By a member of SEND’s Diaspora | North America team

We have a new grandson! This is great news to us, but not so great news to his older sister. Why? Before he was born, the first-born got all the attention, but now, that cute little baby is getting all the attention. This happens to every family that has more than one child. The first child feels the shift in the family, even when mom and dad (and grandpa and grandma) work hard to ease the transition.

This same thing can happen with refugees and immigrants. The world is complex and as war and social unrest continue to displace people, new refugees and immigrants constantly flow from one country to another.

Actually, the system is designed to work this way: New arrivals get most of the available help and those who have been there longer get less help. The problem is that local resettlement agencies are overwhelmed and can’t keep up with the regular support and contact they are supposed to provide. As a result, even though last year’s newcomers didn’t get enough help to transition from being a refugee, they are left without much assistance. This can leave these vulnerable people struggling and frustrated.

What an opportunity we have as the Church to step in and provide Hope and Light to these hurting people. Most of these people have never interacted with Christians before and never would have had the opportunity to even meet a Christian in their home country. Now they are here in our midst! As we assist in practical ways of teaching English, being a friend, helping them learn our culture, and teaching them things that will make their transition easier, we can also provide the light and truth of Christ.

If our faith is deeply integrated into our lives, it will come out through our daily activities. When a situation develops we can say, “Let’s pray about that first and ask God for help in understanding.” Or a husband can demonstrate his love for his wife in front of guests at meal time by helping to clear the table and do the dishes, not just leaving it for the women to do. These are small yet powerful ways of showing God’s impact on our lives. I can almost guarantee it will generate conversation that can lead to spiritual things!

I know it can seem overwhelming at first. Where do I start? How do I reach out to these people? Pray about it and freely ask others from your church to join with you and work as a team. Ask if anyone in the group has a new Muslim neighbor or if anyone knows of a new refugee family in town. Drop in, say hi and get to know them (they are far more open to spontaneous visitors than we are). If you don’t know of any new families, you could contact a local refugee resettlement agency and offer to help.

Remember Jesus, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36, ESV).

When you see a refugee, harassed and helpless, see them through the eyes of Christ and pray for strength and wisdom to deal with whatever the daily crisis turns out to be!