Good news from Syria

In December, we asked you to pray for Gaith, our team member in Aleppo, who has been faithfully serving the people of Syria despite constant danger. Thanks for your prayers! We're happy to say Gaith has been in touch with good news. Closed streets are opening up and some of those who fled Aleppo are beginning to return. 

Gaith* says, 'We have had very peaceful weeks in Aleppo, where suddenly all the barriers and walls separating us from one another were dismantled. We could suddenly walk through areas – less than five hundred metres from our Bible House – which had been cut off from us for years! There we were walking those streets that had been part of our childhood and tears were streaming down our cheeks!'

The word of God bringing joy

Many of you donated to provide copies of children's Bibles that were distributed in Syrian churches over Christmas. Gaith explains, ‘We have been running all the Christmas programmes at churches and schools and it's been such a joy seeing children and young people receive the word of God with such joy!

‘We asked one girl what she would do with the Bible when she got home. She looked at us and asked: “Don’t you know what you do with Bibles? Well, I’ll tell you. These books are holy and they are for ‘the inside’, so that God will live in you. Yes, that’s what he wants. I’ll read them and read them until I know that he’s really inside me.”’

Citizens return

Some who had fled are returning to Aleppo, and many found their way to the Bible Society HQ, Bible House, from where Gaith runs the Christian bookshop. Throughout the conflict Bible House became a place of stability and comfort for many as they tried to make sense of the situation.

This Christmas was busier than ever. 'It was so much fun being at Bible House, meeting people who had just returned from various parts of Syria – or even Lebanon,' says Gaith, 'So many questions were asked and even though so many are still without answers, we are looking ahead with a lot of hope!'

Thank you so much for all your prayers. It’s been a huge encouragement. Please continue to pray for Gaith and the team as they go about their work, and for peace and stability in Syria. Although fighting has largely subsided in Aleppo, the broader conflict continues.

If you want to make encourage others with your prayers, please post on our interactive prayer tree.  

*name changed to protect identity