Ethnic groups have been clashing with Burma's government since the country gained independence in 1948. Many people only know life as a refugee; they've never had a safe place to live.

Steve Gumaer and his wife, Oddny, started Partners Relief and Development in 1994 after seeing the plight of Burma's refugees firsthand.

"There's between one and four million Internally Displaced People in Burma," says Steve Gumaer. "Our work, in total, reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of 500,000 refugees and displaced people each year."

Partners helps people in several refugee camps along the Burma-Thailand border, as well as inside Burma. They have work established in the Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Shan, Karen and Karenni states.

"All [are] running medical programs, education programs, and in times of acute crisis, we also support teams who go in and deliver material provisions for those people who are hungry and don't have shelter," Gumaer says.

See a complete profile of their projects here.

On World Refugee Day, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer statistics of it all. There are over 43.7 million refugees and internally displaced people worldwide, and 80% of them are women and children.

Gumaer shares the story of one refugee to help bring the crisis into focus.

In the early '90's, when Steve and Oddny began working in Burma, they visited a refugee camp in the state of Karen. They came across a little 4-year-old girl whose story epitomizes the plight of Burma's people.

It begins with governmental destruction. Burma's army demolished an entire village, leaving nothing behind but rubble and dead bodies. Or so they thought.

"When the pro-democracy defense militia went to find out what happened [to the village] and find survivors, they only found this one little girl," Gumaer recalls.

From there, militia carried the young girl to a nearby refugee camp, where they asked a woman named Rose to care for her.

"That woman told my wife and I the [little girl's] story, and looked up at us and said, 'Steve, can you please tell your friends in the West about what's happening to our children so that we can do something for them?'" says Gumaer.

Help tell your friends by sharing this story on Facebook or Twitter.

The Gumaers aren't alone in sharing Christ's love and hope with Burma's refugees. Vision Beyond Borders (VBB) has a thriving ministry to these oft-overlooked people.

"We work both inside Burma and in the refugee camps in Thailand," says VBB's Abigail Zimmer. "We actually have a team over right now ministering to the kids in the orphanages in Burma."

Zimmer recently visited a camp helped by VBB and says refugee kids aren't letting circumstances hold them back.

"They have big plans for the future," says Zimmer. "A lot of them you talk to want to be service workers, or they want to go back into Burma and minister to the Burmese there, or they want to minister to the people in Thailand; I mean, they want to help people, and it's so neat to see that!

"They could be bitter, they could be angry and unforgiving, and they aren't. They're forgiving, and they want to help. They want to reach out and help the people around them."

In Mark, Jesus tells His disciples to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." It's one thing to talk about the plight of refugees; it's another to do something about it.

"One way love is shown is just by presence," Gumaer states. "The very best thing that we can give the refugees that we interact with is the dignity of our friendship, the pleasure of our friendship."

Is it time for you to "go?"

Partners and Vision Beyond Borders both have opportunities. To get involved with Partners, contact Andy Pasma at andy@partnersworld.org. 

"He coordinates a number of teams each year, with strategic relationships," explains Gumaer. "We try to focus on those churches that are really interested in a long-term involvement with our outreach to the refugees."

Click here to see when VBB is taking another team to Burma.

Whether you go or stay, take time to pray for Burma and its vast refugee population.

"I have really been praying that the Lord would protect [refugee kids] from the bad that's out in the world," says Zimmer. "There are people out there that could definitely do them harm."

Pray for wisdom for those that go to share the love of Christ with refugees. Pray that "both the team member and the refugee would be changed by the power of love through that engagement," Gumaer requests.

On one hand, "They're proceeding toward democracy, and so that is encouraging," says Dyann Romeijn of Vision Beyond Borders.

But on the other, "They're actually making more military outposts deeper into the Karen areas, the Karenni, and the Kachin."

Burma's military government has a long history of persecuting these people groups, a large portion of which follow Christ.

"There's been an outright genocide…. They're trying to wipe out these people," says Romeijn. "You see an influx of more refugees and more people fleeing…because they're scared of the military."

Last week on Burma's Armed Forces Day, military leaders announced a continual strengthening and involvement in national politics.

"While the country is moving toward modern democracy, our military plays a leading role in national politics," said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Over 6,300 troops gathered for a public display– the first in two decades–of military power and precision. Although the military government made way for an elected one two years ago, it remains largely influential. The military is guaranteed a quarter of the seats in Parliament–enough to block constitutional amendments that would usher in true reform.

Glimpses of reform can be seen in recent democratic changes: the allowance of private schools to operate in Burma, the release of political prisoners, and the election of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Parliament.

Romeijn can't tell whether recent developments will add to those democratic advances, or send Burma three steps back.

"It's difficult to know for sure what they will do," she says. "But in the past, the government has completely persecuted these people."

In Burma and around the world, "The persecution of Christians is increasing.

"We just need to be praying for our brothers and sisters: for strength to be able to stand amid the persecution and be a witness and a light."

Pray also that God will use the situation to draw more people to Himself.

The timing couldn't be better for two Vision Beyond Borders teams who recently delivered food, winter supplies, and medicine to VBB-supported refugee camps near the border of Thailand. The ministry's contact in these camps said the delivery of much-needed medical supplies and malaria kits were "such a blessing for the Karenni refugees."

"No other ministry has ever brought so many vitamins for the children and adults as VBB," the worker said. "With the food rations getting less for the refugees, these vitamins are necessary now."

VBB team leader Wes Flint confirms the need for supplements.

"[Refugees] get very poor nutrition through the foods that they have, especially in the jungle," he explains. "So we try to improve their diet and their standard of living a little bit."

Since refugees are unable to provide for themselves, VBB brought in truckloads of veggies and other nutrition-packed fare.

"By bringing those vegetables in, and more rice, we can help their diet at least where they can eat two meals a day," Flint says. "In many areas, they're now eating three."

There's high demand for medical supplies in the refugee camps and clinic supported by VBB, states Flint. Since the clinic is located on the border, patients come from both Thailand and Burma.

"There's a Christian woman that runs this small clinic, and the amount of medicine that she had there: you could've put in a shoebox," said Flint. "That's all that was available for approximately 18,000 people."

The leader says he felt compelled to do something to help the clinic and increase support of this ministry. You can learn more about VBB's medical ministry by clicking here.

"The idea is that we want to set an example; we want to be a light in this village so that they could see that there are believers there," explains Flint. "It's the Christian community there that's actually reaching out and helping these tribal people."

Along with supplying medicine and food, teams also ministered to orphans.

"They each have their own tragic story. And yet God is doing a very beautiful work in their lives," Flint says. "It's really wonderful to be able to fellowship with the saints and to share a message of hope for these desperate children."

He explains that this "message of hope" only comes from one source: Jesus Christ.

"That is the only message of true hope: what Jesus Christ does in the lives of human beings," says Flint. "That's what brings hope, and that's what brings joy on the faces; you can see it on the faces of these children."

Would you like to share the message of salvation with orphans and refugees? Click here for upcoming VBB trips to Southeast Asia. There are other ways to help, too; you can collect supplies for refugees or purchase medical supplies by clicking here and designating "Medical Funds."

"We would be happy to plug them in to a ministry where they too can be involved," says Flint. "Not only involved, but they can participate in the Kingdom work that God is doing through Vision Beyond Borders around the globe."

And don't forget to pray. In addition to the thousands of people displaced by ethnic fighting, land grabs have forced a spike in human trafficking. Pray that Burma's government would create new legislation that addresses this issue; and pray for peace.

"Burma needs much prayer," Flint says. "Ultimately my prayer is that…these sanctions would be lifted on Burma so that the United States would help to bring peace throughout this region, and that these refugees would be able to return home."