Jeremiah - Ping Pong Pals

   
          It was so nice to get to visit our home in the U.S. this last summer. I really underestimated the impact of not being around people I know so well. Being in a new place with a different language is hard, but being away from the relationships I rely on most to keep me sane has been the hardest part. Developing and maintaining relationships here in Norway is just different than the way I keep up with my friends at home. However, I have managed to find some really great friends over the course of the last year and I have been trained in the ancient art of ping pong!

         I have two main friends that I have been able to play ping pong with. Amin is incredible and has mastered the technique of super fast spikes on the ping pong table and my friend Reza is like a kung fu master with spin and speed. Both of these guys are from Iran and are seeking asylum here in Norway. Reza has been here for almost 10 years and Amin has been here for about 4 years. They have applied to stay in Norway and they have been waiting literally for years, the whole time they have been here, to receive an answer. This is a really scary situation to be in. At any moment they could receive a letter in the mail telling them to pack up and get ready to be taken to another town or to be escorted out of the country. So really when we play ping pong together it is one of the few moments where they get to relax and forget for a few hours about their state of limbo.

       After every church service on Sunday we sneak away downstairs to a secret room where we play ping pong for hours. We also get to play at least one other time during the week, and sometimes more people join. This has been a place where I have been able to find friendship, and also a place where I see God's face the most. In the midst of the intense competition we forget about our problems or how different we are and are free together. This has been a life giving space.
       About 2 weeks ago my friends Amin and Reza received word that they have been denied residency here in Norway. This has made them ask all kinds of questions among them being "God if you are my father and I am your child then where are you now?"

       I have been asking this question with them and pleading with God because I do not know how to answer this. I don not know what to say or what to do in these really sad and life changing moments other than try to comfort my friends and tell them that God is still in fact our loving parent, and he will never leave us.

      We have been praying that God would show them that he is still with them even in this hard time. Reza and Amin have been transferred to different cities now and are waiting for one final decision. I am so glad that I have been able to share this freedom with my friends. Even through our differences we found friendship and joy. I never knew God could use ping pong in such a strong and important way. Please pray for my friends, God's children, Reza and Amin as they search for their next steps.