In this story · 15 parts
  1. A little background
  2. Numbers have faces
  3. The first time I saw her
  4. Her story
  5. Lord, what can we do?
  6. Thousands of miles apart
  7. From help to relationship
  8. Then something unexpected happened
  9. One family became nine
  10. Evangelism is relational
  11. The global Church
  12. Today, she is sixteen
  13. Who is your Sevannah?
  14. A final thought
  15. A prayer

I want to tell you about a little girl. Her name is Sevannah. When I first met her, she was about three years old. Today, she is sixteen. And when I look back at her story, I realize something.

We thought we were seeing one little girl. But God was seeing much more.

01A little background

I have been serving in Adana, Turkey, since 2009. Since 2011, we have also been serving Syrian refugees and sharing the Gospel with them.

When the Syrian crisis began, millions of people were forced to leave their homes. Many came to Turkey, and some ended up living in extremely difficult conditions. We began visiting refugee communities and families, bringing practical help whenever we could: food, hygiene supplies, medical assistance, clothing, and sometimes simply our presence.

But our heart was never only to provide physical help. We wanted people to know that God had not forgotten them. They were not just refugees, and they were not just numbers. They were people created in the image of God. People with names, with families, with stories. And people who needed to know the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

02Numbers have faces

When you work with refugees for many years, you hear a lot of numbers. Thousands of refugees. Hundreds of families. Millions of displaced people. Numbers are important; they help us understand the size of a crisis. But if we hear them often enough, we can forget the people behind them.

Behind every number there is a person. A mother. A father. A child. A name. A story. And one day, God reminded me of that through a little girl.

03The first time I saw her

There were many children around us. Some were running, some were laughing, some were playing. But one little girl caught my attention. She wasn’t running around with the others. She stayed very close to her mother. She was quiet and shy, almost as if she wanted to disappear.

I didn’t know her story yet. I just saw a little girl standing beside her mother. But something about her stayed with me. Later, we learned her story, and when I heard it, everything changed.

04Her story

When Sevannah was about one year old, boiling water spilled over her body. She suffered severe burns over a large part of her body, and some of her fingers and toes became fused because of the burns. She was only one year old, and she had already gone through something most adults would struggle to endure. Now, at three, she was living with the consequences.

How many people have looked at this little girl and never known what she has been through?

Maybe someone saw a refugee child. Maybe someone saw a poor family, or another person who needed help. But God allowed us to see something different. We saw a little girl who needed love, medical care and hope. And we knew we couldn’t just walk away.

05Lord, what can we do?

We also knew we couldn’t fix everything. Maybe you know that feeling. You see poverty, sickness, broken families, children suffering, and you ask, “Lord, what can I possibly do?”

I’ve learned something in ministry: God doesn’t always ask us to solve everything. Sometimes He asks us to be faithful with the person He has placed in front of us. We couldn’t solve the refugee crisis. We couldn’t change what had happened in Syria. We couldn’t help everyone. But we could love one little girl. We could listen, pray and help. And we could tell the Church about her.

So we began sharing Sevannah’s story with Christian brothers and sisters in America, and the story became much bigger than Turkey.

06Thousands of miles apart

There were people in America who had never met Sevannah. They didn’t speak her language and had never sat in her home. But when they heard her story, they cared. They prayed, and they gave. Their support helped make it possible for her to receive difficult medical treatment and surgeries.

To me, this was about much more than financial support. It was about the Church being the Church. Different cultures, different languages, different backgrounds, connected by one thing: Jesus Christ. The Church is bigger than our congregation, our city and our country. Jesus is building His Church among every nation, language and people, and when one part of the Body sees a need, another part can respond.

07From help to relationship

The medical treatment was important. The surgeries were important. But something else happened: a relationship began. We didn’t just bring help and leave. We visited, listened, prayed, shared meals and talked. We became friends, and over time our relationship with Sevannah’s family grew deeper.

People don’t want to be treated like projects. They want to be known.

They want somebody to know their name, to listen to their story, and to care about them when there is no immediate crisis. Jesus saw people. He stopped for them, listened to them, ate with them and entered their lives. Ultimately, He gave His life for them. That is what we wanted Sevannah’s family to experience. Not simply “Here is some help,” but “We see you. You matter to us.”

08Then something unexpected happened

Through our relationship with Sevannah and her family, we began meeting other families. One family introduced us to another. Friends introduced friends, and neighbors became connected. We visited homes, prayed, shared meals, and talked about life, suffering and hope.

And eventually, nine families came to the Lord.

I want to make something very clear: I don’t take credit for that. The glory belongs to God. Not to me, not to our ministry, not to the people who gave, not even to the people who served. We were simply available. God opened the doors, prepared hearts, gave us opportunities, and brought people to Himself.

09One family became nine

Think about how God works. We saw one little girl; God saw nine families. We saw a medical need; God opened a door for relationships. We saw a refugee community; God saw people He loved.

Never underestimate what God can do with one act of obedience.

You don’t know what your “yes” will produce, or who will be reached because you helped one person. You may only see the first step. God sees the whole journey.

10Evangelism is relational

Sometimes we think evangelism has to happen on a stage, with a crowd and a microphone. God can certainly use those things. But some of the most meaningful moments I’ve seen have happened around a table, in someone’s home, during a hospital visit, while praying for someone, or while listening to someone who is hurting.

Evangelism is not only about having the right words. It is also about having a life that points people toward Jesus. When people experience genuine Christian love, doors open for genuine conversations about Christ. We should never separate compassion from the Great Commission. Jesus told us, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” That command is not only for pastors or missionaries. It is for the Church.

11The global Church

A believer in America can pray for a family in Turkey. A believer in Turkey can pray for a church in America. When American Christians helped Sevannah, they didn’t simply help a child in Turkey. They became part of her story, and through her story, part of the story of nine families.

That is partnership. Some are called to go, some to send, some to pray, some to give, some to encourage. We don’t all have the same role, but we are part of the same mission.

12Today, she is sixteen

I’ve watched her grow up. When I think about that little girl standing beside her mother, I realize how little we understood about what God was going to do. We didn’t know that people in America would become part of her story, that relationships would grow, or that nine families would come to the Lord. We simply took the next step, and God kept opening doors.

13Who is your Sevannah?

Maybe there is someone God has placed in your life. Someone whose name you know, whose pain you’ve noticed, but whose story you’ve never stopped long enough to hear. You don’t need to know everything. Maybe you simply need to take the next faithful step.

  • Call them
  • Pray for them
  • Invite them
  • Help them
  • Listen to them
  • Tell them about Jesus

Maybe God is putting Turkey or refugees on your heart. Maybe you want to learn more, help a family, or come and serve. I don’t want to tell you what God is asking you to do. I want to encourage you to ask Him.

14A final thought

We saw a little girl who needed help. But God saw more. He saw a family, relationships, nine families, an open door for the Gospel, and American and Turkish believers serving together as one Body.

We see one chapter; God sees the whole story. We see one person; God sees generations. We see a problem; God sees an opportunity.

Sometimes we see a little girl. But God sees a mission field.

A prayer

Father, thank You that You see what we cannot see. Thank You that You know every person, every family, every story, and that no one is just a number to You. Open our eyes. Show us the people You have placed in front of us. Give us hearts willing to love, hands willing to serve, courage to speak, wisdom to listen and faith to obey. Help us remember that Your Church is bigger than our congregation, our city and our country. Take whatever we place in Your hands and use it for Your Kingdom. We don’t know what You will do with our “yes,” but we trust You, and we give You all the glory. In the name of Jesus, Amen.