Events around the world over the past couple of weeks have brought back memories to many of us.  Some very good memories about how we treasure our heritage, our sense of belonging to a community that values taking care of each other and standing up for each other.  However, it has also brought back some very difficult and painful ones.

For the past 36 years, I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked where I am from – the latest one being just before the lockdown due to COVID-19.  The question is no doubt because I have a “yellow” skin and thus, I am automatically someone not belonging here even though I have an Australian Passport and has been here for more than I have ever been in any other country.

Unfortunately, I have also not been immune from that question in Churches as well.  How about the situation where we started to attend a Church and for several months, no one was interested in us until we invited one of the Church leaders for lunch at our place and he saw my Theological books on my bookshelves.  He was interested in why I had those books and when I told him that I was studying at a Bible College, I was shortly afterwards placed on the preaching roster.

Sad to say, but often we are judged not according to what we can offer in our service to Christ, not according to the gifts, skills and talents that God has given to us.  It is simply assumed that we are inferior because of the colour of our skin.  Just look around the congregation in your Church.  Most will have a sizeable proportion of members who are from a non-Anglo background – yet, how many are part of the leadership team?  Does it mean we are not capable of leading God’s people or performing other leadership role within the Church?

For more than 20 years now, I have been involved in the role of supporting LOTE (Language Other Than English) Churches.  Over the years, the most common comment that has come across is along the line of: “why is it that LOTE Churches have more problems?”  Is that really the case?  Or, is it the assumption that because it is a LOTE Church and thus, it must have more problems.

I really feel for my brothers and sisters coming here to settle as refugees.  I have had more opportunities than them, I have been more privileged than them and I have had more possibilities to prove my worth than them.  What chance do they have to escape such constant bombarding of unnecessary comments?  How do they feel when they are asked questions indicating that they do not belong here? 

Yet, the word refuge has the meaning of shelter or protection from danger or distress.  That’s not just what the word refuge means in the Bible but is also how it is defined in secular dictionaries. Yet, as believers, we struggle to provide that shelter or protection to those in such great need after enduring so much hardship. 

Has it ever crossed our minds that many refugees in our LOTE Churches have come here through refugee camps where the most basic of necessities are inexistent – no certainty of fresh water or even food on the table every day, no means of getting a decent education, no possibility of having a job to provide for the needs of the family and definitely no possible dreams of a future.

How about the daily harassment of government soldiers heavily armed to intimidate you to provide information so that they can capture someone close to you?  How about them burning all sources of food around your village so that you either starve to death or give them what they want – even information that can cost lives – so that they will leave you alone for a couple of days?

How about when they finally see some light at the end of the tunnel – when they are given a visa to settle in this country – only to find that they are made to feel that they do not belong here?  They are constantly asked where they are from when their only wish is to be able to forget what happened in those refugee camps, the hardship and suffering they went through from where they came from.  How about being unable to get a job because they have not had the opportunity to learn English and thus, cannot express themselves properly in interviews? 

Perhaps, this plea from Paul writing to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus the slave, may help us to change our attitude and see each other not through the colour of our skin but as brothers and sisters in Christ:

¹⁵ Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. (Philemon 15-16, NIV)

The words of Martin Luther King still inspire hope: “I have a dream”- that one day, we will be able to say what Paul is saying here – You are very dear to me both as a fellow human and as a brother or sister in the Lord. I have a dream.

Rev Marc Chan

Multicultural Consultant

Source: BUV News

The beginning of 2020 was filled with excitement for the leaders and members of the Westgate Karen Baptist Community Church (WKBCC).  The church’s 20^th anniversary was coming up along with two weddings. The church anniversary was planned to be a large event held at a conference centre with over 500 expected to attend and speakers invited from overseas.

Sadly, COVID-19 restrictions meant cancellation of these plans. One of the weddings was conducted with just a few guests and the other was postponed. Expectations of how the year had been planned for the church were suddenly very different.

However, the church did not lose hope! As the Apostle Paul describes, “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8, NRSV). I thank God for the way our leaders have been able to adapt to the changes during this challenging time.

When the first government meeting restrictions were announced, our Sunday service on 22^nd March was held in the church building just with our worship team and camera crew who broadcast live through Facebook. When Stage 3 restrictions were announced, our leaders had to adapt again, this time to using Zoom for church services. Initially, this was difficult for our church community as many were not familiar with digital technology. Before the first Zoom Sunday service, my wife, our Church secretary and pianist contacted families to help them download and log into Zoom. On 29^th March, at our first Zoom Sunday service, over 250 including children joined online!

On 5^th April, 2020, our Church 20^th anniversary was held via Zoom, with 80 devices in use and over 300 people joining in the celebration which included church members from Hamilton Victoria, Perth and the US. While we missed the opportunity to gather in person and feast together, it was nonetheless a significant event in the history of our church, one we will remember for a long time to come!

Since then, we have increased our church services from three on a Sunday and a mid-week prayer service to online services every evening. Numbers have increased during this time, from children right up to our older members. In fact, more of our older people are attending on Zoom than they were able to in person due to their age. Church members are enjoying the opportunity to chat to one another by Zoom before and after the services, helping them feel connected and less isolated. The church is also having 24 hours of prayer each weekend from Saturday evening to Sunday evening and this time is spent in prayer for all those affected by COVID-19.

In every circumstance, I thank God for guiding us throughout our church’s journey over these past months. May His name be glorified.

Pastor Ner Dah
Westgate Karen Baptist Community Church

Source: BUV News

During Refugee Week (Sunday 14 June to Saturday 20 June) we will share with you some inspiring stories from our refugee communities. Some of these families started their journeys supported by the BUV Refugee Airfare/ Car Assistance Loan Scheme (RAALS) and today, they are growing and flourishing as people of God with stories to tell.

Story of Pa Ling T

"My name is Pa Ling T of Chin Baptist Church. I am married and have one child. We were Chin refugees in India fleeing the Myanmar army's persecution and were resettled in Australia under the Community Pilot Program in 2017. I got a job four days after my arrival in Australia but I did not have a car or a driving license. I depended on friends to drive me to and from work. I also relied on friends to take us for my daughter's ongoing medical appointments.

My wife and I always felt guilty about being a burden to our friends. When these friends moved to their new home, they could no longer drive us around and I felt really helpless.

Around that time, I received good news that my application for the BUV’s RAALS Car Loan was approved. I felt that my burden was lifted.

My wife and I now feel confident as a happy independent family. We no longer feel guilty being a burden to our friends.

Our family express our heartfelt thanks to God and the provision of RAALS. We feel welcomed and feel like Australia is home and we are part of the Australian community."

Story of Sui Cung S

Sui Cung S and his family arrived one and a half years ago from Burma. They are active members of Melbourne Chin Church and Sui Cung is a Sunday school teacher. One day, his social worker informed him that he had not been successful in being employed because he didn’t have a car. Through the church, BUV provided a RAALS car loan to Sui Cung and he now has a job and can support his young family and also others within their community who are going through a tough time.

About the BUV Refugee Airfare/ Car Assistance Loan Scheme (RAALS)

RAALS was first setup with a gift from Canterbury Baptist church by a committee of concerned Baptist members in 2003. Over the years, other churches and individuals (including many from our Languages Other Than English-speaking communities) provided loans and donations to the RAALS. These loans are interest-free and are repayable within a two year period. All repayments go back into a revolving pool of funds for future loans.

The first people assisted by RAALS were refugees from the Sudanese civil war. These South Sudanese Baptist families were separated from the rest of their family members who were still in refugee camps. Over the years, persecuted Chin and Karen people of Burma, who were granted refugee status by the United Nations, were supported with airfares loans to come to Australia.

Within a few years, RAALS expanded from providing just airfare loans to also providing car loans. Car loans are welcomed by many new refugees and offer great practical assistance to them settling in Australia.

Since 2003, RAALS has brought over 120 families from refugee camps to Australia. Last year, the scheme provided 12 car loans and four airfare loans to support BUV refugee church communities.

RAALS continues to provide assistance to refugees and the BUV is very grateful to many Baptist churches and individuals for ongoing donations. Each of these families supported by RAALS has an inspiring story to share. Many are giving back to their communities and helping others who are going through a tough time. It’s amazing how a small provision of loan can help new arrivals grow and flourish as people of God.

If you wish to support the BUV RAALS, please donate via direct debit:

BSB: 704-922
Account: 100007181
Name: BUV RAALS Gift

All donations to RAALS are tax deductible.
For further information on how to help, please contact Multicultural consultant, Meewon Yang

Source: BUV News