Day 6: Refugees

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27,100,000+ per year

"People displaced from their home 

due to conflict and persecution. 

Over 70,000 displaced persons are 

resetteled in the United States every year."

- WORLD RELIEF

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Eyes, hands, ears and feet--not too different from ours.
Except for what they've seen, what they've heard and what they've ran from. Some have experienced mass genocide, the killing of parents and children before their very eyes. Religious persecution. Guerrilla warfare. Human trafficking. War. Many flee miles, barefoot with a single bag on their backs, for the sake of safety. From outcast to exile, from village to camp, from camp to asylum, the refugee never has a place to call their own...

But, you will not see that. You will not even feel that when standing in their home as they pour their best beverage and compile their finest scraps to feed the visitor of a different race or culture. In their presence pride is washed away by the sting of humility. 

How do you outdo them in honor?

How do you outdo them in service?

Most of the time, you can't. Instead, you pray and cease every opportunity to learn more about them. "Respect. Perceive. Engage." said sister Walter of Missions Effectiveness at UIW. I never forgot that advice as I set out to Fort Worth to serve refugees.

Pray for the most vulnerable people group, as they flee. Pray that they will make it wherever they're placed. Pray for strongholds to disintegrate and for the Spirit to abound. Pray for safety, jobs and adjustment. But mostly, pray that they will be placed in the hands of those who know and love Jesus, that they will experience the love of Christ and His goodness. 

Pray with me, for Refugees.