My visit to Syria was quite enlightening. A group we sometimes travel with was going and we signed up to go with them. A dear Syrian brother had come to the states to minister and he stayed with us. So we were excited to go to Syria.

There is so much history associated with Syria. The first written language came from Ugarit in Syria. The Christian Church was very big in Syria. Remember the Apostle Paul was going to Damascus to persecute the Christians when he met Jesus on the road.

The country is or was quite modern but still had third world charm. This picture shows the little shops on the streets of Damascus. If you walked another block you would see huge department stores. We visited several places that sold Bibles and even visited this Bible Book Store in Damascus. It was a rich and rewarding experience to meet Christians who could trace their ancestry back for many generations.

I had always thought of Syria as persecuting the Christians but discovered that was not true at all. There were some restrictions that we here in the United States would not understand, however the Christians did not feel they were abused.

We flew into Aleppo and it was a beautiful city. My heart cries as I realize that now most of the city is destroyed because of the on going civil war. We met so many lovely, on fire Christians and I pray for them because I have no idea if they are alive. I do know our one brother went to Switzerland with his wife and children but I don’t know about the rest of the people.

I pray peace will soon come to Syria with the freedoms they had, restored.

Still praying,
Jan