Source: Frontiers UK, November 29, 2017
Last year, our team started a fitness class for Syrian women in a Middle Eastern refugee camp. It meets several times a week, with over fifty women in every class.
They are so dedicated that they come even when it’s over one hundred degrees—with no fans or air conditioning!
It’s been a joy to watch the women take part in the class over the months. They’ve come alive, and many are experiencing healing from trauma. For example, one woman said that she hadn’t felt joy since the loss of her newborn child last year. Since joining the fitness class, her hope and joy are returning.
After we’d been leading the fitness class for several months, we realized that we could make an even greater impact in the community. Even though the refugee women were thankful for the help, they didn’t want to always be on the receiving end. They wanted to give back and bless others.
More importantly, they are discovering the One who is the source of joy and hope.
We recently invited our trainees to discover Jesus through God’s Word. We’ve been meeting together every week to hear from the Gospels and encourage one another to live out Jesus’ commands.
They love what they are learning and are showing signs of becoming a community that prays together, supports one another, and cares for others.
» Read full story with prayer points and another from Frontiers, The Christmas Treasure, in which a family serving in Central Asia reflect on keeping Christmas in a place where Christ is not known.