Prayer Focus

Forced to Start Over — with Nothing [June Prayer Focus]

June 5, 2018
by Mark Watson

Fear swept over Farrah* as rebel soldiers pulled her family over to the side of the road. They hadn’t even made it to the Jordanian border yet.

She and her family had packed all their money in socks and fled their Iraqi village after rebel forces took over. But now, here they were, face-to-face with the people they were trying to escape.

When the soldiers yelled for everyone to get out of the vehicle, Farrah obeyed. Instantly, there was a gun at her head.

She knew they wanted the money. Slipping a hand inside one of the socks, she thought, “If I could just take one coin, it would make such a difference in our lives in Jordan.”

But she quickly overcame the temptation. She knew she would be shot if the rebels found even one coin on her.

The soldiers finally left, but only after taking every last coin Farrah’s family had.

They would have to start their new lives penniless.

Refugees like Farrah are being displaced every day. They didn’t choose to leave their homes. But they now find themselves trying to survive in communities that are not their own — often with severe trauma.

While these people face overwhelming hardship, God is calling us to show Christ’s love in tangible, practical ways.

This June, will you pray with us for refugee ministries around the world?

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1. Pray that workers can meet the varying needs of refugees.

Imagine having to suddenly leave your home and start over in a foreign country with little to nothing. You don’t understand the language. You don’t know the legal systems. How can you hope to even find a job or reliable transportation?

TEAM missionary Laura* teaches English to refugees in California. She knows English is a basic survival skill for many of the people she helps. But she says she’s learning more and more that there are other needs hiding beneath of the surface, like transportation and medical help.

Learning English is one of many needs refugees have when they come to the U.S. While learning the language, they also have to figure out housing, transportation and employment! Photo by TEAM

Please pray that God’s people will recognize the varying needs of their new neighbors. Pray that they will reach out in peace to these vulnerable families without hesitation.

2. Pray that nations will open their doors to refugees.

Government policymakers can be apprehensive when it comes to helping large amounts of refugees. But these displaced people need somewhere to settle in order to reconstruct their lives.

TEAM missionary Sara Titus is working with two Chinese refugees, Anicka* and Eva*, in Prague, Czech Republic. They were forced to flee their homeland due to religious persecution.

Last February, they — along with 84 other Chinese refugees — were denied international protection. They have appealed the decision. So now, they wait, fearful of what the future might bring.

Unfortunately, situations like Anicka and Eva’s are common now that the refugee crisis has become so immense.

Ask God to move in those who have the power to act on behalf of people like Anicka and Eva. Pray that refugees will be able to stay in places where they have already learned the language and formed friendships.

3. Pray that refugee ministries will receive the funds they need to continue.

Due to economic strain, many government-funded programs have been cut since the refugee crisis first broke out in 2011. But the need for these programs is still as great as it was seven years ago.

“The needs are endless… [but] the situation now for refugees still here is worse than it was at the beginning of the crisis,” says one TEAM missionary. “Many of them are so desperate that they are going back to Syria, even though it is still quite dangerous there.”

Pray that God’s people will rally around refugees, even when entire governments might look the other way. Pray that refugee ministries and programs will receive the resources and support they need.