I've often wondered what I would do if I were a refugee... How would I survive? How would I provide for my family? Would my faith in God grow or shrivel? What would I do with gifts given to me?
This month a refugee who received a gift via another believer in the Body of Christ sent the most wonderful story of what happened as a result of that gift. A gift that was received with thanks, and then used to provide more for others. It is a classic God story!
Sister, you might remember that you sent me some money for my family's food.
Sister when you sent me that money we had nothing to eat. Our baby son had been out of milk for many months and he was slowly starving, so we bought milk for our son and with the rest of the money we bought food. But we didn't eat that food. We sold it to get some profit. Our first day was not so good to earn from the food, but the next day more customers bought our food, and the next day even more customers came.
And now sister, we are able to earn money for our food everyday - not just for ourselves but also for the kids that live in our neighbourhood. We feed 50 kids a meal from our savings that we saved everyday. We feed them every two weeks. The children's smile after receiving the food is so precious. I've attached some of the pictures.
Sister, I would like to request you to please keep us in your prayers that we may keep selling this food so we can earn for ourselves and also for the kids in our neighbourhood.
I'm thankful their food needs are being met because of their own ingenuity and God's grace. Unfortunately their housing is still not secure. They were given temporary space in a warehouse to live shortly after they arrived, and have not been able to find anything else. This is what he wrote about housing:
We are able to earn food, but still we can't afford to get a rented house and the place where we are living we are not welcome to stay. We have to leave this place as soon as possible but God's grace is with us. Every time the owner comes to get us out, when he sees us, he gives more days to stay here and always says, "Get out of here as soon as possible." My reply to him? "Sir as soon as we will get earnings to afford a house we will leave. Please give us some more time." And he always does. But I would request you to please keep us in your prayers so we can have enough stable earning so we can get a place to live.
I want to thank you for the funds you sent us. That fund became a big blessing for us and also for the kids in our neighbourhood.
Thank you so much for being a great blessing for many.
As you can see, God is at work among the displaced, the vulnerable, the "strangers" in the land. We have an incredible privilege to work alongside Him to do what we can, to do what is right, to give what we have, and to step out in faith to provide release from these prisons of displacement.
What can your congregation do today?
- Can you provide a team to resettle a refugee family in your community?
- Can you help ease the burden of living expenses for those who are not allowed to work?
- Can you pray for a specific family?