Written by: Open Doors SA
Article source: JOY! Magazine
One of the ladies opens the Bible and starts reading. All the other women in this simple living room read the passage in their own Bibles. Ferial smiles. She feels like being placed by streams of water. New streams, as she is displaced. Her situation is far more challenging than the life her family was used to. “But now I feel peace, inner peace,” she says.
Ferial Jamil Labbad (52) found her inner peace through an Open Doors Centre of Hope in Syria. The discipleship group of women who study the Bible together and share about their lives with each other, helps her to grow in her faith after she was displaced due to the Syrian war.
She is among more than half of all Syrians who were displaced during the past eleven years – since the war in this country started in 2011. Over six million people left the country as refugees, another six million were displaced in their own country. Christians have to face the worst hardships and severe persecution.
A new life
Ferial lives with her husband, Ghandi, and their two children, Anna Maria and Ohannes. This Christian family used to live in Aleppo when the war broke out, but they had to leave their home and start a new life in another city because of the intense fighting, bombing, and destruction.
The family moved to Latakia, which was the safest region in Syria, after Ghandi managed to get a job there. “We moved into a small apartment with only one bedroom for all four of us. However, I felt that my children were safe here and protected from the war. There were no bombs exploding, no snipers in the streets, no jets flying over the city, or extremists threatening us,” she says.
Closer to God
Then Ferial visited a local church – and she didn’t miss one church meeting since that first time. “The church took us under its wings spiritually and financially. They have brought our family much closer to God and motivated me to love Jesus even more than I used to before. We didn’t feel abandoned, they made us feel loved. God is alive in us. He is with us, taking care of us, nurturing us.”
The church, which is one of the Open Doors Centres of Hope, helped the family with their rent, food, and the children’s needs, such as their studies and extra tutoring. Ferial is now employed as a schoolteacher at the Centre of Hope, where she educates children about Jesus and the Church.
Ferial Jamil Labbad
A bright future
With the support of their brothers and sisters in faith, Ferial feels confident about the future. “I fear nothing. After I got to know Jesus, I see a very beautiful and better future. Despite all the difficulties, I feel inner peace. Jesus won’t leave us. He will get us higher, to the summit of this life.”
Hope for the Middle East
The Church remains a beacon of hope for the Middle East. Thanks to the gifts and prayers of supporters, through local partners in Syria and Iraq, Open Doors can continue to strengthen vulnerable believers through the Centres of Hope.
Through your financial gift, you can also make a difference in the lives of our persecuted family in faith by means of much-needed support and emergency aid. Make use of the banking details below to give a gift today.
Geopende Deure – Open Doors NPC | Absa
Branch: 632005 | Acc: 160 340 568 (Current) | Ref: JE2209
Geopende Deure – Open Doors NPC | Nedbank
Branch: 198765 | Acc: 113 750 4552 (Business) | Ref: JE2209
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Date published: 23/08/2022
Feature image: Ferial standing with children holding books at the Centre of Hope © 2022 Open Doors International
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