As many countries face the task of helping refugees adapt to new lives, one may ask, “What can I do to help?

Greg and Amy considered that same question after Greg’s grandfather moved from their house in the United States; they wondered how they could put their now-available basement to use.

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“As I was praying about what to do with our empty in-law apartment in our house, the thought came to me, We're moving Grampa out into assisted living. This space we could rent and make some money. But at the same time I heard about needs of refugees who are needing homes. So I contacted our community services leader here in the Chesapeake Conference and I said, Do you know of anyone who has been bused up from the border of Mexico who are is homeless and needs a place to stay for a while? He immediately called me and he said, Thank you for offering. Yes.”

Their decision came with many questions. Was the family Christian? Did they drink or smoke? Were they honest people? If there were children, would they be well-behaved? The information they received was limited.

“The only thing that we knew was that they were from Venezuela, that it was a family of four, and we knew their names and we knew the girls’ ages. And I think that was all that we knew. That's all we knew and that they were going to be homeless if somebody didn't offer them a place to stay. And so we prayed about it, deliberated for a number of hours, actually, as you can imagine. And finally, one of our dear friends, one of our close church members, he always says, do the next right thing. And that popped into my mind and I thought, you know, do the next right thing. What is the next right thing? Well, the next right thing, the next decision that we can make is, are we going to take them or are we not? And so we decided prayerfully, yes, we will extend hospitality to them.”

“People ask us, how could you do this? It’s such a big thing. We spent 20 years involved in mission work in Asia. And I think the way we do this is just like you said earlier, doing the next right thing, step by step, God stretches you if you are willing to be stretched.”

Like Greg and Amy, church groups and individuals in different cities around the globe are serving their cities by providing help to refugees in different ways.

In Vienna, Austria, a center of influence offers German classes and assists refugees with filling out government forms. The center also has a clothing distribution program. And once a week, individuals can come in to have a nourishing meal and pick up food supplies for their families.

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In the United States, a refugee ministry in Clarkston, Georgia, helps families when they first come into the country by providing them with basic food items. They also provide them with furniture and mattresses.

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The Adventist Learning Center in Beirut, Lebanon, serves Syrian refugee children. Many of the students have experienced traumatic events, and the staff aims to provide them with a stable learning environment. The center interacts with the parents too by offering literacy and English classes in the evenings.

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The staff at the Adventist university in Medellin, Colombia started a special initiative that assists migrant families in starting their own small businesses. Equipment given to the families included ovens, sewing machines[FM1], mobile food carts, and printers. The university teachers provided training on how to use the equipment, how to sell the products, and how to manage their business.

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Fleeing to a new country is a stressful process that involves language barriers, financial challenges, and cultural adjustment. Prayerfully consider how you can help the foreigner in your community. Visit the Mission to the Cities website for more ideas.

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“I encourage you that if you want to make a difference in your community to show God’s love, just do the next right thing, right Amy? Step by step . . . and God will help you and guide you and show you what it is.”

[FM1]

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