Devastated by War, A Refugee Finds Hope Through Literacy

Sabiha couldn’t read or write.

As a Syrian refugee in her sixties, she had given up hope that she would ever be able to learn even the most basic elements. She had actually given up hope on pretty much everything.

Then she and two of her friends started attending a basic literacy class our team offers.

On the first day of class, Sabiha sat down as the teacher, a Muslim-background believer named Manal, handed out notebooks and pencils to all the students. Sabiha refused the items.

“I don’t want to learn,” she said.

“OK, maybe next class,” Manal replied as she moved on with teaching.

Sabiha always seemed depressed and refused to be cheered by anything.

Later that week, Manal said to me, “We should visit Sabiha and her friends. I can tell they need some encouragement.”

We arranged a visit and came bringing the three women small gifts of food to thank them for their hospitality. As we settled in with glasses of hot tea, they began to share about their lives.

Their stories were hard. All war stories are.

But Sabiha’s was heart-wrenching. She lost six of her eight children to the war in Syria. Six!

Her friends told us that Sabiha always seemed depressed and refused to be cheered by anything.

Before we left, we encouraged Sabiha and her friends to keep coming to the classes, telling them that learning something new might be helpful for them.

We also knew that if they kept coming, they’d have the chance to hear the Word—and be transformed by Christ’s love.

Sabiha and her friends kept coming to the class. And only three weeks later, we noticed a remarkable change in Sabiha.

Their stories were hard. All war stories are. But Sabiha’s was heart-wrenching.

First, she decided to put effort into learning to write. She would stay after class and smile proudly as she showed us her notebook filled with letters she’d been practicing.

Then she started adding beautiful colors to her pages. Her demeanor began changing, and she seemed lighter.

One day she shocked the entire class when she began to sing—something she hadn’t done since before the war had ravaged her family.

Now Sabiha seems like a new woman. We praise God for the change we’re seeing in her.

But we know it’s only a glimmer of the true transformation she can experience in Jesus Christ.

Please join in praying for Sabiha, her friends, and the other 70 Muslim women involved in our programs—that they will hear and joyfully respond to the Gospel as we share Christ’s message of hope.

• As Sabiha spends time with believers, pray that her heart will open to the Gospel and that she will hear the voice of Jesus calling her to Himself.
• Ask God to transform the hearts and lives of the Muslim refugees in programs run by Frontiers teams, and pray for the Good News to reach their entire families.
• Pray for peace in Syria, and ask the Lord to restore hearts, homes, and communities traumatized by conflict.