It’s World Refugee Day, and Joni and Friends is working hard to assist refugees in Ukraine. The Bible instructs us to care for, serve, and support refugees!
Visit joniradio.org for updates on Ukraine.
There’s a lot to pray about on this World Refugee Day.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I’m thinking of the many thousands of Ukrainian refugees who are, even now, still trying to find their footing in Europe. As you know, Joni and Friends has been busy about helping to evacuate Ukrainians with disabilities, like eight-year-old Oleg and his mother. Oleg has intellectual disabilities, and when he arrived at our safehouse in the Netherlands, he was utterly traumatized. He and his mother had been hiding in complete darkness in a basement for eight days before being evacuated out of Ukraine. When Oleg’s mother told us that he’s frightened of darkness, it broke my heart.
It also broke the heart of Jan van den Bosch, our Dutch friend who has been helping resettle Ukrainians in his country of Holland. When Jan learned about Oleg’s fear of darkness, he quickly ran to his car and returned to Oleg with a flashlight. Once this little boy learned how to use it, his fear vanished. His mother said, oh my goodness, “That flashlight is a bar of gold!” And all through the night, it made him feel safe.
Truly, Ukrainians with disabilities are the people of Psalm 25:16-18, who cry out to God, “Turn to me and be gracious to me… relieve the troubles of my heart… free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress.” And it’s why I’m so proud of Jan van den Bosch, who looked upon the affliction of Ukrainians with disabilities and quickly moved to help. Jan is a member of the Joni and Friends Board of Directors, and when Russia invaded Ukraine, he did not waste a minute. He dove right in to help. But to Jan, it is our in-country partner, Galyna, who’s the real hero – she’s the one who’s still in Ukraine organizing even more evacuations.
Since the war started, Jan and his team have welcomed 118 Ukrainians with disabilities into Holland, and they plan to relocate even more refugees. Jan made a cake for them and decorated it with the Ukrainian flag, and on top of the cake it read in Ukrainian, “You are safe with us.” Wow. Thank the Lord for our Dutch friends, and while Jan van den Bosch provides for them shelter and medical attention, Joni and Friends is making sure that these refugees have hygiene products, clothing, food, and medical supplies. Jan’s dedication to defending the needy and afflicted echoes the cries of my heart, ’cause at Joni and Friends, we don’t merely “remember” the afflicted; we’re doing something about their desperate plight. As it says in James 1, “Do not merely listen to the word… Do what it says.” So, join me and the team at Joni and Friends in praying for people like Jan in Europe who are putting the Gospel into action! Also be asking God to give us wisdom as to creative, long-term solutions to address the needs of these Ukrainians with disabilities. They miss their relatives back home. Jan told me that, “they are always thinking of their family members left in Ukraine, [left behind to fight] for their country… hiding in caves and basements. They will not surrender to the Russians,” he says. “Their reply to this war is rooted in their faith.”
It’s World Refugee Day and I am grateful the Bible makes it very clear we are to care for the aliens; we are to serve and support refugees. And as long as bombs keep falling and guns keep firing, we’ll do all we can to keep helping Galyna evacuate more Ukrainians with disabilities, and helping Jan and others find them good homes. Hey, you can get lots of updates on my Facebook page or you can visit joniradio.org to learn how you can get involved. Again, that’s joniradio.org. God bless you today, and thanks for listening to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.
© Joni and Friends