Editorial October 30, 1989 Issue

Our prayers can help refugees

Ann Kenrick

Our hearts go out to the world's growing number of refugees. These families fleeing from adverse circumstances—often violent persecution in their homelands—seek asylum in other countries where they hope for a better future for themselves and their children. Sadly, many end up in camps where there is little opportunity to better themselves.

Some refugees, however, through their own industry and determination, have managed to make the adjustment into a new culture. One remarkable story was told recently of a graduate who has earned seven degrees in the United States. Who could fail to applaud when Tue Nguyen, a former Vietnamese boat person, received his doctorate in nuclear engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year?^{Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1989.}

Of course the refugee problem is not a modern phenomenon. Throughout history people have been forced to leave familiar surroundings and look for new homelands. The Bible, for instance, records the wanderings of the children of Isreal as Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt toward the Promised Land. This great leader taught the Israelites to worship God alone and to turn to Him constantly for succor and guidance. Near the end of his life Moses encouraged them in these words: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.... Happy art thou, O Isreal: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!"^{Deut. 33:27, 29.}

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