A Journey of peacemakers towards those who are displaced?
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Have you ever felt out of place? Maybe it was because you were driving and your gps took you on a secondary road and suddenly you were in a neighborhood where you felt out of place in your fancy new car like someone was going to jump you at any moment. Or out of place in your old beat up car as you pass by million dollar houses. Something was not quite right. Or maybe you showed up at a friend's house expecting to be alone with her and really she had invited all her girl friends and you felt out of place because they had known her longer than you did. We all have felt out of place in our lives. Or maybe you felt out of place after a move to a new city or neighborhood, or state.
Currently, I feel out of place because for the last seven years I was living in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and now currently adjusting to life in Jackson, Mississippi a place I only visited 2 times before moving here. I've had to learn how to get around the city, where to buy things, what things are called and how to take care of a car, because I haven’t had one of my own for more than 7 years. There are times when my husband says “Americans don't think like that.“ Even though I am from America, I haven't been here long term for a very long time and when I was in America I didn't always think like them. Before living in Bolivia I lived in Texas…so now I'm out of place.
If you have felt out of place then you will be able to identify with me and the many migrants and immigrants and refugees worldwide.
Some people do not choose to move but are instead forced to flee their country of origin because of a credible fear of persecution and thus become legal refugees. Yet others are forced to leave their homes for armed conflict or violation of human rights and become known as displaced people. Yet others are internally displaced within their own countries because of different political or violent conflicts. Many of these groups are the ones that we see in the border camps or trapped in different zones for years without no release.
Yet, others choose to migrate. Did you know that 1 out of 30 people worldwide are migrants? These people, the migrants and the displaced, are in prison in Mississippi or in the refugee centers in Southern Spain. These are our audience, these are our focus of PenTA Global.
“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers (i.e., the foreigners), for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” Hebrews 13:1-3
Would you join us on our journey of showing love to those who are displaced?
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