This is the story of Eman*, a Nazarene in northern Israel caring for victims of domestic violence and shining God’s light in dark situations.
Eman scanned the small, simple room. In less than an hour, the woman she met on the phone would be transferred from the police station to her workplace, an emergency domestic violence center. She smoothed the freshly laundered bed sheets, placed the toothbrush in the bathroom, and took a deep breath.
Finalizing the last touches for the guest, she prayed, “Lord God, fill this person soon to come with your peace. Oh God, be with them.”
Eman, 26, lives in northern Israel and is an Arab Christian, a minority ethnic and religious group in Israel. She began working at the domestic violence emergency center 4 years ago.
“It’s such a hard time for them; their whole life is changing,” Eman said
People with different religious and ethnic backgrounds seek help at the center, most of them being women trying to leave abusive families. While the shelter beds are not always taken, the phone is always ringing with people in crises. The center is secure, as detectives have their own room in case women need to consult them or receive guidance. The detectives walk around without uniforms, and guides like Eman are well trained and carefully selected for the work.
“Really, it was like a plan from the Lord [how I got this job],” Eman said.
When the day for the job interview came, she remembered being more nervous than usual, because, “It was in Hebrew and I’m not really fluent in Hebrew.”
But almost miraculously, she did the job interview and could feel herself speaking well. Eman knew the Lord had helped her and heard her prayers. Even today the Lord continues to help her as she now speaks Hebrew fluently.
Back at the center, beauty and brokenness coexist. When the residents come out of their rooms, helpers like Eman talk and make food with them. Sometimes the residents have their kids with them and they all play together. Other times, Eman just lifts her hands up towards the room they are in and prays.
“I really feel like I have so much love within and I would like to share it with others to make them feel safe and loved,” Eman said.
She recalled an interaction with a woman of a different faith background who had called from the police station. Everyone had refused to house her, and she called on the Lord in her moment of need.
“God, please help me if you want me to go out of my house,” she had prayed. “Let this emergency center accept me, and let me go there.”
The woman called, and Eman answered. Her manager quickly gave the approval. After hearing the decision, the woman was so happy. She arrived at the center, and took the next step in her healing journey.
God once spoke through Eman to a woman in crisis. The woman had been through much trauma and was reliving her own actions.
“I remember she was really stressed, and I felt the shame that she was feeling,” Eman said. “It was really heavy.”
Eman reminded the woman how all of us have made mistakes and have sinned. She said to the woman, “You are not a shame for your family.”
The woman was visibly relieved, and Eman felt she had delivered just the right words with the Lord’s help at just the right time.
In a world where showing or speaking about faith is dangerous, even in the Holy Land, there are examples of people like Eman who are listening well to the good shepherd’s leading. She is salt and light in a world seemingly rife with violence and division.
*Full name omitted for privacy.