International Refugee Day is Today

I was flying home and turned on the movie The Good Lie – a story about refugees from Sudan moving to Canada. The movie moved me. I was sitting there in my seat with tears rolling down my cheeks as I realized afresh God’s heart for his children.

Our God is a protector of the refugee. I’m so lucky I got to learn that firsthand as a college student helping the refugees from the Cambodian Killing Fields.

I could have done anything with my life. But I committed my life to mobilizing people to reach out and care for refugees and what the Bible calls “the least of these.”

I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way. Like the Reese Weatherspoon character in The Good Lie, I had to learn through experience. One of the things I’ve learned is God doesn’t want perfection from us – he wants our availability. He just wants us to take a step.

Today (June 20) is World Refugee Day, a day when those of us who have been blessed with plenty get to think and pray about those who have nothing.

Yesterday, Uche and Sola Izuora visited me. Missionaries from Nigeria, they have been helping the people of South Sudan for over two decades. So many South Sudanese have had to flee their country and live in refugee camps like Rhino Camp in northern Uganda.

Yet the South Sudanese are just a small part of a global flood of refugees – 117.3 million overall—a record number. Wars and violence force them to flee to find safety.

The UNHCR tells us that “the most effective way to support refugees is by including them in the communities where they have found safety—this means ensuring they can apply for jobs, enroll in schools and access services like housing and healthcare.”

More than 2.9 million refugees will need resettlement in the coming year, People displaced from Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan lead the list.

I’ve found that there is nothing that will change your life like serving refugees. If you’re interested, post a comment or send me a note. I’ll help you figure out how.