People often hear of stories about immigrants finding comfort in God's love, and the story of Syrian refugee Amal is no exception.
Amal faced so many difficulties in life, including the death of her husband in 2015 at the hands of a sniper during the Syrian civil war. As if things could not get any worse, she told CBN News that even her own children were cruelly killed while she was out of the house.
"I left my sons at home and went to visit my sister who lives seven hours away. Her husband had just passed away. I went to comfort her. ISIS members came into my house while my sons were sleeping and slaughtered them," she recalled.
Filled with despair, Amal decided to leave Syria and travelled to Turkey then Greece. "I came to Greece with no purpose in mind. Not for money, not for wealth. I just want to forget what happened to my children. I want to live in a safe place and forget my children," she said.
But with no one to talk to and no one to trust, Amal soon lost any hope to live. She found herself being dependent on sleeping aids just so she could rest. Thankfully, a caring family from the Apostolic Evangelical Church of Thessaloniki came to her aid.
"We are reaching out because we saw that need coming to our door, coming to our city and we had to react," explained church pastor Paul Dimitriadis.
A volunteer from the church named Katy approached Amal, hugged her, and prayed with her. Not only that, Katy took Amal to church where she was given fresh clothes and a chance to take a shower. Those simple acts of kindness did a world of good for Amal.
"When I visited the church on Friday I felt so comfortable and I slept that night without taking a sleeping pill. I was so happy. I loved the program. Everything I heard is so true. It's all in the Bible. It was a happy day for me," said Amal.
The grieving mother later underwent an operation to remove a spot on her liver, and Katy and the rest of the church members served as her support system. Because of them, Amal's faith in God grew deeper and she was able to move on from her past trauma.
"It's true that my children were taken away, but God stood by me when I need him during the surgery. After surgery my connection with God became stronger because I got to the church more often and I could trust God. This is the only thing that matters," she said.
An earlier report revealed that over five million Syrians have been displaced because of ISIS. Thousands of them have found refuge in Greece, although many of them are dependent on kind souls for food, water, and other life-sustaining items.
