Ministry Updates

Seeds of New Opportunities Serving Central Asian Refugees

June 11, 2026
by Claire Ulrich

“Lord, what are you doing? Who are you reaching and drawing to yourself? Show us, help us to find those people. Help us to have eyes to see.”

This prayer was recently shared by Roya, a TEAM global worker, as she shared her experiences serving the Lord, both overseas and in the United States. To understand her current work, it’s important to know her story. Roya was born and raised in the Middle East, the daughter of TEAM global workers. She returned to the US to attend college, where she met her future husband, who was born and raised in South Asia by TEAM parents. Roya shared, “My husband really had a heart to go to Central Asia long term. God really touched my heart too and I thought, ‘I want to go to Central Asia as well.’ Later, we ended up dating and getting married and going to Central Asia.”

The couple spent nearly a decade and a half working there as English teachers with an NGO. Their son and daughter were raised there. But in 2021, the family had to leave Central Asia. After a year in Turkey, the Lord opened doors for them to serve Central Asian refugees who were at camps in Albania. Even through the uncertainty surrounding multiple moves, Roya shares, “We saw God’s hand in all of it. Clearly, He was leading and directing and guiding.”

I thought, “I’m going to take God to Central Asia …”. But when I got there, I realized God’s already there. He’s already at work behind all the courtyards and the walls. He’s already working in hearts.

Roya says: “God took us to Albania…. We arrived at midnight. By nine in the morning, we were sitting in a church reading through the book of Luke with Central Asian refugees. One of the ladies who was there had been our former colleague back in Central Asia. It was clearly the Lord’s hand.”

The refugee camps were an incredibly busy place; up to 8,000 people came through the program. One woman that Roya met had been in a position of power in Central Asia. This put her in danger and she had to flee quickly. Roya shared that this woman started coming to church, then slowly started asking questions about Jesus. After the woman was settled in another country, Roya continued to watch her grow. She shares: “She has a Bible and when we visit her, she’s reading the Bible and she’s so eager just to be reading, reading, reading.”

We’ve been able to plant seeds and then they’ve gone somewhere else and someone else is continuing that work and God is the one who’s with them through it all.

Roya adds, “We get to see some of those little snippets of what’s happened. And we feel like we’ve been a link in a chain in their lives. We’ve been able to plant seeds and then they’ve gone somewhere else and someone else is continuing that work and God is the one who’s with them through it all.”

Once the refugee camps in Albania shut down, Roya and her family followed the Lord’s leading to a new place of ministry. They are now serving Central Asian refugees in the United States. They have been in this ministry for several months and have already begun to see how the Lord is blessing this new endeavor, helping them to build relationships with the refugees that they are meeting.

child doing a puzzle in the classroom where Roya is serving Central Asian refugees

From the classrooms of Central Asia to the refugee camps and centers of Albania and the United States, Roya’s heart for telling people about Jesus has only grown. From the conversations with individuals, to parties attended by many, Roya is grateful for the ways that the Lord has opened doors for her to share the Gospel with others. She comments, “God is already at work in places. When I first went overseas to Central Asia, I thought, ‘I’m going to take God to Central Asia …’. But when I got there, I realized God’s already there. He’s already at work behind all the courtyards and the walls. He’s already working in hearts.”

*name changed to protect privacy