Live Stream recorded from 27/05/2022 at YWAM Harpenden Studios.
** This is a personal podcast and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
Tag: refugees
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Will We miss the harvest?
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
That is a quote from my friend who works with Syrian refugees in Northern Iraq. Here is the rest of it.
“Working with refugees near Erbil: Went to a neighborhood today where Syrian refugees live, not in a camp. First got to go to a school some of the refugee believers have started for the kids because they’re not allowed in school locally. Did some distribution toys and warm winter hats for them. After that we did house visits.
“One guy had had a dream of jesus and we got to pray for him and he felt heat through his body.
Another guy at the second house visit was super open, asked us why we came from so far, was super hungry, shared the whole gospel with him. He was so fed up with Islam. Also, he had had a dream last night of a white dove coming down (!!!!). He asked us why our faces were shining so bright. We prayed for him three times healing. First time he straightened up and his back popped in place and his back was healed. Second time was for his knee but didn’t fully heal. I felt to go over and kneel before him and pray for his knee laying on hands and blowing on his knees “the breathe of god, the life of god” and as a I prayed I felt something move in his knee and he was healed on the spot and the translator was super surprised. I was able to tell him how jesus was affirmed by the father as a son when he was baptized and I spoke over him how the father also speaks words of adoption and sonship over him.
“I think God is saying that the prayers for openness in the Muslim world are being answered, but if nobody goes, we will miss the harvest.”
Our teams and many others are still working to serve refugees, but there in Northern Iraq there is both a great need and opportunity for people to work on development. It seems people are accepting that they will not go home in the foreseeable future, so they are starting their own schools, trying to develop businesses or find jobs and find houses rather than tents. While there is still a need for hundreds or even thousands of short-term workers, they cannot be effective unless there are scores of longer-term workers who will plug into the daily organisational responsibilities.
Some of those workers need to have training and wisdom in community development. But the opportunities are unprecedented. For example, “one guy had a dream about Jesus, so we got to explain and pray for him. When we did, he felt heat through his whole body. At the very next house, a man was clearly fed up with Islam, and wide open to know about Jesus.
“He was so hungry; we shared the whole Gospel with him. He had a dream last night of a white dove coming down. Then he asked us why our faces were shining so bright. We prayed for him three different times for healing. The first time he straightened up and his back (which was out of alignment and very sore) popped and was healed. The second time was for his knee. It was not completely better, so I felt to go over, kneel before him, lay hands on his knee and pray again. Then I felt to proclaim over his knee the breath of God, the life of God, and I breathed on his knee. As I did so I felt something move and he was healed on the spot.”
One further testimony. “In both of those houses families had beautiful birds as pets, but the birds don’t sing that much. However, they said that when we walked in, the birds started singing beautifully, more than usual. That happened in both homes and the people noted it.”
I noted that amongst many young people today there is a great hunger to see the power of God in signs and wonders. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit works signs and wonders in places where the Gospel is first being proclaimed.
If you want to see more of God’s power, there is room for you in Northern Iraq. Our teams there report that it is safe, and long-term work is possible.
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Nobody is illegal – Mahmood Najjar storie
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
My name is Mahmood Najjar, I was born and lived in Racca, Syria in 1993, I am 24 years old. There are seven children in my family, my father has died. My passion and love since a child has been to be a world champion break dancer! Yes, I had very big dreams when very small. I used to watch break dancing on American films and shows I copied what I saw in my garden. Slowly I developed my own moves and started to get some recognition for my skills. Dancing has always brought a lot of joy to my heart. The more I danced the happier I was.
“we were all filled with hope”
Then when just about to enter some serious competitions in Syria the civil war started. In fact it was quite good at first because the free Syrian army took over Racca. It was a very big change for us, more freedom to do what we wanted and an excitement that Syria was going to change and catch up with the rest of the world. Girls could wear what they wanted which was very beautiful, I could dance as much as wanted, we were all filled with hope.
Then the blackness came, with bullets and bombs and cruelty. Isis took over our town with better weapons and trained foreigners. Everything changed very quickly. Woman wore black, men and boys were forced to fight. My family and I packed up and fled to Latakia, a government held town in Allawite territory by the Mediterranean. More troubles came because at every check point along the road we were stopped. My two older brothers were always asked “Why have you not joined the army, why are you not fighting for your country?”
“Dear God, please help me. I do not want kill, I just want to dance and bring joy to people.”
As soon as possible they borrowed some money from a friend and bought a ride to the Turkish boarder about 25kms away. My oldest brother made it all the way to Germany very quickly, he was the smart one in the family. My next brother made it as far as Athens.
For myself I was close to 18. One day some soldiers stopped me and said I must join the army, they also said only girls dance. This made me very angry. They took me by force to the army base. I was taken underground for interrogation. While sitting in a room waiting I closed my eyes, bowed my head and said a prayer from my heart. “Dear God, please help me. I do not want kill, I just want to dance and bring joy to people.”
I was taken down a corridor by two soldiers. Just then a door opened and a man wearing pyjamas stepped out. He was only in pyjamas with slippers on his feet. He told the soldiers to stop. I realised he was an officer. He said, “Where are you taking this boy?” They replied, “To interrogation, he is from Racca, he is selling weapons to Isis!”
The officer then said: “Can’t you see he is only a boy? His mother will be looking for him, he is not selling weapons to anybody, let him go.”
The soldier’s then left me standing in front of this strange man in pyjamas. He asked me “Are you all right my boy, can I help you.” I said: “Please let me return home to my mother in Latakia.” He said: “Go quickly.”
I ran all the way home and my mother said:
“Mahmood, it is time for you to go west, leave here before they make you fight.”
My mother gave me some money which she borrowed and my younger brother and I travelled to the Turkey . On the way we were stopped by Russian soldiers, then more Syrian troops, finally we passed into free Syrian army territory. They were kind to us, good people, fighting for freedom and a new life. They helped us across the border into Turkey.
From there we caught a coach to Istanbul. We spent two years in Istanbul looking for work. We were lucky and got work, I sent money back to my mother and she repaid our loan. It was not easy in Istanbul, so when I had enough money my brother and I travelled to Avalick on the Turkish coast. Here we paid to join a rubber boat with 40 others and crossed the sea last August. Thank God the crossing was smooth and the weather warm.
One day all will be good, I know because God heard and answered the cry of my heart. “Let me dance and not kill.”
Since then we have lived in Moira camp. To stop me getting bored and depressed I have found a place outside the camp where I can teach other boys how to dance. This has given them joy and a smile on their faces. I like to teach dancing and it is good to have the freedom here in Greece to do so. It is normal here which is good, the Greeks like to dance.
I hope my brother and I can travel on to Berlin where my smart older brother lives. I want to break dance on the streets of Berlin. Then maybe live in Austria, I have seen pictures of Austria, it is a very beautiful country and they like dancing. I want to enter competitions and become a world champion. Even amongst all the difficulties I hold on to my dream. One day all will be good, I know because God heard and answered the cry of my heart. “Let me dance and not kill.”
I know there is a God who hears and answer’s prayers. I do not know if he is Muslim or Jew or Christian, I just know he is there and he hears. I don’t want to say I believe in one or the other, this seems to only bring pain and suffering and war.
I am so happy that I can come to Next Wave on Wednesday night. I see so many joyful people and smiling faces. The music and singing are very good. If there was room I would dance! So many nationalities helping and being helped. There is goodness in the world, there is hope, there is freedom.
Thank you.
Mahmood Najjar.
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Tired of reading about refugees?
**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**
The river keeps running at full flow. The numbers of people fleeing Syria can hardly be counted, let alone contained. But we have to add to that the Afghans, Libyans and Iraqis who have given up hope that their nations will stabilize. Then there are the economic refugees from various parts of Africa and the steady “brain-drain” of Christians from Egypt and other parts of the Arab world.
We will have to keep reading and hearing about it because it is one of the great, human tectonic shifts of our world. It will keep flowing for a long time. And it is changing our world.
Within that big, attention-grabbing mass movement of suffering people, there are a number of sub-stories that are worth some attention. One of those stories is the very large number of Muslims who have become, or want to become Christians.
The Greek government noticed that story a few weeks ago and responded by shutting down faith-based aid groups in the Athens area. I understand that. It is a form of manipulation or exploitation to try to persuade people to change their religion when they are desperate—right? I assume that was the tone of discussions behind the doors of Greek politicians. Most European, and probably most American, politicians would take that view.
Again, I understand that IF:
Christian aid agencies were only offering assistance to Christian and withholding it from others.
Threats were issued.
Longer term benefits, such as residency was being offered to converts. Refugees were being forced to listen to propaganda against their will.
I now know of at least 200 volunteers from YWAM alone, who are helping these same refugees and there will be thousands of other Christian volunteers. If I visited every location where these Christians are working, I doubt that I would find even one instance of the practices I have just listed. I say that because such practices are simply not Christian and Christians know that.
I think there are some reasons why it is good and right to present the Christian message to refugees. Evangelism, after all, means “good news”. So here are the reasons.
- Many of those who are fleeing are looking for a new life. Their governments and their religion have failed them. They would like some good news.
- One of the amazing sub-stories is the hundreds or thousands of people who have had visions, or dreams or experiences of healing or miracles where Jesus is the central figure. There is something supernatural going on here. God is answering the prayers and labours of recent decades or even the prayers and sacrifices of Christians for centuries and many Muslims want to know more about Jesus. (And remember, they already revere him more than most of our fellow citizens in the secular Western nations.)
- It is not uncommon for people to come to faith when they are in very difficult circumstances. Desperation can result in a deep, heart honesty leading to faith.
- Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
When Article 18 was adopted in 1948, many Muslim nations signed it, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
When a nation or religion tries to withdraw that right, they are in violation of one of the most foundational documents in history. Not only that, but they are encroaching upon a universal right that was extended by our Creator. He gave the issues of personal beliefs and conscience to each individual and each individual will be accountable to their Creator for their beliefs, how they obeyed their conscience and the choices they made.
Tyranny is when a religion or government (or any other authority) attempts to coerce people at the level of their personal beliefs. The river of human misery flowing primarily from the heart of the Arab, Muslim world is fleeing the spread of that exact brand of tyranny. Can we, in good conscience, withhold from them the wonderful faith that first gave birth to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Jesus said, “Freely you have received. Freely give!” This precious gift should be available to all.
Lynn Green.
Lynn Green 