‘All This Will End’: A Refugee’s Story

Bethany DuVal • Jun 20, 2018

It had been three days since Amal* lost her son in a bombing outside Aleppo. Not lost as in dead. Lost. Missing. Gone.

Kadan was playing in the street with his friends when a plane dropped a bomb on them. It killed two children and shot shrapnel through 11-year-old Kadan’s abdomen.

Kadan’s brother ran home to tell the family, but Amal wasn’t home. Rescue workers quickly loaded Kadan into an ambulance. By the time Amal got home and heard the news, her son was gone.

Amal rushed to the local hospital, but Kadan had already been transferred somewhere else. In his critical condition, he needed the best care possible. But no one could tell Amal where Kadan had been sent.

“I kept looking for him … for three days,” Amal says. “I looked for him in all the hospitals.”

At each hospital, the answer was the same: We don’t know where your son is.

Kadan had vanished.

A Peaceful Life Destroyed

When Amal thinks of Syria before the war, she has two words for it: “Our life was stable and calm.”

As a single mother of nine children, Amal faced hardships. But her large extended family was always by her side. In addition to working on a farm, Amal helped with her sister’s laundry business. And her family often got together, in good times and bad.

Maybe that’s how Amal stayed hopeful as her country began to crumble.

First, protests started disrupting transportation. Teachers couldn’t get to school, so the schools closed. Then electricity and water started going out. Grocery prices spiked. Then bombs began to fall.

Amal took her children out of Aleppo and moved from village to village, desperate to avoid attacks.

“We kept saying that all this will end, and everything will return to normal, Amal says.

But as the violence increased, that was harder to believe.

Joyful family gatherings turned into mourning — for what had happened and what might come next. Amal worried about where she would take her children next. They didn’t have papers to emigrate.

And then one day, Amal’s great fear came true: Her youngest child was hit by a bomb, and no one knew where he was.

Fleeing to Turkey in the Night

After three days of searching hospitals, Amal finally found someone with answers: Her son had been sent to an intensive care unit in Kilis, Turkey.

The family still didn’t have emigration papers. They didn’t have a car. But there was no questioning what they would do next. Amal found a migration guide, and she and her children walked through the night to reach Turkey.

Kadan spent seven months recovering in the hospital. Then Amal and her five youngest children made the trek to Germany.

Fear in a New Nation

When Amal’s family came to Germany, Amal had to help her children build a new life — all in a language she didn’t know. Photo by TEAM

After a month in a German refugee camp, the family moved to Dresden. Located in eastern Germany, the city offered a great measure of peace. But creating a new life there was still difficult.

Amal had to register her kids for school, find her required German classes and register for asylum — all in a foreign language.

“I didn’t know where to go,” Amal says. “I would be lost if I passed two streets. I was scared because I didn’t know the language.”

Adding to the family’s troubles, the children’s school was over an hour away. It was hard on all the children, but especially on Kadan. He was still recovering from his injuries, and he struggled to make the daily journey.

In her distress, Amal poured out her problems to a fellow refugee, Mina. And as Mina listened, she realized she knew someone who could help.

A Helping Friend for Refugees

TEAM missionary Anne Ingram didn’t come to Dresden to help refugees. She came to plant a church with her husband. But as the refugee crisis grew, Anne knew she had to show God’s love to those in need.

She began helping out at a local community center. She talked with refugees in simple German while sharing meals or playing board games, gradually helping them learn the language. Then she started helping with more complex things, like opening bank accounts or even filing for asylum.

“When they come in, you can almost see the fear in their faces, and sort of this holding themselves back,” Anne says.

Anne drew from her missionary experience to make refugees feel safe. She knew what it was like to move to a strange land with a new language. She knew how it felt to send your kids to foreign schools.

But she also knew how to thrive in Germany — and she shared everything she’d learned with her new refugee friends.

Anne began working with a refugee from Somalia, who introduced her to an Iraqi refugee named Mina. And one day, Mina introduced Anne to a courageous refugee from Syria: Amal.

‘Fear is Gone’

refugee story

Shrapnel injuries made Kadan’s hour-long commute to school miserable. But with TEAM missionary Anne Ingram’s help, he got into a school five minutes from home! Photo by TEAM

Anne quickly started working on Kadan’s school situation. She knew a doctor with a heart for refugees. After a check-up and a doctor’s note, Kadan was transferred to a school in his neighborhood.

Amal’s daughter Sibel speaks English, so Anne started working with her on the asylum process. Together, they tackled the required legal documents. And when the family was accepted, Anne helped them find an apartment — just five minutes from Kadan’s school.

“She helped me in everything,” Amal says. “Also, she facilitated all the legal papers. She helped me even in the house furniture. If I have a parents’ meeting at school, she comes with me. … In other words, we became one family, and I consider her a sister.”

The family’s struggles aren’t over yet. They’re still processing the great trauma they experienced. And while many Germans are welcoming, others insist they want nothing to do with outsiders. One anti-refugee group holds protests every Monday.

Despite all that, friends like Anne are helping the family overcome each new trial.

“I’m not running this major refugee center or anything, but [God’s] given me a family and some others that I get to love in Jesus’ name, and I feel like that’s what I do,” Anne says.

For the first time in years, Amal has hope that her kids will thrive in school and achieve their dreams. When they go outside to play, she doesn’t worry that they won’t come home.

“I feel safe,” Amal says. “Fear is gone.”

*Some names have been changed to protect the people in this story.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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