[Today’s Prayer] "40,000 Syrian Refugees in Turkey Return Home After Assad Regime Collapses"

The Turkish government announced on the 4th (local time) that nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkey have returned to Syria following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his exile to Russia on December 8.

According to Minister Bolat, Syrian refugees living in Turkey generally want to check the condition of their homes in their hometown before returning.

To support this, the Turkish Interior Ministry has introduced a new system that allows Syrian refugees to temporarily visit their homeland up to three times within a six-month period.

Minister Bolat explained that this is to further accelerate the return of refugees.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, millions of Syrians have fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. According to official Turkish statistics, there are nearly 3.5 million registered Syrian refugees within Turkey's borders.

For this reason, the Turkish government closed the Syrian border gates in 2013 to prevent Syrian refugees from entering Turkey. However, on December 9, it reopened two customs gates in Silvego, Hatay Province, and Onkupinar, Kilis Province, in southern Turkey.

Source: News

So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. (Ezra 6:14)

Fourteen years after the Syrian Civil War, we hear that 40,000 Syrian refugees in Turkiye have returned home.

Having fled their homes amidst war and hardship, they are rebuilding their lives and hope.

Lord, guide them as they rebuild their homes and communities in your will.

May the gospel of Jesus Christ, which they heard as refugees, live in them and build them up as witnesses to the gospel in the land of Syria.

Open all ways for the churches in Syria and the Arab world to serve through the Gospel, and touch the hearts of the global church to come alongside them with resources and prayers.

God, may they experience your love and care on this journey, and may they fulfill your vision of the Syrian people rising up as the high priests of the Arab world and being sent out as missionaries to the nations!