“Our days were spent in fear and danger, and we never knew what each day would bring,” Youseff* recalls. He and his wife were living in their city in Syria with their five children, “a happy life,” Youseff says. Then chaos erupted in their city, separating their family; they found themselves caught between two armies as the Syrian Civil War escalated.

“My life turned into a nightmare,” says Youseff, who was arrested on false charges. He was thrown into prison, where he endured constant fear, humiliation, and physical abuse. “I was subjected to severe beatings that left me with multiple bruises.” Youseff’s family were left in a state of confusion and fear, wondering if they would ever see him again. They even performed all the burial ceremonies, just in case Youseff was killed in prison, adding to their trauma.

When Youseff was released after five long months, he and his family joined the millions of people who were displaced by the war and fled. Youseff’s family fled to Jordan, to escape the humanitarian crisis and the horrors of Syria.

As of early 2024, Jordan hosts approximately 710,000 registered refugees, primarily from Syria, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This number includes both long-term residents and newer arrivals, yet unofficial figures including unregistered Syrian refugees are closer to 1.3 million.

Yet although Youseff’s family physically distanced themselves from the conflict, Youseff’s struggles continued, as did the concern of his family, as they longed for safety. “I was dealing with psychological issues that needed years of treatment.”

Finding relief and refuge in Jordan

In Jordan, Youseff and his family found relief and refuge among the Christian community. “Through the church, volunteers provided us with much-needed essentials, such as baby kits, milk, and towels, which we saw as a direct answer to our prayers.”

“The impact of this relief was immense, both spiritually and materially,” says Youseff.

“Our faith was strengthened, and our physical needs were met. The love and support we received from our church community allowed us to start rebuilding our lives after the trauma we endured.”

These church volunteers work in partnership with the Bible Society of Jordan, providing Bibles and relief care to refugees and disadvantaged Jordanian families. “We want the people to know the Word of God, which is spiritual bread,” says Munther, General Secretary of Bible Society Jordan. “But at the same time, we can’t do this without showing them practical care, and that we can stand behind them. So, we show them God’s love in a practical way, to provide their daily bread also. This is spiritual bread and physical bread,” Munther explains the title for this project, ‘Bread and Bread’. Because of this project, Munther says, “Wherever you are going now in Jordan, anyone can see that the church, Chrisitan organisations, and especially the Bible Society, stand behind people who are suffering, the poor people, Jordanian or refugee. This is a very strong testimony in a Muslim country.”

Practicing the love of Jesus through relationships

In the first half of 2024, Bible Society of Jordan and the local churches assisted 3,113 families with food packages and other basic needs, and distributed over 1,200 Bibles. “We don’t put pressure on people to receive the Bible,” explains Munther. “We show the love without any agenda. If people ask for the Bible, we are able to provide it.”

Bible Society of Jordan is seeking to help the church show true love by providing for refugees and Jordanians in need. Haya, the program coordinator, explains, “We care about reaching the families in a deeper sense, not only providing them with sustenance, but sharing the gospel in a way that is not a one time event such as, ‘Jesus loves you, take this food package’ — no. It’s more practising the love of Jesus with them through relationships. When you build a relationship, when you build trust, when you provide people with their basic needs, help them live a dignified life … help them regain honour, and a sense of value, they open up to receive more. So, they want to know more about this Jesus.”

Together, Bible Society and the churches want to ease psychological suffering by listening to families and meeting their material needs, restoring dignity to those in need, and supporting the most disadvantaged families in their struggles. They demonstrate God’s love through practical acts of kindness for people of all nationalities. Haya says, “This project is crucial and meeting a big need for refugee and Jordanian families. It has opened doors for different kinds of ministries, through relief.” Because of the relationships built, Bible Society of Jordan have been able to serve these people with ministries such as trauma healing groups and Children’s ministry programs. “What’s beautiful about this project is that it enables us to integrate holistic ministry in people’s lives,” Haya explains.

Haya has much experience from visiting many refugee families in Jordan over the years, and testifies to the impact Christians are having through this project. She heard two main messages from the people they loved and served. Firstly, the families would tell her, “We haven’t seen anyone treat us with love, and we can see that Christians have. We haven’t received support from any organisation within our faith like the church has supported us.” Haya sees this as proof that the church has served people well, reaching and supporting hundreds of thousands of families over the years of this project. “Though we are small,” Haya says, “The impact is big. And this is done through the support of Christians in other countries like Australia, because we can’t do it locally on our own.”

The second truth Haya has seen many times from those they serve is that a lot of the people have come to faith through the war, through the hardships, through the suffering. “They have come to faith because of the love of the church,” says Haya.

“From nominal Christians, from those of other faiths. They tell us that ‘we are happy that the war happened, that the suffering has caused us to come here, because we have come to know God’s love through this journey.’”

Moving forward with hope and faith

Today, Youseff’s family is doing much better, though they still face challenges. “We found hope in our faith and the support of our church community. We participated in Bible study, and I became a servant of the church. We have found a community that supports us and helps us to move forward. We will always be grateful for the love and kindness that has been shown to us during our darkest days.”

Even though Christians are a small part of the population in Jordan, the church is making a difference. Haya wants Christians in Australia to know that “The church is making an impact, it is making a difference in Jordan, and your support is helping us do even more and to reach even more people and have an even bigger impact.” In Haya’s words, the support of donors enables the church “to do its mission with power, with strength, and with faithfulness.”

If you would like to partner with Bible Society Jordan and stand in solidarity with the church as they practice the love of Jesus, you can support the work by visiting biblesociety.org.au/sow.

*Name changed to protect identity.