Developing Horizons Magazine (2).pdf Spring 2017 DHM A | Page 29

Missions
Afghanistan
Mixed with these praises are prayer
requests for not only our Armenian
and Syrian friends, but our hearts
are heavily burdened with the chil-
dren at the camp. One in particu-
lar, Melat, is an eight-year-old boy
from Afghanistan. He is here with
his mother and father. They have
been waiting for over two years for
an interview for asylum.
This week during craft time, I ob-
served him drawing a picture. Cu-
rious as to what the red splatters on
the paper were, I asked him to tell
Iran

Five interviews
later, our Yazti
friends are still
waiting for a
decision to be
made concern-
ing their peti-
tion for asylum.
Porsor, 17, now pregnant with
her second child, talks about
whether her child will be born
in the safety of Austria or in
the terror fields of Iran. Bessie,
referring to them as her grand-
children, holds Ava and Mellie
close.
Partners in Ministry
Thank you for praying for
the Austrian mission.
To support the mission in
Austria, please visit
www.churchofthemessiah.com
or
www. uniquebydesign.com
me about his picture. Melat shared
that the people were all dead, all
murdered and pointed to the blood
showing me how obvious it was to
the experienced observer. I asked
him if this was something he had
seen. "Yes," he said. When I asked
him where, he shrugged his shoul-
ders and became quiet. Tempering
my words and desperately trying to
restrain the tears that threatened to
flow, I asked him to sha re more of
his picture with me, knowing this
drawing was somehow providing an
outlet for his trauma.
Many are the
experiences like
this one with the
children at the
camps. As hard
as it is for us to
hear, or to see,
our difficulty
is incomparable to what they have
endured. They and their families
need the healing touch of the Fa-
ther. We can but pray and trust that
the seeds of love are going deep into
their hearts and will one day bring
salvation and healing.
The Olive Branch
He longing remembered the days of his
childhood: days filled with the nurtur-
ing love of his dear mother, endless days
spent sitting attentively at her feet eagerly
listening as she instilled in him the stories
of their faith. A wonderful story teller, she
made the stories come alive, especially his
favorite, the story of Noah and the great
flood. He could see the vast array of the
beasts of the field. His nose burned with
the acrid smells of their presence. He
could feel the increasing tension each day
between both man and beast, and when
the dove returned with an olive branch,
his heart erupted in joy with Noah and
his family. He felt the rush of peace that
lightened their burden and hardships.
He dreamed of receiving this peace for
himself that came in the symbol of the
olive branch. His mother taught him that
the olive branch came as the gift of peace,
peace that came through the evidence of
land, peace that came through the land
itself.
War came to his land. There was no
more peace. The war came close to home
and he fled his country, seeking to find
a place of safety, a place of peace. Many
years passed and, though he had become a
man, he still found himself searching. He
became rich and famous. He traveled to
distant lands, met with people of various
rank and file, desperately hoping that they
could help him find this peace that he had
learned about as a young boy and yet he
found no peace. One day he decided he
would plant an olive tree in his garden
and grow peace. He tended the tender
sapling and he nurtured it. It grew deli-
cious fruit, but it didn't grow the peace he
sought. As an old man, he returned to his
homeland still searching for this peace...
This story adapted into English is based
on a play that our friend Abdull has
written and produced in Syria. We were
astounded by the depth of searching from
his soul. We see the Lord working in his
life through the power of prayer and we
see how hungry his heart is to know the
peace giver. Please join us in prayer as we
ask the Holy Spirit to break through this
creative hobby.
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Spring 29