The IAFR Blog

Many asylum seekers in France are homeless. Some survive by creating makeshift encampments in remote fields or in abandoned buildings. Their tents and simple shelters offer little protection against the elements. There is often no local sanitation (toilets) or supply of clean water. Living conditions are primitive, insecure and dehumanizing.

IAFR's Paul Sydnor serves refugees and asylum seekers in northern France. He recently pulled together a team of 25 volunteers from the local community - including people from local churches - to partner with asylum seekers in cleaning up their makeshift camp.

After they finished cleaning up, a group of asylum seekers invited the volunteers to join with them in prayer.

Paul noted: "We gathered at one corner of the camp. It was the first time for most of the French volunteers to meet with asylum seekers who welcomed them."

This was more than a helpful cleanup day. This was a day of bringing the refugee and host community together. It was a day of re-humanizing those living on the vulnerable edge of society. It was a day in which the stranger invited the host to pray and worship the Living God together - all from the midst of a makeshift refugee camp.

The asylum seekers expressed how much the help meant to them:

It is so difficult to apply for asylum and survive at the same time. Thank you for your help. It shows us we are not alone.

This kind of ministry requires relationships of trust. It can't happen without missionaries like Paul who are walking alongside of refugees and asylum seekers every day looking for ways to strengthen hope and resilience in Jesus' name.

That's why IAFR's most valuable asset is our missionaries. Your financial partnership makes it possible for them to show up in the lives of refugees and asylum seekers in the Twin Cities, Atlanta, rural Colorado, northern France, Vienna, Athens, Kenya, and Malawi.

Would you consider making a special year end donation to support an IAFR missionary of your choice?

It's quick and easy - and makes a big difference in the lives of the forcibly displaced people we serve! Just click below and select a missionary from the list on our donate page.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Many thanks to our faithful and generous financial partners who make it possible for our team to show up in the lives of refugees and asylum seekers every day!