Oberursel, Germany

The lives of refugees from the Middle East have already been turned upside down physically and emotionally. Many days we are trying to help turn their lives right side up from their trauma to a new culture. God has recently reminded me as I look through pictures of deceased family members from the earthquake and hear stories of sexual assault, family abuse, the dangerous way they arrived in Germany, and other seemingly hopeless stories that it’s about washing their feet because Jesus has washed mine. That’s how we see their spiritual world turn upside down and toward Jesus. And it takes many washings (for myself especially!).

One woman began coming to different programs we have done or sent her son to, such as our Football Camp, Family Fun Day at the church, and Christmas Party, and was open for my personal visits. Beginning encounters were difficult because of trauma and negativity. Yet she would sometimes volunteer and became open more to my crazy talk about Jesus and prayers to Jesus. We have begun to see her spiritual world turning for she said yes to reading the Bible. When asked if she has ever read the Bible, she said her neighbor gave it to her once and said she had two days to return it! Well, I do not know the whole story of that, but I gave her a Bible that she can keep now. And as we read about Adam and Eve, we saw how God provided and still provides and covers our shame from the grief and sins of life and why there is so much trauma in this world. We hope that one day her entire family will turn to Jesus as we continue to learn how to wash feet as Jesus washes ours.

Laura Meller, Serving the City Mission Leader