June is World Refugee Month, so we are featuring stories of some of the remarkable displaced people in the Jonathan House community and highlighting ways you can show them love.
A few weeks ago I received a text from my dear friend and Jonathan House alumnus Pastor Timothy: “Hello dear Bethany, God has made a miracle for me. Celebrate God’s goodness with me 🙏♥️”
I dropped everything in excitement and shock. Was this the good news we had been praying for?
He came to the U.S. fleeing government persecution, told his story before an asylum officer and then… nothing. The final answer on asylum cases like his sometimes takes weeks or months; he waited for almost 3 years with no word. While he waited, he got work permission, a job and an apartment – the trappings of stability without the foundation of a secure immigration status.
Ready to Give Up
Pastor Timothy he had been ready to give up. He prayed over and over again: “God, your will be done.” In these days, he says, those who follow Jesus should not be surprised to encounter struggles – but that doesn’t make it easier. He became increasingly isolated, stopped calling his friends, not having any good news for them. As bad news for immigrants seems to come from every direction, it was hard to believe that any good news could come in his story.
Reason for Hope
Then something happened that gave him reason to cling to hope. Every Saturday his family back home gathers to pray. His daughter sent him a recording of a message from God shared during that prayer time: “this is the right time to demonstrate my power. You will hear good news within 3 months.”
He hardly knew whether to hope – but he knew he wasn’t alone. “Throughout my journey,” he says, “God has been speaking to me like Abraham, saying ‘I am with you.’”
It was almost exactly 3 months later that he got a text from his lawyer while at work. “Congratulations!” Surprised and confused, he checked his email and found there the good news he had hardly dared to hope for. He had been granted asylum, and now could receive permanent refugee protections in the United States and bring his beloved family to join him.
He is Faithful
“I was looking at this again and again. Is it real? Finally God has done it. He is faithful.”
When Pastor Timothy texted me back that yes, he had been granted asylum, I burst into simultaneous tears and laughter, overjoyed for my friend. Our record stands: so far, every single member of the Jonathan House community who has reached the end of their arduous asylum journey has been granted protection. The whole Jonathan House community is celebrating, encouraged in the midst of so much difficulty by this gloriously good news.
Written by: Bethany Ringdal, Ministry Leader