Well it is officially green and there are flowers everywhere I look. It’s only spring weather but I am already dreading the heat of summer that is soon on its way.

As I begin to finish this season of full time language classes I am starting to have new ministry opportunities. I am so excited to see what my future holds here. Recently, as a team we were discussing goals and as I was writing mine down I realized that I am passionate about working with kids, but I have been doing so little of that. Besides helping out with Sunday school there have not been other opportunities. That is until my friends told me that once a week they have been gathering with refugee kids to help them learn written Arabic, share biblical themes and form relationships with the kids. Some of these kids don’t go to school whereas others are in school but they are not actually being taught very well. I have now committed to going with my friends weekly. I am looking forward to building deeper relationships with the children, which is difficult due to the language barrier. Please pray for these times.

Afterwards, we do house visits to different families. The first time I went there was no translation, and since they speak Arabic, once again, I am unable to understand. Some of the homes we entered were in decent condition, but others were falling apart. I was shocked at the shape they were in. Last week we went to visit a new family. This time there was English translation because a friend of mine was doing an interview for her university.

One story a lady told stood out to me. She wanted to tell a story of when they lived back in Syria as she was telling it she could not hold back her tears. She began to tell us how the apartment across the way from hers was destroyed before her eyes. Many of her relatives lived there. The amount of loss and trauma she has had to live through was shown all over her face. As I have been processing the things I heard that day there are a few things that I cant get out of my mind. Firstly, the level of trauma these people have been through is unfathomable. It really feels surreal to sit and drink tea with them and listen to their stories. Secondly, I am aware of my inability to relate, I ask for wisdom to respond with compassion and in a way that honors our Father. It is a privilege to be able spend time with these beautiful people.

I would greatly appreciate prayer as I transition into this new season of finishing up language classes and entering into full time ministry.

Please Note: For the sake of security the identity of the Global Worker(s) and exact geological locations have been omitted from the article.