October 28, 2024
At The Border
Our hearts were moved to stand at the river, boots on the ground, and spend a short couple of weeks with the Ukrainians who continue to suffer the loss of so much.
Articles for tag: Refugees
February 14, 2023
Team Expansion, IDES Rushing Aid to Quake Victims
Christian agencies have mobilized to try to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, but an urgent need exists for financial contributions so that more people can be helped sooner. Team Expansion and IDES both shared some of the ways their ministries are helping that region’s earthquake victims.
UKRAINE: Professor and Her Father Find Safety at Haus Edelweiss
“My whole life has been divided into two parts—before and after February 24,” says Yulia, who lived with her 84-year-old father under Russian occupation in Kherson, Ukraine, before they escaped to Haus Edelweiss (near Vienna), where she will be teaching at TCM International Institute.
May 4, 2022
Roma People Surviving the War in Ukraine
The war has affected all citizens of Ukraine, even those on the fringes of society, such as the Roma people. Christians in southeastern Ukraine have been working to create a Bible translation in several of the Romani languages . . .
The Murphy Family Flees Ukraine
“We were sound asleep until a nearby explosion woke us up at about 4 a.m.,” John Murphy says of his family’s experience in Odesa, Ukraine, on the morning of Feb. 24. They looked outside, immediately suspecting a Russian invasion. . . .
UKRAINE: Kharkiv Under Fire; Russians Enter Kherson
Kharkiv has been the target of some of Russia’s fiercest attacks this week. The second-largest city in Ukraine, located about 30 miles from the Russian border, has a population of 1.4 million. Amid destruction, stories of hope have emerged. . . .
December 16, 2018
‘The Gospel Comes with a House Key’
What the Holy Family Teaches Us about Hospitality By Matt Proctor My wife, Katie, has the gift of hospitality. With six kids, our house isn’t always clean, but it’s always open. Katie’s smile, fun red chairs, and paper plates have welcomed hundreds of people. Me? I’m not so good at it. I’m a professional extrovert but a personal introvert. I interact happily with lots of people in my work, but at the end of the day, I want to pull in my driveway, pull up the drawbridge, and enjoy some alone time. Also: I’m not always good at welcoming
July 21, 2018
RISE
How You Can Engage Refugee and International Students in Your Community By Emily Drayne Did you know there are more than 1 million foreign students on the campuses of American colleges? These students come from more than 200 countries around the world. The five countries that send the most students to the United States are China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. Many times, these international guests don’t even see the inside of an American home during their time here. It’s estimated about half the world’s future leaders will study on American campuses. Did you also know that
February 10, 2018
Wayne & Greta Meece: Two Country Kids Serving Together for Nearly 60 Years
By Wendie Gabbard “The blessing God gave to both of us was that we grew up country kids.” Those country kids, Greta from Pennsylvania and Wayne from Kentucky, met as sophomores in college. Rules prohibited them from dating without another couple or chaperone present and the understood boundary was “six inches apart.” Even so, they quickly fell in love and married in Greta’s hometown the summer before their junior year. Pennsylvania law allowed marriage at age 21. As both were 20, their parents had to sign for them. Wayne and Greta Meece then returned to Kentucky Christian College, where she
October 22, 2017
RISE
This project focuses on mobilizing churches, campus ministries, and individual Christians to be more intentional about loving our neighbors from other parts of the world. By Greg Swinney “Now we get to the fun part.” That”s what a team leader said at the conclusion of a meeting that awarded thousands of dollars of grants to churches and campus ministries around the nation. This process began nearly two years ago when Mike Schrage of Good News Productions International shared a dream with ICOM executive director David Empson. After discussing the details, the idea of the RISE Project was born. Multiple
March 19, 2017
Uphold the Cause
By T.R. Robertson When I identify myself with the outcasts of society that too many condemn or ignore, I am prepared to serve them in a way that pleases God. This past fall, during the heat of the presidential campaign, yet another political link appeared on my Facebook feed. The gist of the headline was that Muslims were threatening to leave the United States in protest. Typical clickbait””it didn”t tempt me to keep reading for the details. But I did notice the comments from people on Facebook, most of whom probably didn”t read beyond the headline either: “Good-bye!” “Thank the
March 18, 2017
My Refugee Friends
By Kelsey McKain I first met Wurood, Alaa, and their son, Rayan, through the Kentucky Refugee Ministry Cultural Exchange program that connects local residents with newly settled refugees to help acclimate them to their new city. I”ve known them for about six months, but because of the language barrier, I”ve only recently (with the help of a translator) been able to learn more about their lives as refugees. We sat down in their modest, two-bedroom apartment in the south side of Louisville. The furniture doesn”t match and the walls aren”t decorated, but it”s cozy and it feels like a home.
March 16, 2017
Taxi Drivers, Refugees, and Other Good Reasons to Pray
By Kevin Dooley So what does the kingdom of Heaven look like when it shows up among refugees and immigrants in your town and mine? As followers of Jesus Christ, we are living in a unique time in the history of Christianity””a time when obeying the last commandment of Jesus to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) may not include air travel, but rather taking a taxi home from the airport. For more than two decades my wife, Kim, and I have lived and worked cross-culturally seeking to honor God among the poorest of the poor in
March 13, 2017
OUR MINISTRY TO REFUGEES: “˜Love your neighbor as yourself”
By Matt and Jordan McGuire Early one Thursday morning, we pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex in an area of Louisville, Kentucky, that is oftentimes overlooked. We were among a small group of folks from area churches who drove four Syrian families to Kentucky Refugee Ministries for their first orientation class. We were some of the first Americans they had met, and they were putting their trust in us to drive them an unknown distance to an unknown place. We could sense their anxiousness, as they had just arrived in America the previous night. Though it was
March 11, 2017
OUR MINISTRY TO REFUGEES: We are being changed ourselves
By Juliet Liu She gestures at her stomach, making a bulging motion with her hands. Then she looks up and points at my belly. “You?” she asks. Embarrassed, I pat my stomach . . . a few inches larger than I”d like it to be. What is she asking? Is she pointing out the extra pounds I”m carrying from the holidays? I know some cultures don”t have the same stigma against extra weight that Americans do, but still . . . isn”t it kind of rude to call attention to my belly? The “conversation” continues like this for a while.
March 10, 2017
OUR MINISTRY TO REFUGEES: “˜Jesus shows up for the brokenhearted”
By Justin Horey Tucson, Arizona, may seem an unlikely destination for international refugees, but it is a federally designated “hub city” with one of the largest refugee populations per capita in the United States. Roughly 1,000 international refugees arrive in Tucson every year. Most of them come feeling frightened and alone with few possessions and little money. But a growing number are greeted at Tucson International Airport with balloons, “Welcome to America” banners, and friendly, smiling faces from the people of nearby Pantano Christian Church eager to show the love of Christ to their new neighbors. Pantano Christian started its
March 10, 2017
OUR MINISTRY TO REFUGEES: A “˜loaves and fishes” alternative
By Brad Pontius In an effort to help displaced victims of violence by the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, Indiana, discovered a different way to assist thousands of Iraqi Christians who have been forced from their homes. An initial effort to host refugees in Hoosierland was transformed into a campaign to provide necessary, life-giving tools to 125,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), Christians who lived in the Ninevah Plains near Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. It all began simply enough: an Indiana University undergrad asked Rawand, a Kurdish student from Iraq, “Can I help you?”
Questions and Answers about Refugees and Resettlement
By Kevin Lines Who are refugees and displaced persons? They are men, women, and children fleeing war, persecution, and political upheaval. They are uprooted with little warning and endure great hardship during their flight. They are displaced when they are forced to flee their homes, but remain within the borders of their native country. They become refugees when they cross borders and seek safety in another country. The United Nations” 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by its 1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for
March 6, 2017
The New Diaspora
By Doug Priest As the world becomes globalized, opportunities for evangelism multiply. Now is the time to develop new strategies for reaching dispersed people living in our own cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Back in the 1970s, when I drove on the freeways in Los Angeles where I lived, I saw signs for “Little Saigon,” “Chinatown,” and “Little Korea.” I could go into the center of the city and find myself in neighborhoods of Mexican-Americans, Guatemalans, and Salvadorians. Today the situation has changed. Go to any school district in Southern California and you will find 30 to 40 or more languages
A Christian Perspective on Immigration
A conversation with immigration attorney Land Wayland By Justin Horey President Trump”s election in November left many Americans wondering: Will he really “build that wall,” as his supporters chanted at campaign rallies? Will our new president follow through on his campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented (illegal) immigrants? Will he institute a ban on Muslims entering the United States? The 2016 presidential campaign brought the issue of immigration back into the news and back into the minds of many American voters. It also left millions of people in fear of imprisonment, deportation, or worse because of their immigration status.
