Ref·u·gee
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
The Situation
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
In recent years, Italy has become one of the largest points of entry for migrants and refugees seeking a better life or fleeing their country from war and persecution in Africa and the Middle East. Refugees often leave everything they have ever known, take little to nothing with them, and spend their life’s savings to travel in a very small and often overcrowded boat across the Mediterranean Sea. When they arrive on the shores of Italy, they are processed and documented. At that time they can apply to seek asylum which could take, at times, years to receive the proper documentation. In the waiting, they are not legally allowed to work which means they have difficulty providing just the basic essentials to live.
It is a crucial moment in time as God brings unreached people groups into Italy who have never had access to the gospel and sometimes, never even come in contact with a Christian before. Most of the people are coming from closed nations which means they are coming from countries where it might be illegal or very dangerous to be a Christian. We consider this our greatest opportunity to reach those who come from closed nations by sharing about the greatest Hope of all - Jesus Christ.
our mission
A PLACE TO BELONG
We minister to the refugee and immigrant populations in Italy. Our mission is to provide a place of hope and belonging to the people within the community. We believe this to be a HOLISTIC mission, sharing the whole gospel to the whole person. This means meeting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. PHYSICAL, by assisting them with basic essentials such as food and clothing. EMOTIONAL, by giving them access to fun and creative classes and activities to uplift their spirits. And most importantly SPIRITUAL, by discipling and teaching them the Word of God and who He is. We want to be more than a friendly face in the community. We want to build relationships with the people, get to know them and their story, and ultimately share the message of the gospel with them and how Jesus can completely transform their life!
Testimonies
"The Power of Language"
A missionary team in Sicily met with a refugee from Eritrea (near Ethiopia). He was about 30 years old and a previous school teacher. He had been given an English New Testament many years ago and had read it many times, but he didn't understand it very well, though he learned English when he was young in school. When he was given the Scriptures in Tigrinya (language of Eritrea), he said the words came to life! He began to understand things he previously could not! The truth became more evident to him when reading it in his mother tongue!
"Safe Passage"
A Nigerian man. A Songwriter and a rapper. He worked as a mechanic in Libya for several years before coming to Italy by boat.
He told me this story of a miracle:
As he left the shore of Africa on a small, old, fishing boat with a bad motor, he prayed to God to keep him safe. Somewhere along their journey, the motor to the boat ran out of fuel. They were drifting along in the Mediterranean Sea in a boat filled beyond capacity. He began praying that God do something to save them. The boat was taking on water and it wasn't long until it would capsize. As he was praying, the motor that was empty of fuel, began to work again! They were able to get moving again and lasted just long enough for them to be picked up by an Italian patrol vessel and brought to safety in Italy.
"A Planted Seed"
A man approached some missionaries in Sicily and asked if they were muslim. They said, "No, we are Christ followers." He then pulls out this little pamphlet and said, "I read this book (about 30 pages) and everything in it is true!" They asked him, "Are you a follower of Christ?" He said, "No, I'm a muslim, but the words in this book are true! I know it!" The book was a kind of very old Christian literature that he had received from someone 24 years ago. It contained the message of the Gospel, explained the need for a Savior and the story of redemption, etc. He had carried it with him since he was a young man. Then he asked, "I'm sorry there is writing all over it, but could you find more of these books? I want to give them to all of my friends." The missionary asked how many he needed. He wanted 500 copies to give to his muslim friends!!!