The Refugee Who Built a Gospel Shelter for Refugees

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Nov 14, 2019

In 2016, Ebi lost his country. In 2017, he lost his family — and hope for his future.

Alone in a foreign country, Ebi felt devastated, angry and directionless. But God had a plan no one could have predicted. This lonely refugee was about to become a force for the Gospel among Muslim refugees.

A Broken Life Leads to Christ

Ebi and his family illegally immigrated from Iran to Greece in 2016. By the next year, Ebi’s life was in such disarray that his wife decided she couldn’t remain with him. She took the kids and left.

But through the support of friends like you, local believers and missionaries like me are sharing the Gospel with refugees like Ebi.

As Ebi heard the Gospel again and again, he decided to put his trust in Christ.

From that day on, Ebi’s life took a dramatic turn from anger and hollowness to humility and service. His testimony was naturally powerful among his fellow migrants and Iranians. Many men wanted to hear and know of this Jesus he spoke of.

But life in a government refugee camp isn’t easy, especially if you’re trying to follow Jesus. The persecution from fellow Muslim campers can be intense.

Ebi needed rest and stability as he discipled men who were seeking Jesus. But it was clear the camps couldn’t provide it. And as a refugee, Ebi didn’t have many resources. Thankfully, God was already at work.

Abandoned Office Becomes Gospel Shelter

In 2018, Ebi found an abandoned, single-level office building 30 minutes outside the Athens. The building had been empty for years and now sat lonely beside a major highway. The grounds were overgrown, and most of the windows were missing. Even so, it had a solid roof and walls, a working bathroom and a fireplace for heating and cooking.

Over the next year and half Ebi brought men to the office building. He brought them off the streets and offered them housing, stability and the hope of the Gospel.

During this time, 80 to 100 or more men came through the house.

All of them were Muslims. Many were seekers.

The home had a tight capacity of about 12 men at a time. Whenever the numbers dropped, Ebi would go in search of new Iranian and Afghan men in the Athenian parks. And over time, God began transforming lives!

When Ebi found an abandoned building in Athens, he didn’t just make a home for himself. He spent the year inviting other refugee men to live and study God’s word with him. (Stock photo)

Men Find Jesus Through Discipleship

The men who passed through the office-home were in hard circumstances — but each had the Gospel planted in them. Several came to Christ over that year.

Living there, the men couldn’t avoid the hope of Christ. Whether they had food or not, they started each day in Scripture and ended them by reading the Word together under Ebi’s direction.

Ebi started a Wednesday night Bible discussion group at the house. He brought the men into Athens each Sunday to attend a local Afghan fellowship. And as Ebi shared the Gospel, he met some other people working to share it, too: TEAM missionaries.

Kind friends like you help send TEAM missionaries, like me, to places of critical need around the world. One of those places is Athens, Greece.

We connected with Ebi through the Afghan fellowship. Through your support, we got to give these men cooking appliances, food, gifts and prayer support. We helped them with medical needs.

We also got to help some of the young believers get to a small island to register legally. This offers them the best chance to gain their Greek asylum approval!

Will you join the movement to make disciples in refugee communities? The need around the world is overwhelming — but with willing hearts, we will see God work powerfully. Check out diaspora ministry opportunities today !

Refugees Sent to Share Christ in Europe

In 2019, four more men were baptized after local church leaders confirmed their understanding of the Gospel.

And now, men from this house are being sent to European nations with the Good News! This is how God works organically though the power of the Gospel to establish His church. The indwelling Spirit makes discipleship a natural part of our lives.

There was no plan for this work, and Ebi certainly had no dreams about such a hard life of love and discipleship. And yet, according to our Lord’s grace and will, he has used Ebi mightily. He is multiplying the Church in ways we could not see or plan or fathom.

A Call to Prayer

Ebi still has challenges ahead. He still longs for reconciliation with his wife and young children. They’ve disappeared into Greece, and he doesn’t know where they are. And recently, Ebi was evicted from the abandoned building.

Please pray for Ebi as he continues to serve and disciple men in Athens. Pray that Ebi will find his family, find work and continue to walk by faith, building the Church as he loves those around him.

Ask God to provide a place to legally disciple these men passing through Athens.

As you pray, consider your gifts and skills and all God has given you. How can He use you to love and shepherd those about you? This, too, will multiply for his glory!

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Loving Like Jesus Cross-Culturally (Part 1)

By Megan Lunsford • 23 Apr, 2024

When seeking to serve cross-culturally with an authentic love for others, there’s no better example for us than Jesus. If we sat around a table and threw out the question, “How do we love like Jesus?” I think we would have several commonalities as we respond. For example, Jesus loved all people right where they were. He loved those who were deemed the least, those hardest to love, or those who were His enemies. These are all beautiful realities of the heart of Jesus. When we step into relationships, it can be easier to take on the warmer, more gracious gestures of Jesus’ love, especially in cross-cultural relationships. Think about it––when doing life with those who look and act differently than us, we are already out of our comfort zones and would rather keep things as simple and familiar as possible. But there are other facets of Jesus’ heart we often overlook that can transform us and others even more into His likeness. Jesus is love because God is love. Everything Jesus did was out of love; it’s the mere definition of who He is. As followers of Jesus, He calls us to the same: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John:7-12) Every display of love we offer to others is an opportunity for them to encounter the ultimate love of the Father. That’s a pretty big deal! In this article, we’ll look at three expressions of Jesus’ love that we tend to overlook when engaging others cross-culturally. (Next month, we’ll look at three more.) 1. Jesus loved sacrificially. Everywhere Jesus went, crowds followed Him. We even see times in Scripture where Jesus had plans to step away for time alone but those who were hurting found Him and He had compassion on them and stayed with them. Can you imagine rarely having any time to yourself but, instead, constantly being surrounded by crowds of people wanting help from you? Jesus loved sacrificially. He welcomed all who came to Him with love and compassion, never turning anyone away. “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) In the same way, we can make room in our lives for Jesus to bring sacrificial interruptions which, in His eyes, are orchestrated encounters to transfer His love to others. It can be tempting to be so “on mission” that we are full steam ahead and find ourselves frustrated when the Holy Spirit sends an interruption into our path that we feel we don’t have time for. Or, perhaps, we have scheduled a meet-up but it’s the norm in another culture to be 30 minutes or an hour late. We anxiously think through how it will affect whatever we have planned next. While it’s normal to feel a little stressed, what if the very "interruption” standing in front of you was really a divine appointment sent by God? Or what if that person running late experiences how peaceful and gracious you are in adapting to their culture and therefore, they can encounter a beautiful display of Jesus’ love? To truly represent Christ, we should remain ready and willing for each assignment the Lord sends into our path, no matter the cost or how much we will have to re-route our day. He is always a hundred steps ahead and will work all things for His glory and our good. 2. Jesus loved by discerning each situation well. Think about how many situations Jesus had to respond to on a daily basis. We read in Scripture that there were lines of people waiting to be healed by Him, talk to Him, hear His teachings, or simply touch the hem of His robe. Jesus was fully dependent on His Father to discern each situation before addressing it. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) Another temptation we can have when in a relationship with those God has sent us to is to think we already know the solution or what God wants to do before we’ve even asked Him. We believe we are full of knowledge, so we just pull from the bank we have stored within and go with it. However, when we access what is familiar to us as our default, we risk missing out on a God-given solution that might truly be the key to unlocking whatever challenge is in front of us. What does this look like when interacting with others? We can simply ask, “God, what is on Your heart for the person standing in front of me?” Then we listen and respond as He speaks. When we make it a daily habit to pause and hear God’s heart for each situation before responding, we are guaranteed to be effective in loving those around us. He knows the heart of every person that will cross our paths. Imagine how impactful we can be if we first lean on His wisdom and discernment before moving forward. 3. Jesus loved by speaking truth. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. If we are honest, this conversation makes us a bit nervous as none of us would be comfortable with Jesus calling out intimate details of our lives that we would prefer to hide. But Jesus went further than just airing her dirty laundry. He offered her the hope of the Gospel and a relationship with Him - a divine fulfillment that could never be found in an earthly relationship. Jesus modeled a powerful example of loving others well cross-culturally. He took the low place and spoke truth, truly out of love––speaking to her heart from His. Like Jesus, our goal in sharing the truths about Him and His Word is to bring hope and satisfaction through Him alone. When we speak truth from Scripture, we are calling others higher into all God has for them. The tricky part here is we should avoid speaking truth if it isn’t first fueled by compassion. If it merely comes from a place of judgment, condemnation, or self-righteousness, it will fall flat 100% of the time. But if it truly comes from love, you are likely to not only win a heart back to the Father but, like the story of the Samaritan woman, even an entire village! If you see someone living outside of God’s best for their lives, ask God to show you your heart before engaging theirs. Once your heart is properly postured, you can speak truth out of an overflow of God’s love and trust Him for a transformation in their lives.

Hospitality, Help, and the Hope of the Gospel

By Suzanne Pearson • 16 Apr, 2024

TEAM Canada provides warm welcome and trusted friendships for diaspora populations living far from their native countries. As TEAM Canada workers Peter and Ruth (names changed) drive from their home to a nearby community center, they pass numerous apartment buildings and townhouses. Most of the families who live there are immigrants. They’ve left their countries of origin due to political unrest, trauma, and other difficulties. They’ve left family, friends, homes, jobs, and personal wealth behind. They search for peace, justice for the oppressed, and rest from fear and weariness. And as they adjust to a new country and a new language, they are often very isolated from others around them. “The sad reality is most immigrants are never even invited inside a Canadian home,” says Ruth. Peter and Ruth and their team try to change that reality. For the last nine years, the team, which includes workers from partner organizations as well as volunteers, has held English classes at the community center. Three days a week, over 60 students from more than 20 countries come together to learn English as well as to fellowship together and receive practical help in assimilating to a new normal. Meeting Needs and Building Trust That practical help may come in the form of procuring furniture, clothes, or dishes for newcomers, assistance with creating a resume and finding a job, or teaching people how to navigate Canadian laws and the medical system. As these tangible needs are met, relationships are built. “We invite them into our homes for meals and games,” Ruth shares. “We take them on hiking trips, picnics, outings, and out for coffee.” This is particularly important in this type of ministry because most immigrants come to Canada from cultures that value hospitality. Conversely, Canadians do not typically prioritize hospitality and consequently many newcomers feel lonely and isolated. Inviting folks to various gatherings and outings allows the team to spend extended time hearing people’s stories, struggles, hopes, and dreams. When she speaks about building friendships, Ruth’s heart for the people she serves is evident. “Hearing their stories, it’s easy to love them, and many have become close friends,” Ruth says. “We recognize the value of steady one-on-one relationships.”