letter from Canada
Hospitality appears to be one of many natural outpourings in response to encountering the saving grace of Christ.
In Acts 16 Lydia, the seller of purple goods, opens her home to Paul and Silas after the Lord opened her heart. Only a few verses later, the Philippian jailer is washing the wounds of Paul and Silas and bringing them into his home to feed them, all the while rejoicing in his new-found faith in Christ. Something happens when we meet Jesus; we begin to love our neighbour.
One church in Vancouver is taking this to the next level. They sponsor one refugee family a year, to enter Canada and give them hope of a new life without fear of persecution for their faith. The welcome, however, doesn’t just begin or end with a plane ticket. It is far more extensive than that. A refugee committee has been established with individuals from the church family and several of them will liaise with the government and other agencies to ensure that all legal requirements are met. This of course is only the first step, because what comes next can be overwhelming – landing in a new country having severed all ties with their past, but they have thought about this too!
