Pray

 

The street we live on.  

The atmosphere in our neighborhood changed today and I’m not sure what to do.  The government here is cracking down on Syrian workers in hopes they’ll return to Syria.  The majority of the Syrians here are illegally employed.  Most of the families in our neighborhood are refugees and some ran stores here.  We can help make sure some of the people we know have enough income to feed their families, but overall, it’s barely a dent in the bucket. 

 I don’t have the connections, language or know-how to change the politics of a country neither of us belong to, simply reside in.  Since I’m being blunt and honest, I have to admit, I feel guilty that my presence is welcome here even though I’m even more of a foreigner here than they are, but my citizenship affords privileges I didn’t earn.  

I wonder if I even made an impact in the way people think about refugees in my own country and community while working in Clarkston.  Do more believers see the Biblical basis for welcoming the foreigner?  Do more people understand that when we don’t allow refugees in, we are keeping persecuted Christians out?  (Syria is considered more extreme in their persecution of Christians for their faith than most nations, even other Middle Eastern countries, and by 2013 450,000 Syrian Christians had fled according to the Ester project)  Have you done anything about it?  Have people sought God to ask how He is calling them to reach the nations?  

I hate politics.  Hate is a strong word and I probably shouldn’t use it, but it’s a topic I’ve always avoided.  I especially hate the divided climate currently in the US.  When we first felt called to missions, I didn’t picture politics being a part of it.  I thought we’d share about Jesus, maybe raise funds to dig wells, perhaps use Tommy’s business background to help establish self-sufficiency through microloans and small businesses, or maybe I’d use my background in teaching to promote literacy.  I guess I figured it would have been a mix of evangelism and meeting physical needs.  

I’m not sure what ministry will look like in the coming months.  I don’t know what will happen to the refugees we’ve come to and love.  Some of them have a solid foundation of faith… others are just open to the Gospel but haven’t accepted Christ.  

 

Pray for direction for us, but mostly, pray for direction for the government here and in the US.  

Pray with us that we may show God’s love in a very real way right now.  

Pray for the Christians who may become martyrs for their faith upon return to Syria.  

Pray as the Lord leads you.  

 


 

Christians in yellow countries risk high persecution, orange the level is listed as very high and reddish orange is listed as extreme persecution according to Open Doors ministry World Watch List.

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