Shepherd Society’s 10th Visit to Serve Refugees in Jordan!

Fourteen of Bethlehem Bible College’s students, along with the Head of the Shepherd Society Sari Ziedan, and the Academic Dean Vice President Gabriel Hanna, went to Jordan last week to serve among the Syrian refugees there.

It is the tenth time that the Shepherd Society, along with BethBC and the help of the Alliance Church in Al-Mafraq, organized ministries to the refugees in Jordan. The Shepherd Society goes every year to stand with the refugees. They show them love by standing with them in their pain, praying with them, and giving them basic supplies like food and blankets.

Sari Zeidan, the leader of the group and the Head of the Shepherd Society, said that those seven days where life changing for the students, and that they showed the love and light of Jesus to every refugee they met:

“Our visits were amazing; people were very welcoming, and what helped us the most is that the Alliance Church had built good relationships with the refugees, so they welcomed us and were very generous with us.”

Sari added: “The refugees are losing hope. It has been a while since they are in Jordan. They can’t work, study, travel, and they feel that life gave up on them. That was the hardest thing to feel and hear from them. We tried our best to comfort them, listen to their stories and feel their pain.”

After the visits were over, the group had debriefings every day. Sari says that they were very challenging for him.

“Every night we had debriefing and devotion; we shared the day we had together, and how the visits affected us. We shared the emotions we carried with us after each visit. Those debriefings were very hard, and the students were very heartbroken. It was a challenge for me to make them feel better after such hard experiences.”

Some of the group also helped at the school that belongs to the church. It has around 100 Syrian students, and they come and learn basic things for free. The group helped the teachers in the school, made the snacks and assisted with some activities for the students.

In this visit, the Shepherd Society helped two Syrian women who are starting a new sewing project on their own. They knew from the Alliance Church that these two women are very talented in sewing work, and they gave them money to start their own projects.

About the challenges that the Shepherd Society faces to go on these ministry trips, Sari says:

“Our big challenge is to have enough money for those visits, especially now, because we are running out of money for this ministry. We need to work to fundraise more.”

The Shepherd Society is having another ministry trip to Jordan this year in October.

“We need more funds for this trip, and we are sure that God will provide. We are also going to build a stronger relationship with the Alliance Church, who is doing an amazing job between the refugees in Al-Mafraq.”

We are so thankful for the great work the Shepherd Society is doing both in our community and between the refugees. Please keep them in your prayers, and may the Lord generously provide for all their needs.