Project Jonathan

One of my favourite bible verses about friendship comes from Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born FOR adversity.”

Matthew Henry explains as follows:

Swallow-friends, that fly to you in summer, but are gone in winter; such friends there is no loss of. We must often consider what we were born for, not only as men, but as in such a station and relation. Some take it thus: A friend that loves at all times is born (that is, becomes) a brother in adversity, and is so to be valued.

Through the past decade, individually and as a ministry, we have developed intimate, precious, and lasting relationships with a number of believers in Syria.  Our relationships have deepened from mere acquaintances to friends to brothers and sisters and ultimately to soul-mates.   We know that we came into such a family for such a time as this.  Our relationships were not only born IN adversity but FOR adversity.  We know that in the eyes of our loving Father, we do not answer the end of our relations if we do not do the duty of them.

My prayer is that this delight of caring for the believers in Syria will extend beyond our own small intimate circle and that fellow believers will embrace the attitude of Jonathan as he revealed the heart of a friend who loves, and a brother born for adversity.  In  1 Samuel 18:4 we read how Jonathan stripped himself of the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt. 

John Gill comments as follows:

As a token of his hearty love and true friendship, and that David might appear at court not in the habit of a shepherd, but in that of a prince, Jonathan stripped himself of all that he had, his other garments besides his robe, and so clothed him from tip to toe, and which fitted him; for as there was a similarity in their souls, and the disposition of them, so in the make and hulk of their bodies, and in the stature of them.  He then gave him his sword and his bow – these he gave him to accoutre himself with, that he might appear as a soldier, as well as like a prince, and as another Jonathan, or rather the same; that they might seem as one, as alike in body, so in garb and habit.

So, when we visit Syria in 2023 we hope to bless our family in Syria on behalf of the family of believers who share in their adversity.  We pray that we will be like a Jonathan who is willing to be stripped of what we have so that the Church in Syria “might appear as a soldier, as well as like a prince, and as another Jonathan, or rather the same; that they might seem as one, as alike in body, so in garb and habit.“

Please join us in this endeavour. 

The war in Syria has been one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time.   In a country of 21 million people, 14.6 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance, and one in three Syrians is internally displaced.  More than half of Syrians are food insecure, and 90% are below the poverty line

Will you consider making a contribution that we can take to Syria on your behalf.  Every gift, no matter how big or how small, will make a difference.

Your gift can be deposited into the following account:

• M Burnard
• ABSA Cheque account:
• Number:  1008793936
• Please provide your name and SYR as reference