugees in the Levant, but also amazed the local church at what the Chinese church was able to do. In fact, the local church knows practically nothing about the Chinese church, just as we are almost totally ignorant of their situation. But the way God ignited the Chinese church to do this work has greatly inspired them. They are willing to stand together more strongly with the Chinese Church now as we cooperate and commit ourselves to each other, that God’s will may be done in the Levant.

As we shared in China about what God has accomplished through this project, more churches and members of the Body continued to open up and answer God’s call to pack a second container for the Levant. Even though everyone knows that a container of clothing is only a drop in the sea of needs for three million refugees, everyone is willing to work with all their heart, soul, and strength to give ‘five loaves and two fishes’ to be blessed by our Father for His use!

The Levant – Chinese New Year Report
By Candy & Irene,

Battlefield of Spiritual War

Endless sand dunes…oil wells…an ancient culture…complex political struggles—these are impressions that most people have of this part of the world. But for God’s people, these lands have a more significant meaning—they are battlefields in a spiritual war that has been raging for many centuries. Though their people have been put in bondage for so long, there are still many Christians, called by God, who are sharing the Good News with people here who don’t yet know Him…

Refugee Living in Tents

On this trip we visited several refugees’ homes, and one in particular left a deep impression on me. They were living in a tattered tent of about 250 square feet (23 square meters) of space inside. The outside temperature was close to 0 degrees Celsius; and due to the cold and to their extreme poverty, they were having to burn trash items for warmth in the tent—items including plastic and discarded clothing. Even though they knew this was harmful to the children’s health, because of the cold they had no choice.

The father had been ill but was unable to pay for locally-bought medicine. He had been forced to return to Syria to buy it. He had had to leave his wife and children waiting for his return in the refugee camp, even though going back to Syria was dangerous and they knew he might never return.

The children were without basic necessities such as diapers and milk powder, living in that frigid, muddy environment. Even though we couldn’t communicate in the mother’s language, we could see her despairing eyes, her pain and fears about the future. My heart kept crying out in prayer, May God’s righteousness and blessing come to this place; may His mercy be upon this family!

We were invited to share in a church, and we would never have though that this congregation was composed of intellectuals who had fled for their lives from Iraq—including those in the medical profession, engineers, accountants, business people, and so on. Because they had been given only two or three hours to decide whether they would stay or flee and also to prepare for their journey, most had left with only their passports and a few extra pieces of clothing. Some of their children or aged parents had not had passports and so had been left behind in the care of friends or relatives, and up to now it was not even known if they are dead or alive. Besides the breath in their mouths, these people had lost everything—all their possessions—even their certificates showing their professional status! They have really lost everything. But this group of God-loving Iraqis weren’t complaining; instead they were thanking God for His care!
Now these people are helping with the relief work of the church here, visiting refugee families, using their skills (as dentists, doctors, and nurses) to help those who are suffering even more than they are (poor widows comforting poor widows). Their testimony left us speechless—the only reply we had was our tears! Lord! You are so great!

As we went and visited in the refugee camps, we saw family after Muslim family turning to our Heavenly Father. One of the families had seven children, and because of repeated visits and care given by a Chinese worker they had all come to the Lord. Four months after they believed they opened their home to Bible studies and worship. Ten people or so meet each time in this tiny tent to share God’s Word. A 13-year-old boy in this home named Faisal had become deaf in his right ear because shrapnel from an exploding grenade had become lodged in his right ear, and the family had not had money for the operation to remove it and to provide a required hearing aid. When we visited, some of the children in the family were also sick, the weather outside was very cold…we just prayed for their family and gave them some food before we left.

It’s impossible to count the number of refugee families who have similar stories to this one—besides their immediate physical needs, what they need most right now is the Love of Christ—so please continue to pray for them.

God’s servants, Messengers of Good News

On this trip, I (Irene) came to know a few mainland Chinese co-workers. They are all young, full of life and energy, some with small children. They have a heart for God’s Kingdom to bring the gospel from China all the way to Jerusalem, to come to countries whose cultures and languages are completely different from their own, to start from ground zero, getting to know local people here and meeting all kinds of new challenges.

This is certainly not a war of flesh and blood, but rather it is a hard spiritual battle. As I see them striving with all their effort, using all methods possible to help these suffering refugees, getting all kinds of material things together for them and sharing the gospel with them, I can’t help but thank God for His plan. He is a faithful God! I pray that He give these brothers and sisters more wisdom and courage…may they be servants who have nothing to be ashamed of…may they obtain all the courage they need in order to complete the work of the Great Commission!

This trip was a precious time, and we thank God for the protection and blessing we experienced along the way. The most important thing was that we saw the Light of Christ; and even though the places we went were the very darkest, His grace was there—because where our power in this life ends, God begins His work.

Sincerely, in the Lord,

Candy and Irene.