Refugee Who Lost Everything Puts Faith in Christ and Finds New Hope

Within one week, Syrian refugee Amal lost both her husband and her two sons to violence in the Syrian civil war.

"I left my sons at home and went to visit my sister who lives seven hours away. Her husband had just passed away. I went to comfort her. ISIS members came into my house while my sons were sleeping and slaughtered them," she said.

She fled to Turkey and then Greece, becoming one of the thousands of Muslim refugees trying to escape the Syrian war.

But Amal was alone in the country.

"I have no one to talk to. I feel my head is going to explode. I cannot sleep unless I take a sleeping aid. I'm not used to being alone. I'm used to having my sons around me,” she said.

The Apostolic Evangelical Church of Thessaloniki is stepping in to help these refugees, who may feel lost and alone.

"We are reaching out because we saw that need coming to our door, coming to our city and we had to react," said church pastor Paul Dimitriadis.

Amal was ministered to by a volunteer named Katy, who took her to church and let her shower and gave her clothes. She later had surgery to remove a spot on her liver and came to believe in Christ.

"I was baptized because I trust God so much,” she said.

"I want to show God's love to others here and be an example to people," she added. "I'm praying that I'll forget my pain and experience a new, healthy life full of joy."

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 23, 2017