This is a video interview of three Muslim refugees at Good Neighbor Community Center (GNCC), a Seventh-day Adventist-operated compassion resource ministry in Lincoln, Neb. Its MENA Hope division assists 1,000 mostly-Islamic refugees and other immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to providing immediate physical necessities, MENA Hope offers cultural assimilation counseling along with classes in citizenship, healthy cooking, swimming and parenting.
The ministry was the Oct. 10, 2010 cover feature of Parade, America’s most widely circulated magazine. “God has blessed us with a wonderful opportunity to witness to the entire country,” says Sheila Schlisner, head of GNCC and Adventist Community Services director for the Mid-America Union. Zainab Al-Baaj is director of MENA Hope. Both women are featured in this video interview.
GNCC is showing that Christians and Muslims can interact in peace and compassion. This is exactly the type of cross-cultural, interfaith good-will initiative that society is yearning for and that Christ has called us to do.
GNCC had 58,000 compassion contacts with Lincoln-area residents in 2010. The ministry with its expanded operations is in critical need of generous donations at this time. To learn more about GNCC and its MENA Hope project, visit www.gncclincoln.org and click “Programs” on the tab bar.
