Being a Person of Peace this Lenten Season
Friends, As we approach Easter, I am reflecting on the life of Jesus. His time of ministry has had the greatest resounding impact ever known, changing this world over the past 2000 years. I am grateful for the obedience of Jesus to the will of the Father and I am struck by how much God…
Read MoreWhat does a year hold?
When I consider the new year, I’m struck by how little we know about what it will hold. In 2019, we had no idea that the pandemic would shut down the world in 2020. Before 2020, we had no idea that Afghanistan would fall in 2021. In 2021, we had no idea that Ukraine would…
Read MoreWhy Choose Generosity?
Generosity can look like many things, but to a couple from Keller, TX, generosity looks like obeying the biblical mandate to care for the foreigner. Read what compels them to be generous. Why Choose Generosity? The Johnson’s* moved from College Station to Keller, Texas, in 2007 after graduating from Texas A&M. After several years of…
Read MoreChurches in Washington are Using Coffee to Change the Lives of Refugees and Immigrants
If you’ve been to Western Washington, you know that coffee is a big deal. Seattle consistently ranks near the top of “best coffee cities in America.” One analysis even found there are 56 coffee shops for every 100,000 people. Coffee is such a big deal, in fact, that many local churches have fully outfitted coffee…
Read MoreIt’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 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 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 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…
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