Haven of Hope - Working With Battered Women, the Very Poor, the Elderly, and the Persecuted
The country that we work in is an honor and shame culture. It's important to understand that to turn from Islam is to betray the social circle of the person's world, and betrayal in an honor/shame culture is considered the greatest sin.
So when a person becomes a believer, they lose their whole social circle. This is especially important to understand because in Turkey, your social circle is everything--it's your protection, care, provision, and help in time of need—Turks cannot survive in their own country without a solid social network!
With your own social circle against you, it can be extremely dangerous for a person, especially for a woman. A woman who becomes a believer can face terrible persecution:
When a person becomes a believer, the church becomes their new family, their new social circle. It is so important therefore, that we live as the united body that we are called to be.
So when a person becomes a believer, they lose their whole social circle. This is especially important to understand because in Turkey, your social circle is everything--it's your protection, care, provision, and help in time of need—Turks cannot survive in their own country without a solid social network!
With your own social circle against you, it can be extremely dangerous for a person, especially for a woman. A woman who becomes a believer can face terrible persecution:
- She may be beaten or even killed by her father, husband or relative.
- She may have her children taken from her, not knowing where they are or if they are being well-cared for.
- She may be ousted from her home and chased so that she cannot find a place to stay or even rest.
- She may lose her job or not be able to get employment because of problems caused by her own family.
When a person becomes a believer, the church becomes their new family, their new social circle. It is so important therefore, that we live as the united body that we are called to be.
Haven of Hope - Outreaches
The Haven of Hope ministry provides shelter for the battered and persecuted, as well as providing food, clothing, blankets, hygiene products, and the basic necessities of life to the poor, elderly, victims of natural disasters, and downtrodden of Ankara, Turkey. Everyone we work with and provide for hears the gospel message at least once. We also do follow-up evangelism with those who return for soup dinners, any of our various outreach programs, and ongoing Bible studies.