It’s The Right thing To Do
If each one of us reflects on our own stories, we can see God clearly leading and moving in our lives. As I reflect on my own story, I see that I started out focused solely on myself. But then I met the Holy Spirit, and God became real to me. I made a firm…
Read MoreHope in the Tension of Waiting
Dear Church Leaders, The peace of Christ to you! Advent is in full swing—and Christmas is around the corner. What feelings does this season stir in you and your congregation—excitement, sorrow, joy, stress? Rhythms change a bit this time of year, freeing many of us up to gather with loved ones. Personally, I am really…
Read MoreResiliency & Hope in the Midst of Persecution
Fleeing Persecution in Cambodia When Sithy and his wife, Saobot, arrived in the United States in March of 2022, he was not sure what his life would look like. He had been rejected, persecuted, and imprisoned for his political affiliation in Cambodia. Both Sithy and Saobot’s siblings and other family members remain in Cambodia. While…
Read MoreChristmas in a Myanmar Village
Christmas traditions vary across the globe. In Tanzania, families attend church, then come together over a meal of fufu, rice, and goat or cow. In Myanmar, Christmas is celebrated throughout December as a holy month. And in the U.S., sometimes we don’t get to celebrate as long as we’d like. Here, Hanna Niang shares her…
Read MoreRefugee Employees Celebrate 10 Years at XPAC
“Where am I going to find work?” is a question that weighs heavy in the minds of refugee arrivals. Over the last 10 years, XPAC has led hundreds to gain peace of mind and self-sufficiency through employment. The decision to become an employment partner with World Relief Quad Cities came in 2011. “The relationship…
Read MoreHealing For the Nations
Hope, peace, love, & joy. The Advent season is a time for us to hold these things in the tension in which we find ourselves. Christ has come and Christ will come again. Scripture provides vivid pictures of how God’s goodness and life is all around us at every moment. He also promises us a…
Read MoreBreaking Down Barriers: How Autism Has Helped Me Serve My Refugee Neighbors
I’ve lived in the same place my whole life. I have never had to leave everything I know out of fear for my life. In many ways, my life and the lives of my refugee and immigrant neighbors couldn’t be more different. Yet, I do know what it feels like to be on the outside…
Read MoreDisability-Inclusive Development: How the Church Can Answer the Call
“So also we are many persons. But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts. We all have gifts. They differ according to the grace God has given to each of us.” — Romans 12:5-6 Saying Yes to Wisdom When the Kanombo Church of Central…
Read MoreWelcoming the Stranger by Opening their Home and Their Hearts: Q&A with Tim and Gretchen Foley
By Nathan Spencer // How we answer God’s command to welcome the stranger varies from person to person. For Tim and Gretchen Foley, it meant opening the doors of their home on a literal and spiritual level. Tim, who has traveled extensively in the past, said the experience of being welcomed into another’s home left…
Read MoreWorth the Wait: Newlywed Refugees Love Remains
For seven years, Congolese refugees (and newlyweds!), Mbimbi and Goreth, didn’t know if they would ever see each other again. Separated by continents, Mbimbi was stuck in Burundi while Goreth resettled and began her new life in America. In spite of the long wait, the two of them never lost hope, their love growing by…
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