Zara looks at me with watery eyes. “I read things about the Rohingya,” she says. Her tears start to flow, and she looks away. “I watch videos of what is happening to my people.”
Zara is thirteen, talkative, and has braces. She has lived in the USA for the past five years. The oldest of five siblings, Zara is both Rohingya and Indonesian. She goes to public school and has many American friends who are kind to her. Zara loves school, watching movies and listening to music. Her father teaches her to cook Rohingya food, like squash fritters. He also helps her to remember the Rohingya language. Zara loves her parents. She helps her mother keep the house in order and makes sure her siblings do their homework.
Every night, Zara watches the news and reads articles about the Rohingya crisis. It burdens her heart and pains her to see what is happening to her people. She misses her grandparents and cousins who are all still in Myanmar. Zara desperately wants to help.
“I just want to do something,” Zara lifts her eyes to meet mine.
“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a social worker,” she says. Her voice grows confident and strong as she continues: “I am going back to Myanmar to help my people.”
Though it will take many years of hard work, Zara is determined to help the Rohingya in any way she can. She realizes how lucky she is to live in a stable country and go to school. Zara does not know Jesus yet, but she has the opportunity to know many Christians and live in a country where there is freedom of religion.
- Pray that Zara, her family, and other resettled refugees will encounter Jesus.
- Pray for encouragement and comfort for families that are separated and heartbroken.
- Pray that when Zara goes to help her people, she will be able to bring the Gospel with her to a people crying out for true healing.