November 16, 2016

Visiting Our Lady Mother of the Church in Marka, Jordan

Nancy Hemminger and Sr. Andrea Koverman

On Wednesday,  Nancy and Sr. Andrea had the privilege of visiting Fr. Khalil Jaar, the pastor of Our Lady Mother of the Church in Marka, Jordan. Under his leadership, the church and school have become a home and a beacon of hope to the hundreds of the Iraqi and Syrian refugees that have poured into Jordan. He opened a building on the school’s campus to provide shelter for five families in a building on the school grounds. He explained that it used to be used for the children’s special programs, but the students themselves suggested giving up the space for the thirteen children, their parents and grandparents because that was the priority. No doubt these young Jordanians learned our Christian duty to care for those in need from Fr. Khalil’s praiseworthy example.

He is delighted by his big new “family” and calls them his greatest blessing. “They have renewed my church; it is full every Friday and Sunday. I consider these people the saints of the 21^st century because they left everything they had rather than give up their Christian faith.” All of the Iraqi refugees are all Catholic and fled from Mozel. He explained to us that ISIS gave them three options: convert to Islam, pay ransom to live in their own country, leave or be killed. About half of the refugees from Syria are Catholic as well, the other half being Muslim.

Our Lady Mother of the Church continues to have their formal day school comprised of half Christian and half Muslim students, run by the Rosary Sisters from morning until 2:00 pm. As space has become available, they have enrolled refugee children, and currently there are 80 attending the formal school. Two hundred more refugee children come to “informal” school in the afternoon from 3-6:30 pm. Who teaches these children? The teachers from the formal school volunteer and do it without pay. Because many children do not get a full meal each day, he makes sure they at least get a healthy snack such as milk and a banana when they come to school. He told us of the day he was shocked and angry to learn that some of the children have so little food in their homes that they have to take turns eating. A nine-year-old girl collapsed from hunger on the playground and made her situation clear when he pressed her to tell him what she had eaten that day, thinking something was making her ill. She had to insist, “Father I did not eat today; it was not my turn.”

Fr. Khalil started an NGO called Messengers of Peace that accepts donations to provide for some of the needs of the four hundred families in the area. The refugees are not permitted to work, and the little money they were able to escape with is long gone. Amazingly, they are able to provide a hot meal for all the refugees twice a week with surplus food from social gatherings and donations. To keep the sense of community strong, the church has created a “coffee shop” of sorts, where the refugees are invited to gather in the afternoons or evenings to share the news of the day or a game of cards over a cup of coffee or tea.

Fr. Khalil’s doctor friends help with medical care, and the local pharmacy allows him to settle the bill for medications at the end of each month. Fr. Khalil is very concerned with not only the physical needs of the refugees, but also with their dignity. He doesn’t want the children to see their parents having to accept donations, and so they are given vouchers they can use to purchase what is needed in the market like other families do. He keeps very detailed records to be certain that the people are being treated fairly and the money goes as far as it can.

Relying on God to provide what is needed Fr. Khalil has turned down some much needed donations because of the discriminatory conditions people place on them. He makes no distinction between the families because of religion or country of origin, but many people do, and would only give him funds if they could be designated to help only a certain group: Catholics, Palestinians, Iraqis or Syrians. He said, “Jesus never asked anyone what their religion was. He never refused help to anyone, and neither should we.”

The most joyful part of the day came when we told Fr. Khalil that we had brought water filters with us and would show him how to use them if they could be helpful. The Sawyer Filters were provided by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, and have the technology to purify dirty water into safe drinking water exceeding the standards used in our bottled water. Five gallons can be filtered every twenty minutes, providing enough water for up to three families. The durable filters will last up to ten years with an occasional rinsing out. Fr. Khalil’s face absolutely lit up when he understood that the filters would solve the problem of having to pay the thirty dollars a week for the limited filtration system his families were using at the center. A bucket was immediately produced, and we showed he and his wonderful assistant, Shehar Hijazen, the late Fr. Fysal Hijazen’s brother, how to assemble, use and clean the filters. With 15 more filters to distribute among the other refugee families, he repeatedly exclaimed that we had solved a huge, huge problem for his people-one that was bigger than we could imagine. He said, “I tell them God will send angels, but not to expect that they will have wings; they will look like you!” We took the assembled filter to the little community living on the campus, and it was instantly put to use in the kitchen, with glasses of fresh water sampled by several of them. Big smiles all around!

Stay tuned for highlights of our visit with the wonderful children and their teachers!