Students overcome language, cultural barriers to serve refugees in the Middle East

A group of Liberty University students and faculty experienced the benefits of learning to connect with different cultures firsthand when they traveled to the Middle East to serve Syrian refugees over Spring Break.

The trip, held in partnership with Coastal Community Church of Yorktown, Va., included 10 female students and four faculty members: Dr. Melody Harper, residential chair for global studies; Dr. Sherene Khouri, professor of Arabic; Wes Franklin, executive director for the LU Shepherd office; and John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Dean Troy Temple.

“Students who participated in the trip were studying Middle Eastern culture, they were studying Arabic language, and they were studying women’s leadership,” Harper said. “Our activities and our focus included all of those. There was an emphasis on learning culture, learning language, and interacting in that context.”

Kate*, a senior who is studying global studies, said she decided to go on the trip to better educate herself about the Middle East. She plans on pursuing longtime global work after she graduates, possibly in the same area.

“Learning culture is so important, always being a learner and always asking questions,” Kate said, noting that it is easy for the intended meaning of words to become lost in translation. “There’s a term that we use all the time in global studies: ‘contextualization.’ That term means allowing what you’re saying or how you’re presenting yourself to be faithful to what you’re trying to communicate and to the culture.”

During the trip, the group spent time with refugee women and children. While language barriers sometimes prevented the students from in-depth conversation with the local women, the students still used their time to bless them. Despite not being fluent in Arabic, students discovered the impact that even a limited knowledge of the language could have on their witness.

Victoria*, a junior studying studio arts, said she began taking Arabic courses last semester after taking a trip to Egypt. This background helped her better communicate with the local women.

“It was super impactful learning how important language is and speaking in someone’s heart language, because there were so many times that people would see us and automatically know we were American, so they would start speaking in English. But the second one of us would start speaking in Arabic — when we’d introduce ourselves and say ‘hi’ in Arabic — their faces lit up because they were like, ‘Someone’s interested in our culture? Someone’s interested in our language?’ Almost like they had never experienced that before,” she said.

As the students learned more about the incredibly tough situations the refugees endured leaving their home country, they said they were surprised to experience the women’s generosity and hospitality. Kate recalled meeting with a woman who provided tea to members of the group.

“She’s someone that doesn’t have a lot to offer, but when I entered her home, she offered us the last bits of what she had,” Kate said. “It wasn’t ours to reject it but to accept it as a gift. Just seeing the image of God in that and how the Lord, even in some of the darkest situations, shows His character.”

Because of the kindness the refugees showed them, Victoria acknowledged the presence of God that she felt within the Middle Eastern culture.

“What I saw and what the Lord revealed to me is how much of His fingerprint was present there… His presence is evident there because as humans each one of us are created in His image.”

Victoria hopes to be involved in global work in the Middle East following graduation.

In addition to the service opportunities, the group also had the chance to visit historically and biblically significant sites, including Mount Nebo (where Moses saw the Promised Land), Bethany (the site of Jesus’ baptism), and the ancient city of Petra.

“It was very cool going to different biblical sites. … It was so cool seeing how faithful the Lord was to the Israelites, how that faithfulness continues to now, and how he’s still drawing people to himself across that region and all across the Middle East,” Kate said.

Despite current realities in the Middle East, group members said the trip emphasized the power of God.

“In a part of the world where we often see news reports of the challenges and the negative things that are happening, to be reminded that God is still working and that the global Church is present and is faithfully seeking to reach out in the community to be salt and light in the context where they are, was an encouragement and a challenge to all of us,” Harper said.

“As we train champions for Christ, it is important to expose students to a region that they don’t know much about. Immersing them in the language and the culture of that region is one way to achieve that purpose, but also allowing them to meet the real heroes on the ground, was a necessity to learn how to practice ministry in times of persecution and in times of freedom,” Khouri said.

The trip was one of 16 that Liberty sponsored over Spring Break, in conjunction with the LU Serve and LU Send offices.

*Last names have been omitted for security purposes