In this article, Nova Musafiri, a refugee who settled in Canada, tells his story.

I left my country in April 1993 because of security issues: students were arrested, beaten to death and tortured because of a dictatorial regime, which reigned for over 30 years. I did not have a choice, but had to escape in order to save my life.

I went to Kenya to seek protection and I was accepted as an asylum-seeker and refugee under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In Kenya, refugees are not allowed to stay in the capital city, move freely within the country, work, study, or do business. I was sent to live in a desert refugee camp called Kakuma near the southern Sudanese border. Life in the camp was too difficult– no shelter, not enough water, not enough food to eat, the sun was 104 to 117 degrees Fahrenheit. Nothing could be grown because it was a desert with sand everywhere, lots of wind and no trees. The camp was full of poisonous scorpions and snakes, but God’s protection was always there for me. I stayed there from 1993 to December 2008.

The wars, conflicts, and killing of innocent people are caused by politicians who are well protected. Innocent refugees pay the price. Despite a difficult life in a refugee camp, God did not leave me alone, he directed me to be part of Grace Communion International (WCG) in 2002. I decided to start a church under the mandate of WCG and through this church we got prayer support from our church leaders around the world, particularly in the UK, Nairobi, and Canada. God connected us with some of his people.

James Henderson and his wife decided to risk their lives and visit us in Kakuma camp. It was not easy for them to come into a desert area and undergo the harsh life in the camp, but because of the love of Christ they decided to visit despite the security issues in and around the camp. Many refugees were killed in the camp by armed people. Others died from malnutrition, and children suffered from difficult sicknesses due to lack of proper medical treatment.

When I was in a refugee camp, I did not have any hope, any future, and did not know what would happen to my life since there was no peace in my country and I could not go back. But God knew, and by his grace I was chosen out of 70,000 refugees to come to Canada as a permanent resident. I did so in December 2008 along with my wife and one child.

Life in Canada was a shock to me with its new culture, new food, different weather, and with its public transportation system in Ottawa on strike; but the support and love we received from the GCI members in Ottawa was beyond our understanding. The dedicated people of God, with God’s love, helped us settle in Canada. Small contributions made a big impact; thank you GCI-Ottawa for your support!

Living in Canada has changed my families’ life. We can move freely, I can work, and we have peace. Helping a refugee get out of the refugee life is an unforgettable gift to someone’s life. Around 300 GCI church members are still in the Kakuma refugee camp—they have been living there since 1996 with no hope of getting out.

May God grant his mercy and protection to the refugees of the world.

This article is from Fraser Henderson, one of the pastors in GCI’s Ottawa, Canada, congregation.

It’s hard to describe what it’s like arriving in Canada in the dead of winter. The -13 degree Fahrenheit weather is likely to elicit a curse even from those with robust reigns on their tongues. For the refugees, despite the blistering cold and stark landscapes, there is one thing they can say about this new location they haven’t been able to say for years and sometimes even decades: they are home. Many of those we have been sponsored to immigrate to Canada have chosen to make the sponsoring GCI congregation their spiritual home as well.

One cannot help but notice the sense of belonging they have found in GCI’s congregation in Ottawa. The members who donated many of their clothes and furniture along with much of their time have become family to our ever-growing community of refugees. There is a distinctive buzz when you walk into the sanctuary, one reflective of the usual conversations we had in our church, now punctuated by the joyous sounds of children playing.

Our congregation has been revitalized by the presence of many refugee families. We now have a vibrant youth ministry. Another area that has seen a surge of new life is our worship ministry. Once a month we are now led in worship by the Hope Choir, a group composed almost entirely of refugees. They also sell CDs and perform outside the church to raise money for orphans in Uganda. Their contribution has been an inspiration to many in the congregation.

The contributions we’ve received from the refugees far outweigh the work needed to help them acclimatize. They have become a core part of our congregation and continue to help us grow through their eager participation in evangelism. Most refugees that have attended have reached out to friends, many of whom now also attend our congregation.

Perhaps the greatest inspiration I’ve gotten from the refugee community has been their desire to share the grace they’ve been given with other refugees out there. They’ve worked hard to help people who have been through similar situations adjust to the new life they have here in Canada. Heading up the work we do with refugees is Nova Musafiri (see the article in this issue). His story demonstrates so clearly both the ordeals refugees have to go through but also the incredible gratitude they have in being welcomed into their new family.

At a time when rhetoric, even amongst Christians, is trending towards the extreme, it’s important to remember the roots of Christianity. Christ himself was a refugee in Egypt and every Christian was once a refugee fleeing enslavement to sin. Christ said “Come to me all who are weary and I shall give you rest.” Let us emulate him by welcoming in the weary refugees of the world.

This article is from Janet Morrison who directs Great Commission Trips, one of GCI Generations Ministries’ mission organizations. 

The first time I saw them was at LAX—seven Congolese refugees from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi coming to a new world, a new culture. Though they had heard many things about the U.S., they did not really know what they were getting into. Neither did I.

The story began for us when we visited the GCI church in Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi back in 2011. A few years after that we heard that some of the refugees were allowed to move to Australia, and we put them into contact with a pastor there. In 2015, we heard that three GCI families would be moving to the U.S.

Their paperwork asked “Do you know anyone in America?” The only name they knew was mine. So the refugee agency said they would try to help them move to somewhere near us. There were two major problems: language and money. Los Angeles County is an expensive place to live, and if you don’t speak English or Spanish, and can’t drive, it is difficult to get a job. Lokondela and her family did not know English, so they went to Phoenix, where there is a small Swahili-speaking community and the cost of living is lower.

Ndale knew some English, and wanted to come to Los Angeles. But it was difficult to find anyone willing to rent to a family of seven people with no job. So the family stayed in a motel for a couple of weeks; the refugee agency finally found a rental in Lancaster, perhaps the least expensive part of L.A. County. It was also the city that was the furthest from where I live.

Even before the family arrived, GCI congregations here gathered clothing, food, kitchenware, car seats, and located surplus furniture for the family. Once they had a place to live, we gathered it in a U-haul and moved it to Lancaster. The house had been vacant for some time, so it needed some repairs as well.

There were numerous appointments that had to be kept: for social security, state identification cards, welfare agencies, food stamps, employment agencies, health care agencies and schools. We made many trips to Lancaster; sometimes we had to rent a vehicle large enough to transport the whole family 75 minutes to their refugee medical appointments back in Glendale.

Although helping the refugees was practically a full-time job for a few weeks, the work is slowing down and the family is finding a routine in schools and employment training. There are many hurdles yet to come at school, employment, English language learning, and medical concerns.

What lessons have we learned? Every refugee family is different; families come in different sizes, shapes, skills and languages. Spanish-speaking refugees, for example, will find it easier to assimilate, because there is already an existing community of refugees who can help the newcomers with housing, jobs, government benefits, etc. A Muslim refugee will have different experiences than a Christian. If we intentionally look for refugees to help, our experience may be different than when the situation simply arrives on our doorstep, as it did mine.

Refugee agencies: Los Angeles County has seven different nonprofit agencies to help refugees. Some of them focus more on one people group than another, but most work with all groups. Some of the agencies are connected to a specific denomination, but this does not mean that they focus on people of that denomination, nor even that they try to funnel people into their denomination. If we offer to help, they will view us as allies, not as competitors. To locate refugee agencies in your city google “Refugee agencies in (your city)” Check their website for ways you can help. Call and ask if there is a family that needs help.

Money: Refugees are given some cash when they first arrive. Government agencies provide welfare, housing assistance, food assistance, medical services, job-training programs, etc. The benefits system is difficult to navigate and the amounts can change without any reason being given. For Ndale and Adidja, the welfare assistance is not enough to pay their rent, so they are drawing down the initial cash they were given. After they have been here for six months, they will need to begin paying back their airfares, too. So there is pressure to get a job.

Food: Food is a basic necessity, and it is something that most of us can supply, so the refugees were given a lot of food. But as it turns out, they did not need as much as we gave them. The EBT card (food stamps) program works well, and cannot be used for non-food items. So Ndale and Adidja have extra food, but a more limited supply of diapers, toiletries, and similar needs. The main value of giving food is probably not nutritional, but social: it is a culturally acceptable way of showing support.

Community: Refugees have given up one community and culture to come here. They would of course rather come here than go back to the place they fled from, but they still face a significant cultural adjustment. They can’t just read a book and change their values and expectations overnight. If they cannot speak English or Spanish, their sense of isolation increases. Churches can provide some of what they need; it is also important that some individuals have the time to talk with them, transport them, teach them to ride a bus, encourage them, and help them with the paperwork. Helping this family through the challenges of a different culture has been a learning experience and a joy. I highly recommend it.

Here is a helpful video on this important topic:

A Call and Response: Reaching Out to Refugees in Phoenix