Hello everyone! Below you’ll find the video and the prayer guide. Happy praying!
Hi everyone! Welcome to prayer week. It hasn’t officially begun just yet, but we wanted to send out a short video with some thoughts, ideas, and information so we can all be on the same page.
You can find your prayer guide here (if it asks you to sign up for dropbox, just click “no thanks, continue to view” at the bottom). It’s actually put together by a local pastor here and then translated from French to English so we can all join together in praying for the same things!
We’re looking forward to praying with you all!
So, many have been looking at the refugee crisis in progress and wondering what’s going on. There are numerous questions about why fences are being built, why some countries seem quick to respond and others seem much slower, and a whole host of other things.
In discussing this with colleagues and other officials, I’m learning the question goes a lot deeper than it looks. Let me give you a few factors making this a difficult question – at least for France.
- It’s not only about having a place to house people. Think about it. Is this going to be over in a few months? Probably not. So you’re looking at bringing people into a country not just for a short period of a few weeks or months, but more long term. In addition, many of these people don’t have any knowledge of French language or culture. We can testify from personal experience that even with some French and a clear plan, integration can be quite tricky – even after 2 years.
So, what are we talking about? Well, a place to stay is certainly on this list. But there’s also the need for jobs, for training in these jobs, for learning french, for getting proper documentation, for food, for clothes, for utilities (especially with winter coming), and a whole host of other things. When you remember that the grand majority of the people coming have literally left everything, it becomes even a little more complicated. I would imagine they can’t go to the ATM down the street and pull money out of their savings account in Syria.
- France is a country that was already in the middle of a huge debate about immigration and border control. There is also tension between Arab communities and the French. Similar to the United States, there often isn’t much differentiation between radical Islam, and moderate or non-practicing muslims. And then in the middle of the debate, this refugee crisis happens. That being said, any decision that gets made it met with lots of controversy. And the French love to debate just about anything. I heard a radio interview this morning where the host and the guy getting interviewed sounded downright hostile – cutting each other off and generally being combative. But my sense is that this kind of thing is par for the course. The ultimate result being that people are talking a lot about it, but it’s difficult to get much done on an official level.
- In many cases, the resources aren’t there. A news report recently showed that Germany, who has been remarkably generous in welcoming refugees, has an unemployment rate of 6.4% with an aging work force whereas France has an unemployment rate of 10% or higher. This creates a little conflict when you talk about going out of your way to provide for 24,000 new refugees, walk with them through learning the language and getting professional training, and then helping them find a job in an employment market that’s already a little over taxed.
And these are only a few of the factors. You can throw in national security as a significant concern as well – especially coming off recent attacks.
This isn’t to defend, nor is it to accuse. From the perspective of the government, this is a remarkably tricky question with a lot of factors. All that being said, many are stepping up and responding to the need. We thank you again for your prayers as we’re looking for tangible ways to help and show the love and hospitality of a God who left everything he had to become one of us. To seek us in our lostness, brokenness and rebellion. To live the lift we couldn’t live and then die the death we deserved to die. All to invite us back into relationship with him. He will make a way. #ForSuchATimeAsThis #TheLeastOfThese
God does cool things through prayer…
The Gaylords In France 