Extremist groups like Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen push for extremist Sharia – a fundamentalist version of Islam characterized by an unwavering demand to follow the Quran – to become the law of Nigeria. That would mean more than 200 million Nigerians would be forced to follow Sharia, even though Christians make up nearly half of the country’s population. 

In an interview with Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada, Mark Lipdo of Stefanos Foundation said “We the Christians have raised our voices against the demand for Sharia, and we have also called the international community to look at that.”

But even if they can’t get Sharia implemented across Nigeria, these militant groups will still leave their mark on Nigeria. According to some victims who have encountered these groups, “They come in successions. Some come in front [and] carry firearms, and they shoot sporadically, scaring people. They are followed by those who carry machetes, whoever they come across, they hunt them down. They make sure that they kill them brutally so that they scare people away from those communities.”

Nigerian believers pray for intervention (Photo courtesy of VOM Canada)

What’s devastating is that Christians who are now being hunted know these extremists. Many Christians have even invited them into their homes. Many of these groups started as wandering nomads who moved from place to place. In some communities, Christians provided these nomads with food or places to stay. “These people have enjoyed the hospitality of the Christians over the years,” Lipdo says. “All of a sudden, these people you have known as good people are supposed to be living with you in your favor, they’re now behaving like your masters, making demands, and attacking and killing you.”

What’s more, officials seem uninterested in intervening. “The government is not treating it as a threat to humanity,” Lipdo says. “We are expected to live with people that arise at any time and do such havoc. This is the plight of the Christians here.”

So what does a Christ-like reaction look like? According to Lipdo, the response needs to be one of love. “We continue to love even to our death, hoping that the government administration we depend on will somehow solve this problem,” Lipdo says. “We don’t have an option, but to love. As Christians, once you stop being a Christian, or stop loving somebody, you’re becoming worse than what you profess.”

Support Voice of the Martyrs Canada here.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

However, Bethany Christian Services’ Chris Palusky shares, “We’ve been following in the news and what we understand is there was a deal with the previous administration with those refugees in the states allowing them to stay while their case was being heard. We’ve heard that’s being overturned or at least going to courts right now.”

After coming to America, some of these believers were unaware that they needed to apply for an asylum visa within one year of their arrival. WNYC News reports that under the Obama Administration, a deal was struck so Indonesian Christians could live freely if they met with the ICE on an annual basis and were not involved in crimes or other offenses.

But after President Trump signed an executive order last year, that has changed and it seems the deal has been brought to an end.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

The order mandates ICE to detain those suspected of immigration violations, regardless of their criminal history. This is what led up to the arrest of the Indonesian Christians and the court case.

Around 50 believers are being affected right now, many of whom have been in the states for decades, have built up lives, been married, and now have children.

The case of these Christians was heard in February and for now, the judges have blocked their deportation. However, follow-up hearings will be this month, and if the people are deported they could face problems in their home country.

Religious Persecution

Many of these believers have fled Indonesia because of the religious persecution they saw or faced in the Muslim majority nation.

“In a place like Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world…it’s a large majority of Islamic groups and the Islamic leadership. So, Christians are a minority in Indonesia. And in many cases of Indonesia – it’s a big country – they face persecution,” Palusky says.

WNYC News says that Arthur Jemmy, one of the Indonesian believers who is being affected, left Indonesia twenty years ago after seeing a preacher beheaded by a Muslim mob.

Persecution of Christians continues today. Just last month, an Islamic extremist attacked a Church in Java, Indonesia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has stated that the country is religiously free, but it is still #38 on the Open Doors World Watch List – eight places higher than it was last year.

What Bethany is Doing

Bethany helps resettle refugees who have faced persecution like this as they come to America.

(Photo courtesy of Bethany Christian Services via Facebook)

“Usually we try to partner with churches. So, when we resettle refugee families, we work with a church partner and we try to have them linked up so they’re able to welcome them to the United States, help them to find appropriate housing, which we also do, and get them signed up for school, proper clothing, and then really build a partnership and a friendship,” Palusky says.

A number of these Indonesian believers have sought refuge in their churches so they wouldn’t be detained or deported. In this way, they have found a home and created deep friendships.

Bethany encourages you to reach out to refugees in the United States.

“Become involved. I think right now in the United States, we’re a bit fearful of what refugees are and what we have are preconceptions,” Palusky says. “But they’re usually women and children displaced by war and they’re the most vulnerable. So please find out about refugees, get to know a refugee, and get involved with refugees. It’s a great opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ.”

To get involved, contact Bethany here.

Pray these believers will be allowed to stay in the country. Pray for hope to stay intact no matter what the future holds.

“You will not find the refugees in the mud these days, but you will find them in camps where the conditions are really not good,” he says.

An article published by Slate describes the situation in the camps, saying about 40 percent of the refugees are children. The risk of human trafficking is high. There has been slow progress to improve the situation. Ioannidis says while some families have been able to move into more permanent housing, most people are still living in tents and other temporary shelters.

Sugar and Tea: the gift of hospitality

(Photo courtesy of AMG International)

From the beginning of the crisis, AMG International has been there to offer food and shelter. Until last year, their time with each refugee was brief. That’s because most of them were only passing through Greece to get to Western Europe.

AMG did what it could to make each person feel welcome while they were there. When you’re in a strange place among a strange people, the gift of something familiar is a powerful one.

“Part of our efforts were to provide basic material for them. And, of course, if you’re coming from places like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, tea and sugar  are very important. It is a part of the basic essentials they use, it is essential for hospitality,” Ioannidis explains.

A shift in ministry

But then, the northern border was closed down, stranding tens of thousands in Greece with the only option to enroll in the slow asylum approval process. Ioannidis says more refugees are coming into the country, but at a slower rate than before.

(Photo courtesy of AMG International)

With the movement of refugees out of Greece slowed down, AMG International saw opportunity not only to be hospitable, but to build relationships.

“It has gone way beyond basic essentials like tea and sugar and just spending a little bit of time with them [and] engaging with them on a more long-term basis. And this has opened some amazing doors to show God’s love, to share God’s love, and we are seeing a lot of fruit in a lot of ways.”

AMG is running a day center that provides a variety of services. Here, refugees can do laundry, shower, get counseling, as well as get assistance for paperwork and language and job training. Additionally, they can get medical care here. They are about to open two more of these hotspots.

Transformation

It is in an environment of hospitality that people begin to ask about Jesus.

(Photo courtesy of AMG International)

“As we are able to show God’s love, and these individuals see we genuinely care and love them as creatures made in the image of God, they naturally ask the question, why are we doing this? And this opens the way to explain to them why we are there, why we are doing what we’re doing, that God’s love compels us to do things like that.”

Ioannidis says many people have been receptive. They’ve come from environments that have been destroyed by violence that began with Islam. They are looking for hope.

Some who have become Christians have even joined the ministry, working as translators for Arabic and Farsi speakers.

Additionally, the Church has been growing among the refugee and immigrant populations in Greece. “One report says there are 90 churches that have been started in the last 10 years…which shows how God is moving among these people He’s bringing to Greece.”

The refugee conversation

This story is part of a global conversation on the risks of letting refugee populations into other countries. Especially in the West, there is a growing sense of fear and mistrust when it comes to refugees.

Despite this, Ioannidis says the Church continues to support their outreach in Greece. He says the truth is, most of the fears aren’t based on facts.

“Of course, we have to be cautious, we have to be prudent. But at the same time, there is no doubt, again, from the perspective of the Body of Christ, that the Lord is bringing the nations to us. These are people who are fleeing violence themselves, and whom we otherwise would not be reaching.”

So how can you help?

One way to help is to keep learning. Do research and learn about the people behind the numbers. Keep learning about refugees,

You can also find opportunities to serve with AMG here.

And finally, Ioannidis says, pray “that God would continue to work in the hearts of refugees and that the Lord will also use His people to provide for the resources needed.”

Impoverished families across the Middle East live in such
condition–or worse. Some are not even fortunate enough to have something as permanent
as a shack. However, regardless of their lack of money and living conditions,
they happily open up their homes to visitors, sometimes complete strangers.
Most women make a fresh pot of coffee every morning just in case someone stops
over that day. Guests are given plenty of tea and coffee, as well as food from the
family's meager supply.

One man with Pioneers USA said he loves these visits and the
incredible sense of welcome he feels when he enters these humble homes. Though he
usually tries to decline food, one family he once visited caught and
slaughtered their goat for his meal before he could even sit down.

Each of his visits is a pleasure, but some are
even better when the name of Jesus Christ comes up. He has been amazed several
times to learn that God was working in the hearts of people even his arrival.

One sick man asked him what happens after death, and they
talked openly about a relationship with Christ.

One woman recognized the name Jesus Christ when he brought
it up and said she used to listen to programs about Him on her radio. When he asked
her why she stopped listening, she explained her batteries for her radio had
died and she could not afford to buy more. The Pioneer was able to supply her with
batteries, and she is now listening to programming about Christ again.

Such stories remind Christians of Christ's sovereignty and
how He works in people's lives before we ever get to touch those people.

Pray that this Pioneer will continue to fertilize the seeds God
has already planted in the hearts of so many across the Middle East and
throughout the world. Pray that these seekers will accept the message and love of
Christ that will transform their lives.

Click here to join in Pioneers' ministry and the work Christ
is doing in the Middle East.

The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
notes that "young people with disabilities need a support system that
recognizes their individual strengths, interests, fears, and dreams and allows
them to take charge of their future."

Michael Lowstetter with Shepherd's Ministries says that's
why Shepherds College was founded. "This is a fairly new concept, but yet, one that solves a really
big problem in the area of transition from high school and potentially living
with mom and dad, out to the work force and living in the community." 

It's a three-year program for young people with
developmental disabilities, and it's growing. Students can pursue either culinary arts or horticulture.

For example, in the Culinary Arts major, students learn about
a wide variety of food service occupations from fast food to catering. Course work will include culinary skills,
institutional cooking, fast food, sanitation and nutrition.

Horticulture majors will learn floral design,
landscaping, nursery and garden operations, equipment maintenance, green house plant
production and work safety precautions.

As part of their training, Shepherds College includes a Life
Skills curriculum. This provides
students educational opportunities that have a strong Biblical emphasis. Young
people learn how to prepare meals, shop for groceries while maintaining a
budget, care for clothing, maintain a clean apartment, and practice
personal care, health, and safety skills. 

Because a program like this is rare, there's a lot of
interest in it. In the two years since Shepherds College launched, Lowstetter says they have two years' worth of students, and
they're looking at a third year coming in August.

While that's a good thing, it requires more space. Lowstetter
explains, "We're going to be outgrowing that with this recruiting class.
So, we're in the process of building two single-story 3,000-square-foot residential facilities for the incoming class." 

Students at Shepherds
College have many chances to discover the God that has designed them and
to investigate the specific purpose He has for them.    

Each semester, there are classes
centered on the Bible and its practical application. Weekly chapel
services and meetings with a spiritual mentor will also be part of the
Shepherds College program. In addition, students will
be encouraged to attend a local church and actively participate in
the church. 

More than a $1.5 million
dollar investment, it's about relationship with Christ and discipleship. Lowstetter says, "It doesn't all come
from our faculty and staff. We've started seeing college students interacting
and sharing and working to help grow other college students."