AN UNEXPECTED TIME OF REFRESHMENT | JORDAN

From the airplane all you see are rolling sand dunes and grey boxes that eventually make themselves out to be block houses that sprawl for miles upon miles in the middle of the desert. You wonder how the ancient world ever landed themselves here. With very little water, no natural resources and sparse pockets of green you are shocked that this country is home to 10 million people.

With this physical landscape you wouldn’t of expected Jordan to be exactly the refreshment I needed in this time in my life and Aleph’s broader vision that we have been praying over.

What a privilege it was to be in an oasis in the desert, a sign of hope, and God’s provision to these beautiful Syrian women.

Many of you might know that I have been shifting the majority of my focus from design, training and manufacturing to mentoring and bible teaching.

With the events of last year and ongoing difficulties during this pandemic, we decided to put a pause on our Aleph Apparel and market space. For a while I have felt overwhelmed and stagnant to the point of even feeling like this chapter of my life was completely done. But this opportunity I had to serve in Jordan reignited my passion and love for what I get to do.

Right as I walked into the homes of these Syrian families, the emotions were high with gratefulness. They couldn’t fathom why a complete stranger would come all this way to teach them. They wanted to feed me everything, offered me a room to stay in and “Shakran’s” (Thank You’s!) for days. There is nothing quite like Middle Eastern hospitality.

Prior to my arrival in Jordan, the women expressed the desire to learn how to make a dress. While in South Africa, I spent time researching and creating a dress that would be an appropriate style for Middle Eastern women to wear. And thankfully, the one I made and brought to teach them was a hit! I had two weeks to impart as much as I could about dress making. Thankfully, they were comfortable and skilled already on the machine which made my job much easier.

Everyday we met at Maria’s house. She has 10 kids that I just fell in love with. My friend and I chose to do the training at her home because of all her children and obvious demands of motherhood.

With each passing session my heart grew for Jordan, the Middle East and these women. They had both fled with their families from Syria 10 years ago. One women, a widow, fled with her 5 children from Homes, Syria to the border of Jordan which is a 3 day journey. She said they couldn’t stop for anything, they were literally fleeing for their lives.

Once she got to the border, she was met with a flood of other Syrians in her same situation. Thousands had come to find a safe haven in Jordan. At this point, there were just too many people and not enough help. Hungry, weary and tired, someone told her of a church that was assisting refugees in a city close by. Finding the church, she also found family, shelter, clothing and food! They treated her with the greatest of generosity and dignity she will never forget.

It is ironic how often in tragedy we experience the deepest forms of love. Maybe its because we are desperate and light shines brighter when darkness closes in. But also the heart softens in times like these. It opens up to receive truth and love when great devastation has been experienced. Often we don’t realize our need for God until our world falls apart.

God didn’t want this tragedy to happen. He doesn’t want us to experience heartache, war, death, hunger, assault or anything traumatic. But this is the world we live in, and people are not living according to his original design for us or for this world. Eden was so long ago… and as a society we are continuing to move farther and farther away from his original design. And yet, He still wants to bring us back, show us what Eden was like and restore what people have stolen. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of helping Him bring comfort, understanding, provision and truth into such a dire situation.

What these women have experienced no human should ever have to. Yet in it, The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob showed up and shared with them who He is.

My heart is for people to know that God never wanted us to go through life like this. He wanted Eden, a perfect connection, enjoyment and satisfaction with Him in this world. And not only with Him but also in harmony with people, nature and every living thing!

I am so thankful that our God is a God who restores. A God that is gentle, patient and kind. A God that is for Life, He is just and true and desires to dwell with us.

The women are already making and receiving orders for dresses. One lady had an interview with an NGO that is hiring seamstresses! I am so grateful to have been a part of helping remind these women of what the world was really suppose to look like.

Please continue to pray with us as the women build their businesses or look for work in the industry. We are all hopeful in what God is doing.

With Love,

Vanessa