REFUGEES AMONG US

"The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:34 or "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me." Matthew 25:35

One Family's Story

Halawa and his family share about seeing their family farm and orchards for generations completely destroyed by the invasion of Russia and terrorists. When a bomb landed within inches of his son, he knew it was time to seek refuge and leave it all. Trekking miles, sleeping in camps, warming themselves besides burning trash heaps to then be transported to some foreign country. His wife giving birth on the raft as they made their way to Egypt just like Jesus who fled from a political terrorist. Due to the trauma she could not feed her baby nor were foreigners allowed to get jobs. Praying and praying for salvation, a Christian Egyptian woman came to her door and said my Lord sent me to ask of your needs. Upon hearing their dire story, the woman offered to feed from her own breast the starving baby. That later turned to be the very request we heard when meeting this family for the first time was because of this woman's showing the care and love of Christ, this family said "we want to know everything about the Lord Jesus."

Matthew 24:14 says "And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, so that all the nations will hear it; and then the end will come." We believe in a sovreign God and as with Haggai 2:7 "I will shake all the nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the LORD almighty. It is for these reasons that we know that disasters are not a surprise to the Lord and may be His very means of salvation to many as we are faithful and fruitful in sharing His story.

We have engaged in every level of disaster response from the very onset of arrival of Syrian refugees. Gathering them in great groups of 300+ to "welcome them" for which it spread all over social media that not even their own Muslim brotherhood welcomed them. Each was given a picture of us with all our phone numbers, addresses and contact so that they knew they had a friend here to call for help. We visited their homes giving "back to school" backpacks and preparing their children for school after they had not been in school for 6 years. We heard their stories, watched the videos they shared and grieved with them as it were our family. We facilitated doctor and dental appointments, responded to those in distress refusing to leave their apartments for fear of bombs or depressed from all the loss and terror seen. We designed apartment English classes that taught English with the stories of the Word of God. We invited them to park festivals to learn about the story of Easter which connected to their own experience of the sacrificial lamb handed down from their Father Abraham. We invited them to Christmas concerts and took gifts to each home where we shared personally the Christmas story even with Jesus as a refugee. We have journeyed with them through milestones and difficulties here to even the point of helping them become American citizens. An Arabic speaking refugee church has been born of all those who have turned to Christ here.