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Christian Women, Evangelism, IMB, Love Your Neighbor, Missionary, Missions, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, Refugees in Vienna, Vienna
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What Can I Do About the Refugees?
by Stacy Dyck
I’ve seen the pictures on the news of all the refugees carrying meager belongings searching not just for a new life free from bombs and persecution, but for a bed, a blanket, a cup of hot coffee. But I see the pictures sitting in Vienna, Austria — at the heart of this crisis.
I’m a wife and a mom. I take care of our home. I make school lunches. I do the laundry. I serve the Lord as best I can. I disciple women and teach Bible studies as part of my service. What can I do for these refugees? What can we women so blessed by peace and privilege do for these women and children suffering at the hands of evil?
A couple of weeks ago I helped other women make some sandwiches for a refugee camp outside of my city. It wasn’t much, but it was something. My Bible study girls and I are preparing to put together bags for the women and children containing things like soap and socks. I’m going to make more sandwiches this week. It’s easy for me because I am here. What can you do from there? What can we as the church do?
We can love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) Start by helping the immigrants in your city where you live. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want them there. What does matter is our obedience to the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Perhaps God allowed the immigrants to come into your city so YOU could share the Gospel with them. Do it. Share the Gospel. And then help them read their mail. Have you ever gotten a bill in a foreign language? It can be daunting. Help them find a doctor for their sick child because maybe they don’t know what to do. I’ve been the foreigner with a sick child in the ER. I’ve been yelled at because my language skills weren’t good enough. A kind national woman helped me. I will never forget it. Be the kind person who helps the foreigner.
We can love those who persecute us. (Romans 12:14) Some say, “I don’t want my country filled with Muslims, they only want to harm us.” Jesus says love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you. It’s hard to argue with Jesus.
We can give to the poor. (Proverbs 28:27) If you would like to directly help the refugees in Vienna you can give to a Christian refugee center called The Oasis. This is the organization I and others are helping with the sandwiches. You can view a list of specific needs on their website as well as how to give to them.
My overwhelming thought as I watched the migrants walk out of Keleti train station, a station I have traveled through many times is, it could be me. It could be me. It could be my child who is hungry and cold. It could be me. It could be you.
But it is not me right now. For this I am thankful and for this reason I will help. I will still take care of my family and my responsibilities. But I will also love my neighbor as best I can. I hope you will join me.
Stacy Dyck is a Texas native and graduate of Hardin-Simmons University. She served as a Journeyman with the International Mission Board in Hungary and has since served in Czech Republic and Austria. She and her husband recently celebrated ten years with IMB. With their two energetic boys they live and share Christ in Vienna, Austria. Follow Stacy on Twitter.
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We all have varying opinions on the policies our countries should establish regarding the influx of refugees. Those kinds of political comments won’t be published. This article is about helping those God puts in your path who are in need, regardless of how they got there. Thank you for bearing that in mind as you comment.
When we say that in order to fulfill Jesus’s command, “Love your enemies,” we must be nice to Muslims and invite them into our country and home, do we really know what a sacrifice we’re agreeing to make? Must we allow Muslim men to enter the country with false stories of “refugee status” and a true intent to slaughter Christians and Jews? Do we say, “Welcome, my Muslim friend!” knowing that he adheres to a faith that encourages him to commit horrendous acts against Christians, Jews, and all other people? Let’s be real about what this means: We are agreeing that we are willing to suffer what has happened to Christian families in the rest of the world. We must be willing to offer our husbands and sons to being decapitated, ourselves and our daughters to being enslaved (to the worst kind of slavery), and being forced into marriage and mothering children who will be born into Islam. That’s what it means to invite Islam into our country. Martin Luther believed Islam was the scourge of God, sent to Christian nations to chastise us. It’s stupid to flippantly gloss over the magnitude of Islamic invasion into Europe and America, like we’re not going to reap any consequences. It’s not just about being nice and donating money. Loving our enemies means sacrifice, pain, and even death.
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Robyn-
I understand your fear. I really do. I live near New Orleans, a major, international port city which would be one of the first gateways for Muslim immigrants to enter this country. The city I live in is home to several industries that are ripe targets for terrorist attacks.
And there’s nothing – absolutely nothing – I can do about it. Yes, I can vote and I can call and email my legislators and urge them to make laws I think are appropriate, but the bottom line is that they’re going to do whatever it is they want to do, and I have no control over that. Neither do you. Neither does Stacy. So let’s set aside the idea of “allowing” or “welcoming” Muslim immigrants into our country (which is different from welcoming individual Muslims into our homes, when appropriate, or ministering to them in other venues). As average citizens, we don’t have the power to allow or prevent them from coming in.
I want to clarify again, as I did above, that is not the point of this article.
Stacy is talking about ministering to people God places in your path no matter how they got there. No matter who they are. Have you not read Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan? (Luke 10:25-37) Muslim immigrants who are already here or who, whether we want them to or not, may come here in the future, are our neighbors. Should we be wise and be careful? Of course. Should we allow our fear to keep us from obeying Christ’s command to share the gospel with others and minister to them? No way.
“Loving our enemies means sacrifice, pain, and even death.”
You’re absolutely right, and that is the kind of “die to self, take up your cross and follow Me” love that Christ calls us to have for others. Because that is what He did for us. While we were at enmity with Him, He laid down His life for us. (Romans 5:8) Christ gave His life to save Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate and the mob who screamed for His death and the enemy Roman soldiers who mocked Him, whipped Him, and drove thorns into His brow and nails into His hands and feet, so that their greatest need – the forgiveness of their sin – could be met.
The apostles got this (and they got it far better than we do today). They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. (Acts 5:40-42) How can we not look upon loving, serving, and evangelizing our neighbors in the name of Christ in the same way?
Safety and caution are important, but they are not the Christian’s number one concern. Our number one concern is to follow Christ and obey Him wherever that may lead us and whatever it may cost us. Where would we be if Christ had not done that for us?
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