Syria #9: Women's Work
Women’s Work
For the team, Julie Burgess
West Hills Church, Omaha, NE
It was a split-screen kind of day for our team. With no program for our five pastor teammates, they set off with Nuhad for a walking tour of Damascus, guided by dear friend Samia Koudmani. Old Damascus is filled with sites, and from our home at the Beit Al Wali hotel, it makes for a good day of sightseeing and (gasp) shopping. They did both. They were able to get to the amazing souq, which runs the length of the Street Called Straight (Acts 9), finding wooden utensils and spices, and ending up at the Grand Umayyad Mosque, which before the Muslim conquest was the site of the church of St. John the Baptist, where his tomb is historically located. They also visited the Ananias Church, off the Straight Street, a church dedicated to Saul’s conversion to Paul. The house of Judas, where Ananias was called in a dream to minister to Paul, is nearby. They also visited a Shi’ite holy place, the Mashhad (Shrine) of Sayyidah Ruqayyah, great-granddaughter of Muhammad, who died at four years old in 680.
The men had a good day. Samia is an excellent guide. And Nuhad took them to the best schawarma stand in Damascus for lunch. On many trips to Damascus, this has been an enjoyable way to spend the day, and get a taste of the long history of Damascus, its sights, smells and sounds.
Marilyn and I were on a different track...
We first heard of the Hook and Thread Ministry on our first visit during the war in January 2014, when we spent time with the Damascus Church. After worship, a table of beautiful handmade purses and coasters was laid out in front of us. These were all made by displaced women, many widows, who had fled to Damascus from other more dangerous areas. Needless to say, we were struck by the beauty then, and on many trips since we have carried home many of these items to give as gifts. Perhaps you have one or two. I always carry one of the purses with me, and it inspires inquiries into where I got it. I always share the story of Hook and Thread.
Today, we had the great joy and privilege to hear the story in a new way, not only from those who began the ministry but from those who have been served by it. More than twenty women gathered for a 10:00 breakfast of pastries and tea in a restaurant owned by one of the founders of the ministry, Mary Jarjour.
Along with Mary, Ghada Saliba, Hanan Bitar, and Lina and Joumana, were there with these ladies. Most of the leaders are from the Damascus church, and began this ministry in 2012, not long after the war came to their city in the form of refugees.
“What can we do for them?” they asked. And thus, began this amazing ministry.
Here is how Joumana explained it to us:
“We visited refugee families and asked what they needed. We listened to their stories. We began collecting clothes and other items for them. And we came back. We spoke of God’s love and the Bible.”
Out of these relationships, they broke into four groups, each one led by one of the Damascus ladies. They would always share Bible stories with them and do crafts. They would provide the materials to stitch, and when they came back the next week for another meeting, they would buy the finished pieces and give them more materials. It was during these meetings that the women were taught to rely on God, even in the hardest of circumstances.
“The mother is the most important person in the family, and we taught them to fish.”
After two years or so, it became safer in some areas, and the women began to return to their homes. Some have now emigrated to other countries. The Hook and Thread leaders follow up with them wherever they are, and they know that they continue to read the Bible and share God’s word and God’s love with those around them. The discipled have become the disciplers.
We heard their stories as well. Two of these women, (and a third not among us), had been wounded by shrapnel. One of them was still bearing it in her head. This ministry worked with them to get the medical care they needed to carry on.
These women, Lina, Shaheer, Sally, Catherine, Hala, Samar, Talal, Abeer, Nisreen, Samar, Sawsan, Rula, Ava, Rema, Nermeen, Bedrieh, Milada, Leila, Esra, Manal and Najwa, were smiling and open, eager to share their work. All of it was beautiful. They believe that Jesus was in these meetings with them and that he protected them. Many of them are Christians, but not all. Some are Druze, and some are Muslim.
Sawsan in particular shared her story. A Druze woman from Sweida, she participated in a program as a young girl about the miracles of Jesus. At 14, she had a medical problem and prayed to this Jesus who healed. She regained her health, and was engaged to a Christian man. Although her husband has died, she still has this Jesus to turn to, in the midst of this community of women.
As a needleworker myself who learned from my grandmother and aunts, I felt in the midst of people just like me. And even though some experienced pain and sadness with each stitch, Mary reminded them of the dignity of this work. I tried to do the same. Women’s work like this is not often highly valued. These pieces of handwork are worth more than pearls. And here is why:
In the plying of threaded needle through plain cloth, surrounded by the love of God, something more valuable is created. “We may have lost our homes, but we gained our lives and souls.”
If this is women’s work, then count us in.
