Now, more than ever, help is needed. Global Aid Network (GAiN USA) has already committed to ministering to and serving these refugees, meeting both physical and emotional needs.

(Image courtesy Global Aid Network)

As they made the needs known, God’s people responded. The latest report from the ministry shows that by God’s grace and through donor generosity, over $37,244.32 has been given to support GAiN USA’s Compassionate Care Unit (CCU) crisis ministry team.

GAiN shared one story from a woman they helped, named Rouba. She was forced to flee her home with her family, including her one-year-old daughter. Rouba shared: “You have taken time to come to my home, to listen to my story, and hold my hand while I cried. I feel more encouraged…like I have been seen and not forgotten.”

They’re also providing for physical needs through the Survival Pack. $40 provides enough food to feed a family of five for one month. And when you provide food, you help our partners provide emotional and spiritual hope.

This is the critical work of the CCU. By implementing a highly relational approach to emotional and social care, Global Aid Network’s Compassionate Care Unit and its partners will more effectively be the compassionate hands and feet of Jesus.

Now, more than ever, help is needed. Global Aid Network (GAiN USA) has already committed to ministering to and serving these refugees, meeting both physical and emotional needs.

As they made the needs known, God's people responded. The latest report from the ministry shows that by God's grace and through donor generosity, over $37,244.32 has been given to support GAiN USA's Compassionate Care Unit (CCU) crisis ministry team.

GAiN shared one story from a woman they helped, named Rouba. She was forced to flee her home with her family, including her one-year-old daughter. Rouba shared: "You have taken time to come to my home, to listen to my story, and hold my hand while I cried. I feel more encouraged…like I have been seen and not forgotten."

They're also providing for physical needs through Survival Packs. $40 provides enough food to feed a family of five for one month. And when you provide food, you help our partners provide emotional and spiritual hope as well.

This is the critical work of the CCU. By implementing a highly relational approach to emotional and social care, Global Aid Network's Compassionate Care Unit and its partners will more effectively be the compassionate hands and feet of Jesus.

It's especially appropriate this year. According to the United Nations, more people are refugees or internally displaced than at any time since 1994.

The ongoing crisis in Syria is a major contributing factor in the global displacement. Baptist Global Response Executive Director Jeff Palmer puts it in scope. "You're looking at 45 million people in the world that are displaced right now. It's the largest number that it has been in 10 years. That number is growing–actually doubled over 10 years. About 29 million are what we call ‘internally displaced' folks. They're not refugees, but they can't go home in their own countries. There are about 16 million worldwide refugees right now."

This translates to a new refugee or internally displaced person every 4.1 seconds.

War remains the dominant cause. Palmer cites a recent report from UN's High Commissioner for Refugees which states that just over half of all refugees listed in the report come from just five war-affected countries: "Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, and Syria…. But then you‘ve got the Sudans and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of these refugees that are coming out of those countries are actually going into developing countries themselves."

And that brings a whole other challenge. The countries where they're seeking refuge are ill-equipped to absorb the influx of people. "They're going to places like Pakistan, Iran, Kenya and Ethiopia. It's presenting huge challenges for everybody: how to address both those internally displaced and then the refugees that are outside of the countries."

World Refugee Day is a day set aside to honor the courage, strength, and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict, and violence. It's also a call to action: millions need your help. Just two weeks ago, the United Nations launched its largest-ever appeal for help. They asked the global community for $4.4 billion worth of help, a lions' share earmarked for the Syrian crisis.

The problem is that pledges for most crises aren't being met as it is. In fact, during August of 2011 funds ran critically low for the BGR Horn of Africa famine relief project. That was one part of a larger aid picture where compassion fatigue turned out to be deadly. Palmer says, "Most aid agencies–from the big ones at the UN level, the other huge large umbrella organizations, to the small ones like us at Baptist Global Response–are just stretched to the maximum, right now." Others were forced to close down projects.

However, because they ARE smaller, BGR could make the most of what they were getting. Palmer says, "If you've got some structure in place in the area that this is happening, then you are way ahead of the game." He goes on to explain, "We've got a lot of good touch points in most of these areas. Consequently, we have a lot going on with the Syrian refugees in four or five different countries. We've got a lot going on with the Horn of Africa refugees and quite a bit with the Afghan refugees."

As it turns out, resourcing is a key part of outreach for BGR. In understanding the Great Commission as three action statements: "Pray, Give or Go," giving is one result of prayer. Palmer supports that idea. "In light of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, we cannot turn our back on the world even though we get tired. Even Jesus got tired carrying the cross. He got weary and fell down. But we can't get weary in well-doing and lose sight of the fact we need to reach out to those in need."

Then, there's the age-old question Palmer admits he's asked often: "Why should I be concerned about people somewhere else in the world when we've got problems here at home? " He tackles it two-fold: First, with a reminder. "The command to love, to care for those who are hurt—we should be doing it to our neighbors here at home, no question about it. But we should be looking to the nations and the needs that are out there." Second, with a notice of purpose. "These are folks that don't have a lot of access to the message of hope that's in Christ. When they come out, we're in a unique position to help them and minister, and we're also in a unique position to give them a comfort and a word of hope that's found in Christ."

It's World Refugee Day. The fact that it exists is evidence of a hurting world that demands a response: pray, give, or go.

At one time, when the sides were clearer, blame for atrocities fell on either the rebels or the regime. Now, after 22 months of civil war, that's no longer the case. Baptist Global Response CEO Jeff Palmer explains, "I wish I could point out who's the bad guy, who's the good guy; but that's the problem. That's why a lot of people are fleeing. Nobody knows who's who. It's just literally chaos–fear for safety, fear for their children, fear for their families and future. A lot of time it's women and children coming out, but more and more, it's the men, too,, because they've got to protect their families."

The ongoing fighting has blurred once clear lines and ravaged vital infrastructure. And the best indications are that recovery could take decades. That realization is hitting more Syrians who thought they'd stick it out in the homeland. Palmer says, "When this started over a year ago, everybody thought it was going to be short-lived. Here we are: well over a year into it, and it just continues to grow and escalate." The war's death toll had exceeded 60,000 as of January 2, 2013.

Now, the United Nations can't keep up with the "unrelenting flow" of families fleeing violence in Syria. The number of documented refugees topped 700,000. More than 3,000 crossed into Jordan on Monday alone. Palmer states, "Food is scarce. Children can't go to school. Families can't live, fearing for their lives. So, now we have more people flooding outside of the country. We have more internally displaced people inside the country, and it's just chaos."

If nothing changes, there will be over a million Internally Displaced People, and over half a million scattered throughout the border countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. The problem, notes Palmer, is that resources are finite, and the influx is not. "For every one you see in a camp, there may be one outside a camp that nobody is touching."

When asked what BGR is doing, Palmer admitted their response was a "drop in the bucket." But that same assessment came from several UN Humanitarian aid groups as well, underscoring the scope of the crisis.

Still, BGR partners are reaching people who have been largely overlooked. "We've got about four places that we're actually touching and helping ministry partners that are able to respond. That's in several countries."

Palmer concedes the difficulty in finding people who need help, because they're everywhere. "They're setting up shop. They're putting up makeshift tents. They're living in garages of people's homes. They're finding empty storerooms and finding places to set up for their families."

The most recent relief project BGR completed was a Winter Relief drop. Since many refugees fled Syria in June, they're ill-prepared for the onset of winter. BGR partners supported 500 refugee families (about 2,500 people) by providing clothes, carpets and blankets.

Christian relief workers say God is moving in remarkable ways among the refugees. First of all, says Palmer, their partners meet needs. "Most of the work that we do goes through local partners who are of the same language and culture, but they're followers of Christ. They become the hands and feet [of Christ]: the hands…take care of people; the feet bring the Good News and the message of the Gospel."

The simple act of caring leads to questions, the sharing of faith stories, and more. "That is a demonstration of the Gospel: to show the hope of Christ by having compassion, providing blankets, warm clothing, food, and health care kits."

What's more, BGR partners have reported that these talks revealed a new understanding. The refugees know that the cycle of violence and revenge threatens to destroy their country. They're seeking answers and are finding them in Christ. Pray for true peace in Syria and that leaders will govern justly.

Click here to see how you can partner with BGR's Syrian response.

The rains caused flash flooding. In Bangladesh, 17 people have been confirmed dead;
dozens more are missing, and thousands are unable to return to their flooded
homes.

Tidal surges created by three days of storms caused
the flooding. The most vulnerable were people
who were living in huts made of bamboo and straw, which could not stand up to the five-foot
waves. As a result, thousands
of Bangladeshis are living in shelters, waiting for the water to subside.

"This is another heartbreaking crisis for one of
the most poor, downtrodden countries in the world," said Gospel for Asia
President KP Yohannan. "It is another opportunity for us to show Christ's
love by responding to the suffering as He would have us do."

Gospel for Asia's Compassion Services teams are
already in Bangladesh reaching out to the people with practical help and the hope
of Jesus.

"As has happened in the past, we have our people on
the ground who are able to respond to these who are in desperate need,"
Yohannan said. "They are already responding to this; we just need to get them
more help."

Floodwaters also swept across much of neighboring
Manipur, India, damaging several GFA-supported churches and Bridge of Hope
centers, and affecting 55,000 households.  

Four rivers overflowed their banks, inundating harvest-ready paddy fields and
destroying fish farms and other crops. The worst damage is in the Imphal City, where
people did all they could to move their families and few meager belongings to
higher ground.

Four Bridge of Hope centers and one church also
sustained damage. The buildings will be closed until the water recedes and
necessary repairs can be made. Several GFA workers from the
Bridge of Hope centers, as well as the missionaries, are dealing with flooded
homes, too.

GFA-supported missionaries are distributing
emergency food rations, dry clothing and bed linens, and other household items
to the victims. Most importantly, the teams are taking time to listen and pray
with the people. You can help. Click here.

There is growing concern about the potential of outbreaks of infectious disease and deaths
from malnutrition without medical and food aid. The WHO estimates that only 8% of the
population has access to potable water and the same for the sanitation, creating
the conditions for the spread of diarrheal diseases, shigellosis and also
cholera.

With the crops under water or rotted in muddy fields, the
United Nations asked for $180 million to feed six million flood victims in
Pakistan for use in October and November. 

Food for the Hungry is responding in Pakistan along
with a local partner, Interfaith League Against Poverty, and Colorado
Springs-based Engineering Ministries International.

As recently as two weeks ago, the team transported materials
to give 1,800 families shelter, hygiene and kitchen supplies. The aid convoy carried the means for
families to start recovering their lives together. Eventually, FH will supply
relief to 44,000 people – 5,500 families of eight.

Your help makes a difference and supports our relief efforts
in providing emergency supplies to families displaced from their homes, many
whom have lost everything but the clothes they're wearing.

Please continue to pray for Pakistan and the millions in
need of help. Pray that people would respond with generosity, showing the love of
Christ in a tangible way. You can help, too. Click here.

Heavy rains produced another major flood that swept
The Gambia over the weekend. 

The raging
floodwaters destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands more homeless. It compounds the damages left in the wake of
severe flooding last month.

Global Aid Network contact in Gambia is David
Jatta, whom we spoke with through a spotty Skype connection. "It is worsening. It is getting very serious.
The government cannot handle the situation."

Survivors in
Kombo's Central and Southern districts need food, shelter and medicine. Jatta just returned from an assessment trip
to Gunjur and Brikana, two of the worst-hit areas. 

He says as a
result of the disaster, there are 3,000 more displaced, added to the 5,000 they were already helping–a small percentage of all of the affected
flood victims.  

Agricultural
crops were also affected, and the government is overwhelmed. This is peak farming season, and waterlogged
fields now mean severe food shortages in the fall and winter. 

Jatta says GAiN is responding. They've already sent some help, but this relief
effort includes the means to recover so that displaced farmers may bring life
and hope back to their land. "There is another container that is arriving with
seeds and food. This is going to be used
toward giving food to the people. GAiN is giving capacity to the government."

While dealing with a crisis, the physical
assistance is a key part of being the hope of Christ. Jatta explains, "People say, ‘Yes, you tell me
about God's love. You tell me God loves me. But how is that relevant to the
kind of challenge in the situation I'm facing currently?'"

GAiN's approach
to meeting needs has opened some new doors in this Islam-dominated
country. "Global Aid
Network has helped us demonstrate God's love in the situations that people
face. So we are allowed in because of our
demonstrative care to the people in need. We've been given a certain allowance
to show the JESUS film in the city, to distribute Bibles, to do things that
would have been impossible without having been officially recognized."

For each $1 you send, you will help ship $27
worth of compassionate aid. A single container holding more than 270,864 meals
will meet the immediate needs of those who are starving. These shipments are
due to leave for Gambia and other impoverished areas within the next 60 days. Click here to help.  

An area roughly the size of the state of Mississippi was underwater,
and as the buildings re-emerged, survivors who were returning home found
destroyed and damaged homes and swamped streets. Sodden mud proved to be another issue even as
aid arrived. 

An
Operation Mobilization team was on the scene early with
help. Ray Cooper with OM wrote, "Most of the houses are
very badly damaged, and it is dangerous to live in them because the walls are
cracked. We visited a school where around 250 families have been living for the
last few days."

Cooper says their teams began a distribution but saw
another issue that would make what they were handing out nearly useless. "People have no firewood to cook with.
We've been giving out a food packet containing flour, sugar, cooking oil and lentils,
but there were people who got the food packet and they couldn't cook." 

So the team adjusted. Cooper says, "[They] hired a professional cook to do two big pots of
food a day," which fed those 250 families.   

Shoes and clothing emerged as another need. "People have been desperate for clothing.
Many of these people have had to flee their villages and their homes with just
the clothes on their backs. " 

When washday comes, there are no spare clothes to wear while
the clean ones dry. Again, Cooper says, "The teams have adjusted. When possible, they've been able to bring some shoes
and clothing, as well."

The teams don't hide their motivation when they arrive. "These are Pakistani Christians who are very
openly doing this relief in the name of Christ, saying, ‘We're doing this as
Christians. We just want to love you as Christians, and we're bringing this
relief to you as Christians.'" 

Their example counters the reports that Taliban have been
exchanging aid in return for joining the militant group.  It also increases the risk the believers
undertake as they go out with the supplies.  
That's especially true during Ramadan.  It is illegal to distribute food between dawn
and dusk, so any relief work must be done at night.

What they have found is that help, at any time, is welcome
in a crisis. It builds bridges with
people who might have been hostile at one time. "The response has been one of surprise and thankfulness from Muslims,"
Cooper explains.
"I think they've been surprised that Christians, who are actually
somewhat discriminated against in their own country, have been bringing
them relief supplies."

Cooper says this proved true during a recent distribution. "They
went to a mosque, and they went to the religious leader and said ‘Hey, we're
bringing these supplies as Christians. Do you want them?' And he said, ‘Please, we need them. Thank you
very much.‘ The Muslims down the street
were taking advantage of the situation." 

Pray that many long-term connections will be built as OM
Pakistan continues to serve their neighbors during this time. Pray for many
workers to come alongside, as the scope of this tragedy continues to grow. The recovery will be long. 

You can help. Click
here.

According to the international aid agency
Oxfam, hundreds of thousands remain in camps, and thousands are living in tents
beside their destroyed homes. Sub-zero winter temperatures have increased, and
illnesses are on the rise.

Much of the land remains under contaminated water, and there
are concerns that malnutrition rates have risen. On top of this, the Pakistan government had
planned to stop emergency relief operations in most areas on January 31. Danny Punnose with Gospel For Asia explains
that "these countries don't want to have a lot of outside people in their
country. They have their own rules and restrictions, their own fears of what
could or could not happen."

However, nationals are still in place and the Gospel
for Asia-supported Compassion Services workers are still meeting needs just as they were immediately after
the flooding. "While a lot of people come in and do relief work very quickly and then
leave, our commitment is to the long term. The reality is that it is very
difficult to get to some of these remote locations, but because we have people
there, we are able to provide some relief to the most needy."

The GFA teams discovered that many of the villages they
visited did not have an adequate supply of clean water-even before the floods
hit. So they decided to do something
about it.

During the months after the floodwaters receded,
several Jesus Wells were drilled in the villages affected by the floods. And
several more wells are in the works, too.

Punnose
says, "It is vitally important right now that the people who are there are
able to do the relief work because it will be long-term work that will actually
make the difference, not short-term."

With the
temperatures dropping, "We try to
provide as much as we can to people to have something to sleep on, and also
provide shelter. So as the winter rolls in, this is a very needy time to
help people keep warm."

The Jesus
Wells open a lot of doors. The first
reaction is that "a very simple hand-pump well in the middle of a village brings
such joy to people's hearts because they realize this is clean water: 'We don't
have to worry about our kids getting sick; we don't have to worry about animals
making it dirty'."

Then, says
Punnose, "They realize these believers
are not asking something from us. This is something that they're doing because
of the love of Christ. When they recognize that, it makes a huge difference in
their life, that they realize someone actually does care, someone does love them,
someone does want to help them."

There's still so much to do. How can you help? Start with prayer. "Every believer can pray and ask the
Lord to meet the needs and provide more laborers for the field."

Then,
explore these links and see how else you can respond.

Gospel for Asia is an evangelical
mission organization, based in Carrollton, Texas, involved in sharing the love of Jesus
across South Asia.

This comes as a new wave of floods was seen making its way south into
Sindh province along the Indus river, adding to the flooding disaster that has
ravaged the country for more than two weeks.

Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations, Zamir Akram, warned that the future
could hold food security problems, high unemployment, and poverty.  According to his estimates, it could take
five years to fix the $2.5 billion worth of damage caused by the floods.

If the UN's $460 million doesn't come through quickly enough, people who
survived the initial flash floods and landslides won't survive the secondary
threat of waterborne diseases and food shortages. The World Bank pledged $900
million to aid Pakistan, but they're racing against time.

Wayne
deJong, with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, says, "We're reaching out to about
8,000 families, roughly 60,000 people, to provide them with food (wheat
flour, cooking oil, lentils, sugar, salt, and spices) for two months, and
also tents, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, cooking fuel and hygiene kits."

Their team brings another dimension to food and water. They're
also bringing  a cup of cold water in
Jesus' name. deJong  says, "We see this as a way to demonstrate the love
of Christ to people in need, an opportunity to help meet those needs and
connect to people who are really having a great struggle to survive." 

There's danger from the Taliban
that still stalks the disaster survivors. The team is aware that accusations of proselytism could jeopardize their
response. That's why they're
partnering with the
Interfaith League Against Poverty (ILAP), based in Islamabad. 

ILAP has a long history with the
Pakistan people. Last year, the CRWRC,
with ILAP, conducted a three-month relief program to provide emergency food aid
to 2,000 internally displaced families who were fleeing violence between
military forces and insurgents in Malakand, Swat, and the NorthWest Frontier
Province.

In 2010, CRWRC has committed $2.3 million to the
immediate future, focused in Nowshera and Charsadda Districts. But it's slow going. Compassion fatigue is
setting in, and the funds are not coming in as quickly as they had hoped. 

The sheer scale of the damage
left by the water means that other problems are still on the horizon. deJong says it won't be over in just a couple
of months. "The agricultural heartland
of Pakistan has been significantly flooded. There is a very serious loss of
crops. If the winter wheat can't be
planted in September, then in effect we'll have a loss of two staple
harvests. And that's going to have a huge impact on the country.  There will be significant food shortages and
food price increases."

Pray for wisdom and safety for the
team. ILAP is partnering with many other
aid groups who also bring the hope of Jesus. There are details on how you can help here.