Dear Brothers and sisters,

John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

Isaiah 63:9 “In all their (the refugees’) distress He too was distressed…” He willingly walks the road of distress and difficulty with us, so that when we meet difficulty or disaster, Our God willingly weeps with us, grieves with us—He doesn’t stand by as a spectator with arms folded—He is the God who cares for us!

At the Culture Center’s Art therapy workshop, most young people who come show signs of severe depression. The pictures they draw are all of bombers, corpses, or dead family members; and they share their agonizing stories of how in 2012 they fled from Olive City to the Levant. God loves these precious kids so much—and He knows their wounded hearts need to be bound up and healed.

Dr. Isaac shared that when the children brought their drawings and told their stories, his heart was pierced with pain. They shared their grief…not as if sharing about lost toys; but he saw that these young people, who should have been experiencing the innocence and hope of youth, one after another instead were listlessly recounting, as if elderly, their sad stories of death and separation. The wounds of war have deeply scarred this generation. May Father take them in His loving arms, bind up their wounds, comfort them and dissolve away their scars! We realized that not only the children have symptoms of depression; even our adult coworkers may have them as well. May the Lord use us to comfort His sons and daughters! Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”

The younger sister of a coworker of the Culture Center and her husband often feel unhappy and irritable. They’ve lived in a tent now for four and a half years already; and although they’ve found work for the present, their life away from their homeland and the lack of normal community support has left them feeling helpless, discouraged, hopeless, depressed, and worried. Actually every one of the refugees has a degree of depression and worry, some light and some severe.

I ask them if they believe the Lord Jesus can change their lives, and they nod in agreement; and then I invite them to pray and imagine Jesus standing in their tent. When we do this, they always feel their original anger about their situation dissolve into peace and tranquility…thank God!

The Arabic teacher in the Culture Center breathes very rapidly and is always tense. He used to be a teacher in an Olive City elementary school; his life was worry-free. But the war took away many of his good hometown friends (six of them), and now he constantly has migraine headaches. He often dreams of the wonderful life he used to have in Olive City before the war and hopes to return home one day. We prayed for his migraine headaches and shared the following scripture with him to comfort him (Psalm 147:1-3):
1 Praise the LORD; for it is good to sing praises to our God; for praise is delightful and becoming.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem (Olive City); He gathers together the exiles of Israel (refugees).
3 He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds.

One young brother had had a friend who was shot and killed by ISIS in 2012. He had received a video from this friend just two days before he was killed. He felt very guilty and always blamed himself for not being able to protect his friend. But in prayer he had a vision of the Lord Jesus standing beside his dead friend, picking him up and taking him to heaven. He was greatly comforted by this vision!

Another young brother had seen an aircraft bombing a herd of sheep on TV and the shepherds trying to protect the sheep. He felt very upset, angry, helpless, and dismayed by this. But when he prayed, he saw Jesus leading the flock to a safe place. When I heard his sharing, I also shared Psalm 23 with him…thank God!

One lady we talked with was aware that her husband was often phoning an ex-girlfriend (who was one of his relatives or family friends who had come to this city eight months before) and suspected they were getting intimate. She felt she couldn’t trust him or his other relatives and family friends, and also felt very angry and ashamed. The evening before they had had a big argument on the bus and had decided to separate. But in prayer she saw the Lord Jesus on the bus sitting between her and her husband, and she heard Him say she should forgive her husband. She saw Jesus shining with glory and wept her heart out, and she felt that Jesus would protect her. He was sitting in the back of of the bus. She also saw the loving face of her husband, and they embraced each other (in her vision). After prayer, I shared 1 John 4:18-21 with her and invited her husband, who was outside, to read it aloud with her:
(verse 18) “There is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Nexus Mission: Joining hands to fulfill the Great Commission

“Love to Levant – Rebirthing Olive City” needs your support!

Jesus wept! Our God is not high above us, removed from us! He willingly walks the road of distress and difficulty with the refugees, weeping and grieving with us. He doesn’t stand by with arms folded like a spectator; He is the God who cares for us!

China and Hong Kong are joining hands to provide a 40-foot container full of relief goods for Syrian and Iraqi refugees! We invite you to participate with us.

Goods that need to be purchased for the various ministries of the Culture Center in Tree City (classroom, beauty parlor, coffee shop, skills and arts classes, etc.) include the following: Classroom chairs, book bags, stationery items, children’s playground equipment, clothing, home furniture, home appliances, audio equipment, kitchen utensils, power tools for wood working, beauty parlor appliances, etc.

Beginning date: September 3, 2017
Last date for donations: October 30, 2017

The Lord’s Servant, Nexus Mission