Grief

There are some days that grief comes in this work.  I received a message over the weekend from one our pastor friends in a refugee camp.  His sister-in-law and her family had been deliberately burned to death in their dwelling in the country from which my friend and his family had run.  

A country in Europe is drafting laws that would make it a crime, including jail time, for giving a cup of water or a sandwich to an asylum seeker in this country.

In our own country, we are separating children from their parents at the border and apparently losing track of where some of the children have been placed.  Many of these coming across the border are fleeing for their lives from violence and murder in the countries from which they come.

All these could be politicized.  That is not my intent.  I grieve that we have lost touch with the fact that all these are real people, created in the image of God, the same as you and I.  

Lord, have mercy.  

“Those People”


This is one of my favorite pictures from my recent trip to the Dzaleka Refugee camp. The photo is one of my pastor friends, his daughter, and his wife in the background.  I see a lot of love and pride in their faces, similar to how I feel about my daughter and son.

Often I hear “those people” being talked about…whether in news reports, group discussions, or on social media. “Those people” being refugees or asylum seekers. Rationalizations and judgements are so easy when we see people as a group or part of an issue.

As I look at this picture, I am reminded that “those people” have names, faces, hopes, and dreams just like you and me. And that’s why we tell their stories and do the work we do…so you can be reminded too.