Refugee

Imagine what it’d be like to be a refugee … forced out by enemy troops; home destroyed; alone in a foreign country with no home, no car, not knowing the language and no way to support your family. Seem far fetched? This is a reality for 65.3 million people around the world. It’s the greatest forced migration in human history. And, it’s reaching us! Austin is home to 12,000 of these refugees. Consider also that half of the displaced are children. What can we do?

Spiritual Refugees

December 18, 2016 John Burke

There are lots of times in life when we need a safe place: when we feel beaten down from the pace of life, when we feel we can’t live up to people’s expectations, when we’ve made a terrible mistake and have no place to turn, when we feel chained to an addiction or stuck in sinful patterns that hurt us and harm others. But where do we turn when we need a safe place?

Local Refugees

December 11, 2016 John Burke

It seems there’s constant crisis with war, poverty, sickness and natural disaster in our world today. Likely, most of us feel powerless in the face of so much chaos, so we tune out the pain and focus on the near and familiar. However, with refugees here in our own city, it’s harder to ignore the needs that are practically on our doorstep. How can we raise our heads above our own self-interest to see those desperate for us to care?

Global Refugees

December 4, 2016 John Burke

While most of us are preparing for Christmas, millions of displaced people around the world are wondering what the future holds and whether or not they’ll see home again. It’s a sobering thought. The question is — should we care? Does this matter to us? And why would we talk about this leading into Christmas?