Ramadan is here!

Since many of our activities have come to a halt for the month of Ramadan, we decided to try and put on a few "Iftar" meals. (breaking the fast) The problem in Berlin is that the sun doesn't set until after 9PM so the poor people that are fasting, are about to fall over by then! Until June 21st, the days get a minute longer every day. By next Friday, the eating time will be 9:27. For our first Iftar, we had an Iraqi refugee woman come at 3PM to start cooking. She dived right in and worked unbelievably hard for 6 straight hours. (and she was fasting!) As many of you know, I have a knee injury that is requiring I walk on crutches. I way overdid it on Friday helping this woman and was in excruciating pain by the end of he night. In spite of that, it turned out to be an amazing night and a great success. The last people left around midnight and we were as beat as one can be. It was worth the extra work to see how happy the people were. And the food was delicious! We will have an Iftar meal for the 4 Fridays during Ramadan.

A heart-breaking story

I have recently become friends with a Syrian lady named Kara*. She lives in a refugee camp not far from the Lighthouse. She's come to our game nights, ladies' cooking day and German language classes. Slowly I have been able to find out about her story and it is truly heart-breaking. Her parents gave her to a man 14 years her senior to marry at 10 years old. 10 years old!! The man threatened her father that he would kill him if he did not give him his daughter. Turns out the man that married her was her first cousin. (which is normal in the Arab world) At 10 years old, Kara was petrified of her husband and hated him from the first day of their marriage. She had her first child at 14. She loved to cook and entertain guests as she grew older but her husband hated guests and always embarrassed her in front of them. He was a cruel and crude man. One day she came home to find him dead of a heart attack. I asked her if that was a traumatic thing to find her husband dead and she said it was the happiest day of her life! That was 13 years ago. Kara made the dangerous trip by raft through the sea last year to come to Germany, thinking that her life would be better somehow. She brought her 13 year old granddaughter with her. She's been living in a refugee camp (like a big dormitory) for the last year under miserable conditions. She has to walk 10 minutes to a community bathroom, forced to eat horrible institution food that makes her sick, (most of the time she says she eats tomatoes and bread in her room), has to walk miles with knees that are both rubbing bone on bone. She's been told she needs immediate surgery on her knees but there is no one to take care of her so she keeps putting it off. She misses her children and grandchildren back in Syria and wonders if she'll ever see them again. When she comes to the Lighthouse, she seems to forget her troubles briefly and you can even find her laughing at times. In the photo here, Kara is the one in black at the end of the table. Interesting that when she takes her veil off, she has blond hair and looks 10 years younger. She's only 53 but looks so much older because of the miserable life she's had. Right now we are trying to help her find a small apartment so she can move out of the refugee "dorm" and be able to have her own place to cook and live a semi-normal life. Housing for refugees is a huge problem here and threatens to undo this country. They are beginning to rise up and demonstrate now. One of the camps went on strike and everyone slept out on the street one night. Another is striking against the dining room and the gross food they feed the people. The problems are never-ending and it gets downright depressing trying to help them wade through the complex, difficult lives that many of them lead here.

Mother's Morning

We have been trying to get some traction for months with our Mother's Morning on Tuesdays. Finally some women are starting to come and they love it! We have fun snacks that kids would like, we sing German kids' songs, do crafts and just have a great time sharing life together. It's amazing how much joy the women get from coloring a flash card or learning the motions to a German song. It is also a great partnership between us and the German church. The woman in charge is a German believer that has a heart for refugees and a wonderful addition to our team. It continues to be like "pulling teeth" to get people out to events. Life for refugees in this city is very busy. Most must attend language classes 4 hours a day. There are dozens of papers and red tape to pour through just to be able to keep their residency status here. We keep plugging along, trying to find out what works and what doesn't work! Today at least, Mother's Morning was a success!

A new initiative

We decided to try having a women's cooking day at the Lighthouse on Saturday. Abeer (the pastor's wife) was diligent in inviting everyone she could think of. I offered to go and wait at one of the refugee camps for a lady who said she wanted to come. When she showed up, she had 3 other women with her! 2 Iraqis and 2 Syrians. Off we went on the bus & train and arrived at the Lighthouse just as several others were arriving. We ended up with 10 women and 5 children. The goal was to cook and eat together and get to know one another for the first day. The women don't have kitchens in the refugee camps and many of them had not been able to make food they love for over a year. They dived in and began chopping parsley and mint and tomatoes. They made rice and chicken and hummos. They made a delicious Arab sweet. Most of the women wore the traditional veil on their heads but within minutes of arriving at the Lighthouse, they removed their veils which signaled that they trusted us and felt safe. Because women without their head coverings would never allow themselves to be photographed, I wasn't able to get a picture of all of them but believe me, it was a table full of laughter and happiness as they felt loved and accepted and able to forget their misery for a few hours. It was fun to see them creating and decorating, laughing and crying. Some of their stories are just so heart-breaking. The hopelessness is palpable and there is little we can do to help. I think just allowing them to talk and get out their frustration and anger over their situation was therapeutic. I pray as the weeks go on, we will have a chance to share with them the only hope we have and that's in Jesus. I went home truly exhausted but very happy!

a wonderful sight

Today I walked into the Lighthouse and found people all over the place! Some were standing around the kitchen island, eating leftovers out of the frig, others were sitting talking to one another, having a cup of coffee. Still others were studying German together around one of the tables. It was such a beautiful sight for many reasons. First of all, I had nothing to do with it; in fact, there wasn't a foreigner around (except for two German women who had come to give a class). Secondly, our dream of this place being an oasis for refugees to come to and be able to relax, eat, study, whatever, is finally coming true. Thirdly, our Syrian partner, Geryes, is beginning to feel that he's in charge and taking more initiative. He's the one that invited all these people there! I just love it.

Need counselling degree!

Many of you have followed the story of Henry & Abby as I have shared the ups and downs they have experienced since escaping Syria as refugees. Right now we are in a "down" part of the story. The Lord convicted me recently that I needed to get more involved in their lives and try to help them out of this dark hole they're in. This has NOT been easy; in fact, it's been really hard and time-consuming. I have remained good friends with both of them so I am able to mediate. Basically now, they are officially separated and I have become the middle man for their communication! When they try to talk to each other, they end up saying terrible things and practically killing one another. (in front of their 2 boys) Often they will block each other on their cell phone and call me to give the other a message. The situation is dire and I need a degree in counselling to help them unravel their mess. We are now negotiating the days when she will have the children and the days when he will. They can't agree on anything. If they fail to agree amicably between themselves, then it will have to go to court which would be terrible. Abby is still living in one room and about to go out of her mind with 2 active boys. Henry has found a one-room apartment where he can keep the boys for a couple of days at a time. We really need to continue praying that a small apartment will open up for Abby. There are refugees who have been searching for almost 2 years and have found nothing. The city of Berlin is very over-crowded and the refugee surge last year has caused a true housing crisis. Many Germans will not rent to refugees and as soon as they find out, they immediately stop negotiations. This has happened with Abby on several occasions. This story is far too complicated to go into detail about, but suffice it to say that it is a messy as it gets! Help!!!! I feel at times that I'm in over my head but somehow, the Lord keeps giving me the right words and enough compassion (even though I'd like to give them both a hard spanking) to help them to the next step. Please pray for all involved in this story, especially the two little boys who are so innocent and yet are taking the brunt of their parents' hatred and unforgiving hearts. They have seen and heard too much in their young lives. Thanks for your support through this saga!

feeling helpless

No doubt one of the worst feelings in the world is the feeling of helplessness or hopelessness. Last night at our German Language Cafe, we were packed out with refugee students who are desperate to learn the language so they can get a job in this country and make a life for themselves. After class, no one wanted to leave; they sat around and talked forever as their stories of grief and pain spilled out. We listened and even shed tears with them. Some have been looking for an apartment, a room, anywhere to live for almost 2 years! One young man sleeps in several different places every week, not having anywhere to call home, desperate for a room, even a bed to call his own. We really don't know the system here and don't want to get into the real estate business. But my heart of mercy is breaking over this situation. I told some of the guys last night that God sees their pain and we will pray that there is a breakthrough soon. Things have started very slowly at the Lighthouse but there is evidence that all at once we are going to see an explosion! New people are coming every day. Right now, God knows what we can handle. Pray that the refugees will see God do miracles before their eyes and believe in the one true God and Jesus, his Son. This is their only hope!