Middle East (JO) Trip Report
O ur mission team returned from the Middle East (JO) where we served with our 3 Life Center partners as well as 2 new partners. We brought a mixed ministry team that served in parallel.
Throughout the week, we ministered to more than 700 people. Our medical team helped 417 patients, our children's ministry team taught 138 children, and our Character/Leadership team trained 139 people. We also visited more than 20 homes where we delivered food care packages.
We ministered to a very wide range of people groups - Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni, Sudanese, Palestinian and Somali.
Providing medical care
Medical Ministry
Our medical team served at all 3 of our LC locations, but also at 2 other new locations with ministry friends who are serving their communities.
Medical Team - Fitting an arm brace
One of our LCs is a container medical clinic located in front of a local church. We had to rent buses to bring in patients from different areas of the city.
At the end of a clinic, we had a large group of Yemenis and Palestinians who were waiting. There was a large outdoor space so we had the children's ministry do some of our lessons there.
Children's Ministry during the Medical Clinic
At some point, all the adults were there watching and enjoying the lesson. We did lessons on Love and Forgiveness and the adults were very engaged and interactive.
As I shared how we've been helping many people in the region, suddenly I was asked if I helped Palestinians. I was able to say as a matter of fact, we have helped hundreds over the years. They seemed very touched by this.
Palestinian and Yemeni Families during our session
Afterwards, this one Palestinian couple who had participated a lot in the session said he hadn't felt this kind of peace since he once had to stay in a church as a refugee years ago. He wanted to stay in touch so he exchanged numbers with our local leader.
Alawite Family
Children’s Ministry
We were able to minister to a wide range of children with the different ministries. Sometimes we would have a group of Iraqi children mixed with a few Syrian. Other times, it was Yemeni or Sudanese children
Children Ministry
Character/Leadership
We did our Character/Leadership training with multiple groups of youth and adults. The curriculum provides lessons on character traits such as Love or Compassion as well as leadership topics such as Showing Integrity or Mentorship.
We've now been training with this all over the Middle East North Africa. We did trainings with a variety of groups ranging from Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis and Sudanese. Professionally, they ranged from students to a Math Professor, Software Engineer and small business owners.
Iraqi and Syrian Youth Training
Another training was with a mostly Sudanese and Yemeni group. I was blessed to share with them my own experience in Sudan and how as followers of Jesus, I felt a love for the people of Sudan and went to Sudan to help as I could. They were touched by this.
Sudanese and Yemeni Group
Home Visits
I always try to do home visits on trips. It helps the team to see the whole situation of the families that we serve. We split up the team into smaller groups and had the privilege of visiting more than 20 families and provide humanitarian food care packages.
There were many powerful stories and encounters for the team.
For example, one of our doctors was from Sri Lanka, but was a refugee as a child because of the war there. She was able to experientially relate to these families and she shared her testimony.
My group went to a neighborhood where there were many Sudanese refugees.
Walking down the alleyways
On the first visit, the mom spoke English as she studied in university in Sudan. But their family fled four years ago from the war in Darfur, Sudan. Tragically, her mother and sister were killed in the war.
I felt great compassion for her and her children given their loss and precarious situation. I shared that the reason I started helping people overseas was because of the wars in Sudan. I shared that I started WCF and my first medical trip with WCF was to Sudan and we helped hundreds of people there. This became a strong point of connection to all the Sudanese I would meet on the trip.
Home Visit
Thank you for your prayers and support for all of our ongoing work and partnerships here.
With your prayer and support - we are all making a difference together in the Middle East. Please consider monthly recurring gifts so that we can continue providing ongoing medical care and vocational training to the thousands of people we see here every week.
Blessings,
Jerry
