Samir

He is our inspiration, who moved our hearts to serve the refugees. And this is his story...

I was born in Lebanon but lived most of my life in France. The Civil War in Lebanon ended when I was twelve years old, but jobs were scarce. As a result, my father left for France to find work, and we followed him shortly after. The beginning was hard. We lived on the floor of the apartment my father was working on. After that, we spent three months on the floor in my aunt's home. We lived like refugees.

The night before being invited by my aunt to a Lebanese church, I had a strange dream of a man in white asking me to come to Him. When I woke up, I did not tell anyone because I did not understand what it meant. After the service, the pastor shared with me the Gospel of Jesus. I said yes to accept and receive Jesus. But after that,  nothing changed. 

At age twenty, I returned to Lebanon for holiday. As I was driving, I began to question the meaning of life. I could not understand why we were here. I wanted to find a purpose and meaning. I told the Jesus I believed in a long time ago to give me a sign to prove He was there. If He did, I would believe in Him for the rest of my life. But if not, I would stop completely. Three days after I prayed this, I was invited to a church service. At the meeting, I encountered Jesus in the way like never before. I believe it was his way of answering my prayers. That same night, I began to read the bible, and I have not stopped ever since. When I returned to France, I gave my life completely to God and asked Him to train me so that I can serve Him all of my life.

During this time, the Lord gave me a heart for the Arabic church. Shortly after, France started to welcome in refugees. I was in Switzerland when I heard someone speak about how we needed to go and preach the good news. I prayed and told God that I knew I needed to do something about the refugees but I just did not know how.

By 2016, I began to feel a real disconnect between the church and myself. I could not be passive and do nothing for these people who so desperately need to know the love of Jesus. I felt the Lord tell me to begin writing and sharing about the refugee ministry we were doing.

I have a heart for refugees because I know what it is like to be one; to sleep on the floor, not knowing what to do next. I have a heart especially for the kids, especially when you gain the heart of a child, you gain the entire family. When parents see the impact the Lord has on children, it softens their hearts, then they too can be impacted by Jesus' love. After sharing this heart with people, our small group began to grow. Before long, more and more people joined and began to help. 

Now, I have given up my job as a Marketing Director and my position on the board at my church to focus on this refugee ministry and my family. It has been a huge step of faith, but I trust God to carry me through all storms.