Since March 15, 2011, the outbreak of their country’s civil
war, Syrian children and families have borne the brunt of the conflict’s
disastrous consequences. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and more than
half of the population — 11 million people — have been displaced from their
homes.
Five million Syrians have fled to other countries as
refugees and more than 6 million have been displaced within the country. Amazingly,
six of the 5,000,000 found their way to our little mountain town and now live
in a home recently purchased by our church.
While the children are quickly picking up English through
their interactions with classmates at school and in sports, Mom and Dad find
communication in English very challenging. We smile and nod a lot to each other
and depend on the children to act as interpreters.
What is even more amazing is that my husband spent eight
hours a day for an entire year learning Arabic—47 years ago. In 1970, he entered
the United States Air Force with the intention of becoming a chaplain’s
assistant. However, a clerical “error” prevented that from happening, and,
instead, he studied to become an Arabic Linguist.
He hasn’t spoken or heard Arabic in a conversation for 45
years and yet, words are coming back to him as he interacts with this family. His
pronunciation of some of the words causes quite a few chuckles, but his efforts
are greatly appreciated. Who would have known Dick would need that knowledge so
many years later? God knew.
Some might say, “Wow! What a coincidence.” No, coincidence
has nothing to do with it. God, in His infinite wisdom, used that “clerical
error” to set the whole thing in motion nearly 50 years ago! Don’t you agree, that
deserves an awe-filled “Wow!”?
©2017 Pamela D. Williams
