When I first met this family, I knew there was something different about them. The mother hired me to teach her children English. She made me feel comfortable in her home. Her kids were sweet and kind.
I felt honored when the mother asked me to join their family for dinner. She made sure the meal was something I was allowed to eat “according to my religion.” I appreciated her thoughtfulness. In other Middle Eastern homes, I had been served meats that were not biblically clean. These situations were awkward for me and my hosts. However, in this home, I didn’t have to worry about offending them.
Sitting at the table, the children asked about when I first moved to the Middle East. Their questions weren’t the typical how-do-you-like-it-here questions. They were direct and meaningful.
“Were you bored when you first arrived?”
“It’s funny,” I said. “I thought that moving to a new country would be very exciting. When we first arrived, my family stayed in a small apartment. There were no toys, no books, no paper or crayons, and no TV service. My siblings and I were bored out of our minds!”
The kids perked up. “The same thing happened to us when we moved to Cyprus!” the oldest girl said. “We stayed in a small dormitory. Except for a few mats, the room was completely empty. There was absolutely nothing to do.”
“How long did you live in Cyprus?” I asked.
“A few years,” she replied. “Mama studied for her Master’s there.”
“Were you scared at first?” her brother asked me.
“I did feel uncomfortable a lot. Everything was foreign, and I couldn’t understand a word people said.”
He nodded his head in agreement.
“When we started school,” the oldest girl said, “we were the only children in class who needed an interpreter. I tried to talk with the other girls, but most of them wouldn’t wait for my slow and broken Turkish. I felt isolated.”
I understood.
“We started to learn Turkish,” her brother added. “But our problems didn’t go away. I realized a boy who I had thought was my friend was actually making fun of me.”
Their younger sister figured out what we were talking about. She was eager to join the conversation. Her English was not as good as her older siblings, so she started chatting away in Arabic. Her sister stopped her.
“It’s not polite to speak in Arabic when Teacher Sarah is here. She can’t understand you. You want her to feel included.”
That was very kind of her to say. She knew what it was like to be excluded from a group because of language.
Their brother spoke up. “There was another boy who befriended me. He became my interpreter, my Turkish teacher, and my best friend. He stood up for me with the other boys. Things got a lot better after that.”
“You remember the people who were kind to you,” the older sister said. “A friend can turn a terrible situation into a good one.”
I nodded. And I knew that I had just found some friends of my own.
I realized what was different about this family. They demonstrated the heart of a sojourner.
Exodus 23:9 a “Do not oppress a sojourner, as you yourselves know the heart of a sojourner.”
Through my experience in the Middle East, it is easy for a sojourner to feel oppressed. Finding a job, learning the language, and adapting to the culture—these can be disheartening. When you find someone who is willing to go the extra mile, they can be a breath of fresh air. Though they may not realize it, they are fulfilling our Heavenly Father’s desire.
Once I knew the heart of a sojourner, I was never the same. Not only did it change the way I viewed life, but it also changed the way I related to others. It gave me the desire to help and connect with other foreigners, and I was more sympathetic to their needs and feelings.
Because I know the heart of a sojourner, I can better love my neighbor as myself.
Do you live in your home country? Who are the surrounding foreigners? How can you show kindness to a sojourner today?
Are you a sojourner in a foreign country? How can you show kindness to other sojourners?
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Beautiful testimony! Thank you for sharing! Praise Yah! 🙌
This is beautiful & we indeed are to love everyone with Jesus' love. Sadly being hospitable and extending hospitality and inviting strangers off the street (female/families, never a single male) into your home for a cup of tea, or freshly brewed coffee in a pot, or for a delicious home cooked meal especially in my home country though born here, as a stranger in a strange land, a pilgrim, sojourning only passing through as a citizen of heaven is sadly viewed as highly suspicious, people distrust it, and think you must be mad, & need to be sectioned, and I discovered around ten years ago It can be dangerous too!