Coming to America

A Refugee’s Story

by Jon Masselink

Thirty years ago, Scott escaped from Vietnam along with thousands of others who wanted to get away from the Communist regime that controlled every part of their lives. Each member of the group paid out their life savings to get a small space on the fishing boat that would take them to refugee camps in Malaysia.

En route, the group encountered a number of storms with big waves and high winds. Worse still, men in motor boats, actually modern-day pirates, boarded their boat at gunpoint and removed all their jewelry and whatever valuables they had with them. Many of the men and women were also beaten and raped by the pirates.

Eventually the group made it to the Malaysian refugee camps. Conditions continued to be rough, however, with little food and water and very little freedom. After western governments learned of the conditions in the camps, they appealed to their people to help sponsor the Vietnamese refugees. The CRWRC responded by encouraging churches to pray for those in the camps and also petitioned CRC churches in the US and Canada to sponsor a group of refugees within their communities.

Fast forward –thirty years later. Today Scott is married, has three children and is involved in his local community. He works full-time, coaches his twin sons’ baseball team and, together with his wife, helps to organize the local community BBQ and New Year’s Levee. Scott is thankful for the country he lives in, thankful for his family and for the local CRC church that sponsored him. Scott has kept in touch with some members of the now-defunct ‘Refugee Committee’ from the local CRC congregation that invested so much in helping him out. This past year Scott and his family started attending the CRC church, thirty years after first arriving in North America! Recently he asked a former committee member why he hadn’t been invited to join the church earlier. The response was simple: ‘We invited you at least once a year but you never very interested!’

What does this mean for us, as students who are in training to enter Christian ministry? First, we remember that God works in His time. Calling people to join His church is our task, but only He makes it happen, sometimes even thirty years later. Second, when members of your congregation want to sponsor a refugee, get involved in their local community, or need assistance with a service project, get in touch with CRWRC. In addition to disaster relief, CRWRC and Diaconal Ministries Canada both offer support and tools that are helpful for local congregations wishing to sponsor refugees, get involved in their community, and much more. Finally, remember to take time to pray for refugees around the world and those who are adjusting to their new homes in North America.

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