Responding To The Refugee Crisis - 4/16

by Terry Jaurena

  Since some of you have asked and I’m certain others have wondered. As a church, are we responding at all to the current refugee crisis? The answer is yes, we have and we will. The numbers and the needs can see overwhelming and paralyzing. But God’s people are responding and we can find ways to meaningfully engage.

 Lydia Pugh (now Cover) served as our Children’s Ministry Director in the 1980s. She was also involved in mission ministries. Just this February she made her 2nd trip to Lebanon coming alongside Lebanese Christians in their service to Syrian refugees. From our mission budget, we contributed funds for the first trip in 2014 and were happy to do so again this year to provide school supplies and meet other needs. Here’s an excerpt from her post trip report:

 “I was at two Centers alongside Christian nationals who are running schools for refuge children; went on home visits to refugees and to women’s bible studies; also to a tent settlement camp. Five years ago there was no spiritual hunger in Lebanon, but trauma and tragedy of war has opened people’s hearts to seek Good. Those in the small evangelical churches continue to serve sacrificially with joy as they care for, and share Christ with, the Syrian Refugees. There is a Harvest in Lebanon now! … Your gift encouraged the Believers who are serving and the Refugees who received the gift from them.”

 Our denomination’s World Outreach Committee is connected with partners in Lebanon, Turkey and Germany who are responding and we gave funds to this effort with three goals:

1.   Provide the Bible in Arabic and Kurdish on mp2 audio players to a church-planting team on the Syrian border.

2.   Purchase food, clothing, medical & discipleship materials for distribution to refugees in Lebanon.

3.   Send EPC disciple-makers who are fluent in the native languages of the refugees who will spend two weeks to three months assisting evangelical refugee welcome center in Europe.

  In November of last year another of our partners whose place of service boarders Syria was in Fresno. Several of us heard his report of  the open doors they have to work, especially with the children in camps or communities of refugees. Mostly because he asked me to come, I’ll be traveling there in June with others from our area to visit this ministry, exploring how we might respond and what help we might be able to send.

  Paul Marr was one of several from our church who took the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class in 2015. He connected with one of the speakers who is partnering with an effort to share the gospel with refugees in Sicily. Paul will be part of a fact finding and exploratory team June 21-July 1.

 The World Outreach Committee of our Presbytery invested time at our January Presbytery meeting to learn about refugees and responses. We heard from several different perspectives: a church attempting to engage, a mission worker eager to get to Germany to respond, a training center in Europe preparing Muslim background believers to reach out to refugees, and about the resettlement process from a World Relief representative. It’s a long process from camp to resettlement anywhere for refugees or displaced people.

Those of you who are on Facebook and are connected with the Lorings or the Stoschers know that these  partner churches and the Bible School in southern Albania have been visiting and ministering in the refugee camp at the border of Macedonia and Greece, named Idiomeni. 

Please pray for them! Our own Linda Osborne will be able to give a firsthand report of their work when she comes to visit us in May.

  God’s people are responding and ministering to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of these who have lost so much. May we be found faithful to care for them and may they find what they and we need most – Jesus.