Syrian Refugee Friends

Playing fussball at the Peace Center

“I come to CFNA Peace Center for English for my children… Wadya (not her real name) told us here are good Christian people who help us.” This was the response from a recently arrived (less than three months) Syrian refugee lady to my enquiry regarding her desire to admit her five children to CFNA’s After School Tutoring (AST) program. Because it is difficult to cross barriers of language and culture when reaching out to recently arrived refugees, in this case from Syria, this response was a most welcome surprise.

It was even more encouraging to become aware of how the Lord has used CFNA during its 10 years of ministry at its Peace Center location. Wadya, a fluent speaker of Arabic and a five-year St. Louis resident, has often been the beneficiary of CFNA services in the past. As has become her custom, she took it upon herself to alert the recently arrived Syrian refugee families about the services available at the Peace Center.

To be sure, God’s ways of bringing people of other faiths to hear and encounter Jesus is often unforeseen. The Syrian lady’s visit to the Peace Center two weeks ago, and her on-the-spot interactions with volunteer tutors and New American student participants immediately triggered a frenzy of phone calls which resulted in three other families (total of 16 Syrian kids) joining the tutoring program that very evening. Moreover, these connections subsequently led to seven Syrian families (over 25 kids) accessing CFNA services like ESL, Tutoring, Health and Wellness Screenings, Drivers Education and Furniture Delivery during the past few weeks.

Even as CFNA hopes and prays for the Holy Spirit to lead our Syrian friends to Christ Jesus, it celebrates the seed of the Gospel sown through all these years of CFNA work in the city of St. Louis. For this, we commend the spirit of Christian love and sharing that the many friends of CFNA have manifested in their simple but genuine Christ-driven interactions with their refugee and immigrant neighbors.

Prepared by Rev. Stanish Stanley Christ Memorial Lutheran Church