A New Opportunity to Share

Dear Friends,

God has blessed us with a wonderful opportunity! A family of refugees from Burma are coming to our area and we have been asked to be their sponsor. Did you know that Jesus and his family were refugees? Shortly after Jesus was born, King Herod found out about the new-born king, and so he went about killing all boys two years of age and younger. Jesus and his family were forced to flee to Egypt. Jesus, Mary and Joseph became political refugees in Egypt until it was safe to go back to Israel. Later, during His ministry, Jesus talked about welcoming the stranger (in this case refugee.) In Matthew 25 Jesus said, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” When we welcome the stranger, the refugee, we are welcoming Jesus! By time you receive this newsletter, the refugee family will already be here. Their names are: Htoo Moo Khu (father); Paw Hsar Say (mother); Moo Hsar Blut (8 year-old boy); Paw Mu Nay Blu (one year-old girl.) This family comes from the Karen people, a people reached with the Gospel by our American Baptist Missionaries. It is a good chance that this family is Baptist and has a direct link to our American Baptist missionary work in Burma.

Our new friends from Burma come with hardly anything. In time they will get assistance from governmental agencies and begin looking for work so that they can support themselves. But in the meantime they look to sponsors to help them with housing, transportation, utilities, groceries, and so forth. That’s where we come in. We will be helping to meet these needs during the next three months.

Not only will we strive to meet their physical needs, but we will strive to meet their emotional needs as well. They come to the Fox Cities knowing no other people from their country other than Htoo Moo Khu’s two sisters, who are also coming to this area. We are their support group – their new friends who will help them feel welcomed. We are the ones who will encourage them in this journey in their lives. This won’t be too difficult to do. Some of us may bring a meal to them. Some may stop over and just converse with them. Some may invite them to a picnic, a ballgame, a church function, or show them the sights and sounds of our community. Yes, this is a ministry we can do!

Several years ago, when we were looking at goals for our church, one goal was to sponsor a “big event.” Most of us thought in terms of hosting a concert or something similar. I believe sponsoring this family of refugees is our big event! I believe God is providing us this opportunity to help us grow as a church, to step in the waters of faith and see if we will trust Him. To be sure, sponsoring this family will challenge us. We might be challenged with language barriers. (I believe Htoo and Paw Hsar know some English, but I’m not sure how much.) We will be challenged with sacrificial giving for to sponsor this family will require our financial support. We will be challenged to make ourselves available as friends to people who are very different than us, yet like us are children of God.

This is a great opportunity for our church to serve Christ and serve God’s people. Let us embrace it wholeheartedly and enthusiastically. I believe that if we do, not only will we bless this family, but we’ll be amazed in the ways we are blessed as well.

In Christ,
Pastor Jim