Jesus in an Ivorian Refugee Camp
One of our field workers, Abel, is from West Africa but currently living in Kansas City. With a deep sense of calling and conviction to link the two worlds, Abel has planted six house churches in Kansas City among West African immigrants and refugees. He also leads a network of churches he planted in West Africa, and serves as the Spiritual Consultant to the Association of Ivorians in Kansas City.
Recently, Abel traveled to Côte d'Ivoire to visit with pastors and refugees in the war-torn region. He described to us some of the conditions being experienced by the refugees.
"In one camp I visited over the border in Ghana, there are 6,000 Christians living as refugees. They are living in tents and have nothing to eat but rice and water, day after day. It's hard to see my friends and brothers suffering in that way."
Abel went on to describe the level of heartbroken compassion Ivorians in the US are feeling for their countrymen. "Many of our church members experienced the same kinds of trauma before coming here as refugees. They openly weep when they hear what is happening in their homeland.
"As a pastor," Abel continued, "it is hard to see lifelong friends and colleagues in Africa living on the bare edges of survival. And, we are all concerned that believers who had left behind prostitution and street life to follow Christ will return to those destructive lifestyles to avoid starving to death."
"Where do you see God acting in all this destruction?" we asked.
Abel with his wife, Maria, and his son
"For starters, I see the strengthening of the faith and resolve of people in the camps. The same Christians I saw living on rice and water get up for prayer every day at four in the morning. The atmosphere in the camp is electric with praise to God! You know, you can't live on rice and water. It's not nutritionally possible. But the people I saw had a certain health about them anyway. When I asked, they told me they pray over the rice every meal and ask God to transfigure it in their stomachs into something nutritionally adequate. They're people literally living on faith.
"Then, in the churches in Côte d'Ivoire, they are so eager to go and share Jesus, to send missionaries and plant new churches. And, they are ready! Spiritually, emotionally, they are equipped and prepared. Yet, it was bittersweet to see their enthusiasm, because they so desperately lack provision and so cannot go.
Abel with a church in Côte d'Ivoire prior to the war
"Everyone is just trying to survive.... It's a fiery furnace--a Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego situation. God is doing amazing things, and the needs and opportunities to get involved are immense!"
To provide relief to the refugees and to enable the work of God in Côte d'Ivoire, Abel and his wife Maria are collecting used phones and computers, which can be sold on the ground for two to three times their worth here. Contact us to donate an old phone (working or not), another non-cash item, or to make a direct donation to their work.
Please consider donating your old cell phone or computer equipment. What's just taking up space in your drawer would be a huge blessing— in fact, an enabling engine— to what God is doing in one of the most difficult and exciting times in Ivorian history!