When Desperate People Knock Jesus and the Asylum Seekers (September 23, 2012)

When Desperate People Knock Jesus and the Asylum Seekers (September 23, 2012) What do these people have in common? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Daniel, Ezekiel, Mary, Jesus. Actually there is much they have in common but one thing is that at some point in their lives they were refugees in a foreign land needing asylum. In fact the number of refugees mentioned in the Bible is huge. This is but a small sample. Twice the whole nation of Israel found itself displaced and as refugees in a foreign land. In 1 Peter 2:11 Peter points out that in one sense every Christian is a sojourner and an exile. Throughout church history many of the great men and women of the faith were persecuted and forced to flee their homes. So it will surprise no one that the Bible speaks quite often about strangers, refugees, displaced people, asylum seekers. However, you might think that since this is a recurring theme how Christians should respond to refugees would be fairly straightforward. Not so! Taking the principles of Scripture and applying them to the present world is often not easy. Conflicting principles, different emphases and applications mean this is far from easy. 1

The result is that concerning refugees denominations, churches, theologians have taken these same verses and principles and come up with radically different applications. For example, in December last year the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) released a position paper on asylum seekers in which they supported the Malaysian people swap solution put forward by the Labor party. No sooner was the ink dry and Christian leaders lined up to cry down their position but then others came out in strong support. Men who love Christ, love the Scriptures but had quite different opinions on what Christians should do about this difficult problem. This issue is divisive it has split political parties, friends and churches. On the April 6, 2010 edition of the ABC s Q&A program Tony Abbott the Opposition Leader was asked what he thought Jesus would do concerning the asylum seekers. He responses included these Jesus didn t say yes to everyone. Don t forget, Jesus drove the traders from the temple as well. This idea that Jesus would say to every person who wanted to come to Australia, Fine, the door s open, I just don t think is necessarily right. Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it s not necessarily everyone s place to come to Australia. So, is that really what Jesus would do concerning the asylum seekers? His responses set many church leaders at odds. Some agreed, many disagreed. This is a difficult issue and I do not want to say otherwise. If you want an argument start a water cooler debate on what to do with these desperate people coming on boats seeking asylum. One will say we should welcome them all. Another will tell you that it is a well known fact that on most boats there are terrorists pretending to be refugees. Another will say put every queue jumper on Nauru to wait their turn. So perhaps I am crazy to even attempt to address this problem. But I will do my best to see if we can take the wisdom of the Bible and apply it. There are many, many aspects to this topic. I intend to narrow it way down and to try and think through the situation facing Australia today in light of the principles of Scripture. The first thing we have to do is to define who is a refugee? The 1951 Refugee Convention establishing UNHCR spells out that a refugee is someone who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, 2

religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. I think that is a fairly reasonable definition. If you want to get an idea of the scale of this worldwide disaster go to the Web site of the UN Refugee agency UNHCR. http://www.unhcr.org There you will find a mass of information about this incredibly difficult situation. In 2011, there were over 42 million displaced people. 42 million that is an insanely large number. No wonder governments are struggling to deal with this crisis. On the UNHCR Web site you can see the major countries where those refugees come from. The main ones are in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia but large numbers also come from Asia and South America. Places where there is war and sectarian violence are the main places. 3

This slide shows the major countries where refugees arrive and are hosted. Basically, the majority flee to a neighbouring country. TV beams this disaster into our living rooms so we are acutely aware of it. But this is nothing new. Since shortly after the fall there have been refugees. War, famine, politics, religion man s inhumanity to man has resulted in individuals, families, clans, nations having to flee to foreign countries and throw themselves on the mercy of others. In times past and still most commonly today most refugees fled on foot to a neighbouring country. Some were slaughtered. Some were tolerated. Some were welcomed. Truth be told historically and even today a very common occurrence was that the men were killed, the women raped and the children enslaved. Our fallen natures, selfishness, distrust, hatred, fear mean we struggle to show compassion and mercy especially to those who are different those we don t fully trust. While this has been a common occurrence, until recently this was not an issue pressing itself on our consciences here in this country. An island nation like Australia has historically received few desperate refugees. However, times are changing. The sheer number of wars, uprisings, persecutions have led to massive number of desperate men and women. And this has fuelled a growth industry people smuggling. Australia accepts a limited number of refugees. The waiting time in foreign camps is long. The conditions in those slums is unbearable. They can t go back. The result is that they are desperate. For $40,000 dollars you can purchase a one-way ticket on a death trap. Don t have $40,000 then promise it and these traders in human flesh will collect one day 4

even if it means you find the money through drugs or prostitution or any way you can they will collect. And so those fleeing are aided to South East Asia mainly Malaysia and Indonesia and when they get desperate enough they set out for Christmas Island. Their dream is to set foot on Australian soil and find protection and help. As of yesterday there have been 145 boats that we know of try to make the journey to Australia this year alone. Desperate people arrive. We might think that love, hospitality, basic human decency says we will welcome them and help them. But, it is pointed out with some truth that it is not quite that simple. The questions are asked. If we just open our arms to these desperate men and women will we: Encourage the growth of a morally repugnant trade in human beings? Encourage a massive number of refugees needing resettling, language, health and other help to do anything to come which will swamp our available resources? Encourage many more men and women to get on boats that can barely float and endanger their lives? Encourage queue jumping? Encourage criminals, terrorists and deviants to come? 5

These questions are asked. And possibly there is some truth to them. So the result is that many caring, compassionate people do question whether simply welcoming all refugees who arrive is the most moral and overall best solution. It is questions like this that has led our government to argue, debate, fight about the best way to handle the issue. Expert panels have been appointed and reports most recently the Houston Report have been written. The recent political consensus reached with much difficulty is this a recommendation for an immediate increase to the humanitarian program, from 13,750 to 20,000 refugees a year, to organise for the reopening of offshore processing on Nauru, to stop the family migration rights of those arriving illegally and to possibly introducing the Malaysia asylum swap deal. The idea is that taken together, this might encourage some desperate people to refrain from getting on the boats and to wait and apply for immigration. The government has started an advertising campaign in South East Asia saying there is now no advantage if you cease waiting in the camps and get on a boat and try and come to Australia. Personally, I don t think this will work nor do I think it is the best solution. But I know that the situation is difficult and other Christians disagree. In December last year the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) issued its position paper on asylum seekers. I agree with a number of things they said. They repeated their call for both sides to stop playing politics with the refugee issue and break the criminal business plan to deter this illegal and immoral industry. Amen. They said: I agree. This is an unconscionable situation where people are dying because we have our two political leaders in a face off for political advantage. But then Jim Wallace, the head of the ACL, made these statements: Deterrence must be a strong part of our response to this, if these disasters are to be averted, and that means making it unattractive for people to attempt this. We simply have to realise that returning illegal immigrants to be processed offshore is necessary in this imperfect world we live in. It is not enough that well meaning people hide behind a false morality blindly pursuing onshore processing, while they ignore the reality of the tragedy of these deaths and the role of criminals in it. 6

The reality is that we need to go to where the refugees are and let it be known that that is where we take refugees, not through Indonesian criminals. Maybe he is right maybe I am too idealistic. Maybe pursuing onshore processing is not the best way. It does give me pause when godly men make statements like this. But I struggle with the concept that deterrence is the best way and that offshore processing is necessary. Offshore processing is pretty brutal. In some cases this will be a deterrent. Yesterday, we saw 18 Sri Lankan men choose to return to Sri Lanka rather than go to Nauru. If they risked everything to come and Nauru is worse than what they left if the conditions in offshore processing the expected wait (which no one has any idea how long it might be) meant they would prefer to head back to what they fled from then Nauru must be pretty bad. I struggle whether this is the best way to deal with desperate people. And while it may deter some I am unsure how many it will deter. So does the UNHCR. Here is their statement. As a principle, UNHCR opposes detention of people seeking international protection. The new guidelines make clear that seeking asylum is not a criminal act, and that indefinite and mandatory forms of detention are prohibited under international law. A UNHCR spokesmen explained: We are disappointed that many countries continue to hold asylum-seekers in detention, sometimes for long periods and in poor conditions, including in some cases in prisons together with common criminals. The UNHCR is particularly concerned that detention is in growing use in a number of countries. Their spokesman went on to say that the refugee agency s research: Shows that irregular migration is not deterred even by stringent detention practises, and that practical alternatives to detention do exist. In addition, there are well-known negative and at times serious physical and psychological consequences for asylum-seekers in detention. Since Australia introduced offshore processing the boats have not stopped coming. What a life. Things become so bad you have to flee. Then desperate, you promise the world to unscrupulous men risk your life on a leaky boat and end up in what is near enough to a prison and you have no idea how long you will be there. I understand the argument. And I freely admit that I am no expert. It is difficult when one person who works in the field says it will work and one says it won t. That is the situation. We see it daily in our papers and on our TVs. 7

I am not a politician I am a pastor. I ask myself, what Jesus would have us do? My thought tonight is less dealing with the political situation but to think through the Biblical principles involved for us as Christians. How should we respond to this terrible tragedy? Let me give you some of those principles that I believe are crucial. The first principle is the central one: The people of God have always been those who are commanded to reflect God s love through kindness to outcasts. This even includes those who are enemies. Our natural human instinct is to distrust strangers, to keep our stuff for ourselves and if they are enemies then they deserve what they get. But that is not to be the way of the people of God. There were so many verses on this. Do a study yourself. Let me simply give you a few of the more notable ones. Here is one that speaks very clearly to this situation. Leviticus 19:33 34: 8

When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. That is pretty clear. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself. This is the basic principle for how we are to deal with those who need help. And if the people of God neglect that commandment. Malachi 3:5 has this warning: I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. 9

If they refuse to help the sojourner God Himself will come against His people. Some have pointed out that these are verses written to Israel a theocracy. The people of God were the government and this is not the case today. But, those same principles are applied in the New Testament for Christians on an individual level. Listen to Jesus in Matthew 25:34 40: Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. And there may be great blessing in welcoming strangers. Hebrews 13:2: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Who is it that we should welcome? Luke 10:27 29: And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live. But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. And in case we think that neighbour means people just like us Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite did nothing to help. It was the Samaritan a stranger who showed them how to act. And to reinforce that this includes enemies Romans 12:20: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Even if someone is an enemy we feed them and look after them. Matthew 5:43 45: 10

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Again, this is merely a sampling of the verses we could look to that show: The people of God have always been those who are commanded to reflect God s love through kindness to outcasts. This even includes those who are enemies. But there is a second principle that is relevant to the discussion: The people of God have always been those who are commanded to obey their leaders unless they are asked to sin. Romans 13:1 5: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 11

Governments, even bad ones are ordained by God and Christians are to obey their leaders unless they are asked to sin. What does this have to do with asylum seekers? In the Old Testament Israel was a theocracy the people of God were also the government of the land. The leaders of Israel represented God and were entrusted to implement the policies and instructions of God. We live in a democracy not a theocracy. Our Prime Minister does not even believe there is a God. This government makes decisions through a combination of human wisdom, common morality, polls and for the few Christians in government through biblical principles. As Christians we have to obey the decisions our leaders make. We live in a democracy so we can appeal to our leaders but they make the decisions. The reality is that democracies try and please people. There are many compassionate, caring people in Australia Christian and non- Christian. But there are many who have a degree of compassion but it has its limits. Not if it costs me. Not if they will bring their problems here. Not if they are different. It is their mess let them sort it out. The result is that many don t go the extra mile with love for strangers many are somewhat selfish many are fearful. Most would not vote to spend huge amounts of money welcoming people especially when many come from groups they fear. Many of those coming on the boats are Muslim many are not. But the recent riots have fanned a fear of Islam that was already growing some believe that terrorists are coming as refugees and it hardens resolve. The bottom line is that turning back the boats plays well to the electorate. Most would say it won John Howard the 2001 election. Yet, the reality is as far as we know no terrorists have come as refugees. Perhaps some hardliners have but the vast majority are not. Most are fleeing persecution not coming to persecute. But governments have to deal with perceptions. As I said before, many in Australia do question whether welcoming those who come on the boats will: 12

Encourage the growth of a morally repugnant trade in human beings? Encourage a massive number of refugees needing resettling, language, health and other help to do anything to come which will swamp our available resources? Encourage many more men and women to get on boats that can barely float and endanger their lives? Encourage queue jumping? Encourage criminals, terrorists and deviants to come? These are valid questions. The whole situation is messy. I am sure some refugees are far from reputable. I am sure many were desperate enough to lie and falsify documents. I am sure many on hearing how those who made it to Australia ended up jumping the queue. But we need to remember desperate people do desperate things and many are simply families who are in trouble. How should we respond? Jesus told us: 13

For when we see the hungry and give them food, the thirsty and give them drink, a stranger and welcome them, the naked and clothe them, the sick and visit them, the prisoners and come to them. Then truly, as we did it to one of the least of these brothers, we did it to Christ. We are faced with a tragedy. People are dying in boats in camps at borders. At least 1,000 have died crossing to Australia and from 2002 to 2008, 1300 people died in Malaysia s detention centres due to poor conditions and who knows how many in other centres. Water is far from clean, malnutrition is common. Detainees are held in overcrowded environments. There have been reports of sexual and physical abuse. No wonder they will try anything. While I have great sympathy for politicians faced with a terribly difficult situation I believe as a nation we should do more. If I were Prime Minister what would I do? I would do several things. I would spend significant money trying to improve things in the trouble spots of the world to try and reduce the number of asylum seekers at the source. I would encourage other world leaders to also put in significant money. I would drastically increase the refugee intake of Australia. I would try and shorten the number of those waiting in deplorable conditions in refugee camps overseas. 14

I would encourage other world leaders to also drastically increase their refugee intake. I would welcome those who make the perilous journey by sea. Once they have passed health and safety checks I would process them in the community not in detention centres. I would encourage churches and community groups to be involved. To allay fears, I would clamp down on the few radical mosques as well as churches and temples or other places that breed intolerance and violence. Am I a bleeding heart? Maybe. But that is what I would do. However, I know that the amount of money to do this is staggering. It would take a huge tax hike and when people realised that their taxes meant no new Iphone 5 for them and more Muslims and other ethnic groups coming who might struggle to fit into Australian society my term as Prime Minister would be tragically short. Propose this and you won t be elected. This problem is huge. There are already 42 million displaced people desperate people in refugee camps living in deplorable conditions ready to risk anything to get themselves and their families to somewhere safe. People are suffering and dying. My heart breaks for them. You have to be desperate to get on a leaky boat knowing you may well drown. If I were Prime Minister I would want to do a lot more. But, the political reality is that politicians do what the nation wants. And clearly while some Australians do want more done most do not want to pay and are fearful of who they might be letting in and whether relaxing our hard line will end up attracting a tsunami of boats. We live in a fallen world. Man is cruel to man. Natural disasters happen. So until Jesus comes again there will always be refugees. The book of Revelation is clear on this. In Australia we are somewhat isolated to the troubles on the world because we live in one of the wealthiest, most stable, blessed countries on earth. But so many of our fellow men made in the image of God are not so blessed and are suffering immensely. So, given the political realities how should we as Christians living in Australia react to this situation? I am going to share my thoughts some of you will disagree. I know many good men will disagree. 15

I would not say this is the only Christian response. 1. We should encourage our political leaders to do more. For me personally that is encouraging them to increase the refugee intake and onshore processing for those who do arrive. Other Christians disagree that churches should engage politicians like this. They see it as too political and a distraction to the gospel. Grace Community Church in Los Angeles is the church I was trained at. Those are godly men who have thought through issues well. The church published a paper titled Grace Community Church Pastoral Perspective on illegal immigration. Remember the situation there is different they have immense numbers of immigrants already there living illegally. For them the issue is not boats sinking and offshore processing but what to do with those already there living illegally. But even so, here is a sample of what they said: We do not agree with those who want the evangelical church to take a political stand on illegal immigration. While we affirm the right of each American citizen to vote according to his or her conscience, we believe it is an unnecessary distraction (away from the gospel) for churches to advocate political activism on issues like this. those who advocate increased immigrant rights must be careful not to promote attitudes of insubordination or contempt toward the government (1 Tim 2:1-4; cf. Rom. 13:1-7). In both cases, the mission of the church becomes blurred when political issues overshadow biblical preaching and gospel-centered ministry. Evangelicals must take special care to remember that we are first citizens of heaven before we are citizens of earth (John 18:36; Php. 3:20; cf. Heb. 11:9 10). Biblical Christianity is not defined by political agendas, but rather by the truth of the gospel (1 Cor. 2:2; cf. Gal. 2:20). I appreciate their point of view. The situation is somewhat different and it depends on what you mean by taking a political stand and political activism. But, I do believe we should not be silent. There are issues we should speak out on as churches and as Christians whether you call this political activism or not. Abortion is one. For me the refugee situation is also one. Many would disagree but that is how I understand the Scriptures. If you feel similarly we live in a democracy let your local member know. 2. We should do more. 16

As a church and as individuals there are things we can do. Brisbane used to be mainly white European. Now we have large immigrant communities. What an opportunity. We can help. Friendship, language, practical help. What an opportunity to show the love of Christ in a fallen world. Dave Campbell s church has seen some opportunities here and I will ask him to share a bit on this later. Also, if we can t personally go to the refugee camps we can pray for or financially support those who are there. For example Annette Zerk passed on news from Ernie and Marilyn Gunders who are serving with Christmas Island Christian Fellowship. They have only recently begun their ministry there and here are some excerpts from their newsletter: Christmas Island is the site of the Detention Centre for illegally arrived Asylum Seekers. There are four areas the main centre at North West Point where single men are housed; the Family Camp at Phosphate Hill; the Processing Centre, also at Phosphate Hill; and Lilac & Aqua, which are being used at the moment because of the sudden increase of boat arrivals over the last month. At present there are more than 2000 clients in residence. As pastors of CICF, we have been granted access to each area. During this first week we have enjoyed some wonderful sessions with people at the Family Camp and also at North West Point. We have found people are hungry to know about God and we have been asked some very interesting questions about Christianity. We have been able to share the full Gospel on a number of occasions and have given Bibles to people in their own language. What an amazing week we ve had! On Monday afternoon at the Family Camp 104 people crowded into the English room for Bible study standing room only what a problem to have too many people! We shared a study based on John 3:16. The group included Christians, seekers and those just coming to see what was going on! Well, they all heard the gospel. Please pray for the seeds sown on Monday to be watered and grow to maturity in Him. A beautiful young Iranian woman, clutching her Farsi New Testament smiled through tears and said to me, In Iran we cannot own a Bible, or worship freely. In Australia I will be able to. Are there refugees in your town? Reach out to them with Christ s love. CICF also needs funds to purchase Bibles and Christian Books in many languages. 17

This week we ve also shared with a number of young men from Sri Lanka. They have received gladly Christian material printed in Tamil or Sinhala. 90 Sri Lankan single men and 7 single Iranian men have been sent to Nauru. There is concern at North West point Who will be next to go? But praise the Lord everything is calm at present. I am sure there are other ministries you can get involved with as well. 3. We must submit to the government. Since we are not being asked to sin we should not aid the breaking of the law. If we don t like the law campaign against it don t break it. 4. Pray. Pray for God to intervene and show His power. 5. Evangelise. If we want governments to make Christian decisions we need more Christians urging them to do so. If there are some practical ways you know of that we as a church can help immigrants and show the love of Christ talk to me. Those are my thoughts. I don t want to be critical of others who hold a different position. I don t want to say one is clearly the morally superior or biblical position. This is certainly a difficult and emotional area. Do your own study. Bring this before the Lord. But do something. As a church and individuals I believe the Lord would have us think this through and act as men and women of God. Our national anthem is Advance Australia Fair. Here are a couple of lines from the second stanza: For those who ve come across the seas We ve boundless plains to share. We have so much in this country. I think we can do more and offer more. I think the Lord would have us do more and offer more. For when we see the hungry and give them food, the thirsty and give them drink, a stranger and welcome them, the naked and clothe them, the sick and visit them, the prisoners and come to them. Then truly, as we did it to one of the least of these brothers, we did it to Christ. 18

Dave Campbell s thoughts. Working with refugees Craig asked me to share some experiences we've had at Acacia Ridge with regards to refugees. Australia opens its doors to people from refugee camps around the world. There are lots of these refugees right here in Brisbane. We live at Acacia Ridge and there's been a large influx of African migrants moving into our area. Moorooka even more so, and Moorooka isn't far from the church here. Many of these African people name the name of Christ and have been attending church in their home countries. Others might be Muslim. Why do they come? Dire situations: famine, war, persecution, better life etc When they come, everything is EXTREMELY FOREIGN. Language, centrelink, house rental arrangements, rental contracts, job applications, tax file numbers. Shopping, budgeting, banking and the list goes on. These people need a lot of help, and they don't just need one-off help...they need ongoing help. Their need for ongoing help means that you can easily have a relationship with them. Ultimately they need Christ if they don't already know him, and if they do know him they need fellowship and teaching from God's word, but if we can't help them with their physical needs, are we really worthy to talk to them about their spiritual needs? If we do help them with their physical needs then when we do talk to them about their spiritual needs, they will listen more closely. Our first contact with local African families was when our son Joshua used to call out hello to one African family as they regularly walked past our house to the park. One day I was outside trimming the hedge and the father (who I didn't know at that point) asked me if he could borrow garden tools because he had a rental inspection coming up. I didn't feel comfortable lending him the tools but instead went down to his place and helped him clean up his yard. Later we invited him to church and he came. Refugees really appreciate the help and they sense your care and concern. Your life and words become a testimony of Christ to them. Real Case 1 War struck and a partially disabled Father (leg badly affected by polio) was affected. His wife had already left him for another man. Food supplies were cut off. Lost one child to starvation. Lived on nothing but cups of tea for long period. Ended up escaping to refugee camp in Ghana. Father involved in Christian church in refugee camp. Teenage daughter fell pregnant in refugee camp and lived immoral life. After years of waiting, Australia accepted him and daugher and children as refugees. Came to 19

Australia. Regularly attended church in Acacia Ridge. Did TAFE English and other TAFE courses. Very limited reading ability. Eventually found job in commercial laundry but got fired due to disability limitations. Now working towards getting drivers license, which tends to be a very limiting factor when it comes to getting a job. Real Case 2 When war hit, father decided to flee with family. Wife refused to flee so father fled with children, ended up in refugee camp in Guinea. While there applied to come to Australia as a refugee. Housing placed him and his boys in Acacia Ridge, about 100m from a church. His wife back in his country died and he lives with his boys. Did TAFE courses and a lot of job hunting...job agencies didn't work for him. Regularly came to prayer meetings, prayed, and eventually a Christian boss in a local industrial area gave him the break he needed, has ongoing full time employment, absolutely delighted with his job, extremely thankful to God. 20