MY ACCOUNT
A few weeks ago in Damascus, I sat with a mom and dad who can’t stop telling stories about their youngest. Angie was 15. A good student who loved the Lord. Exams were coming, and she wanted to go to Mar Elias Church to light a candle and pray.
She did.
It was the last thing she did.
There were long pauses as they spoke. Tears. Then small, beautiful details that made her who she was. The way she studied. The way she prayed. The way she lived simply, with a quiet joy that filled their home. We grieved with them. We honored her life and her faith. And in that small circle, the family of God felt very near.
Angie’s story doesn’t fit into a headline. It won’t resolve in a news cycle. But it is the story we must carry.
Because family remembers when headlines fade.
Faith That Defies Fear
Around us were others who pulled themselves from the debris that June morning. More than 30 believers were killed and many others injured. Survivors told me about crawling out only to discover later that their loved ones had not survived. Many of those left behind are widows now, carrying both grief and the heavy burden of providing in an unforgiving economy.
What happened at Mar Elias was wicked and demonic. Men and women were murdered in the name of religion. The violence was devastating; the trauma deep. Many told me they now feel less protection and more fear. That’s daily life for Christians in Damascus.
And yet—this is what undoes me—they still walk to the church. In the very place of loss, week after week, they gather. They worship where they once pulled one another from the rubble. Their presence defies the darkness. It declares that Christ is worthy.
I came to Damascus to represent Global Christian Relief—and, in a small way, to represent the church in the United States. To sit with families. To listen. To pray. To offer whatever encouragement we could offer. And to begin putting support in place—especially livelihood help for those who lost the person who provided for their home—so they can have a future.
One refrain rose again and again: Don’t forget us. Keep our story alive—not as a headline, but as family. We remember because we are one body. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV). Remembering resists isolation and lets our brothers and sisters feel Christ’s love through us.
To our family in Damascus: we see you. We love you. We will not forget.
— Brian Orme, CEO, Global Christian Relief
Carrying Their Prayers
Survivors asked us to carry three prayers:
- Protection over them and their churches
- Guidance and safety for their families, especially their children
- Unwavering faith—that fear won’t have the final word
Will you carry these this week?
Even here, God is shooting out rays of hope—at the church door, in gratitude that survives mourning, in the quiet courage of weekly worship.
Hope isn’t denial. It’s devotion—walking toward the Light together.
This is who we are: one Church, one family.
They pulled themselves from the rubble, learned loved ones didn’t survive—and walked back to the same sanctuary. That kind of faith humbles us. It calls us higher.
To our family in Damascus: we see you. We love you. We will not forget.
To the Church in the United States: let’s stand where it matters—prayer, remembrance, and practical support that pushes back despair with hope.
They still walk to the church.
Let’s walk with them.
Be a Frontline Partner Stand With Them Every Month
In Damascus, believers still walk to the church—even where bombs once tore the sanctuary apart. Their courage declares Christ is worthy.As a Frontline Partner, your monthly gift goes where it’s needed most:
- Emergency aid after attacks
- Income opportunities for displaced families
- Bibles in native languages
- Other urgent needs through trusted partners
For just $1 a day, you become a lifeline to persecuted Christians—reminding them they are not forgotten.
