“Everyone in our nation hates us. Why do you keep coming to see us?” She asked with trepidation as Abdul-Ali’s team visited her family once again in the refugee camps. It was more than just curiosity; the answer would change everything.
When the Taliban took control in Afghanistan, her husband, who had been a pilot for the government, was beaten so severely that he suffered permanent nerve damage that left him a shell of who he’d once been. His family escaped to a nearby nation, where they waited helplessly as refugees. They’d been rejected at home and isolated in the camps.
They were surrounded by people, but utterly alone.
And then Abdul-Ali’s team kept showing up. They’d bring food, blankets, and supplies. They’d bring friendship, community, and hope.
It didn’t make any sense. Why would these strangers keep returning? Why were they committed to remembering when so many others seemed determined to forget?
So one day, she worked up the courage to ask the most important question: why? That was the opening the team had been waiting for, and soon, the whole family knew about the hope and peace that only comes through Jesus. They began to learn about God’s love and sacrifice and the sweet and unwarranted gift of Christ.
And then one day, she and her sons and daughters believed and were baptized!
They used to be rejected, but now they’re part of a family. They used to be alone, but now they’re surrounded by community. They used to be hopeless, but now they have eternal joy!
I am, and have been for some time, praying for you all. God loves you and so do we. So thankful for those who have given their lives for this cause.