All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for … training in righteousness — 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV).
When I think of training, I think of my childhood. I had coaches who trained me to be agile, parents who trained me to be curious and kind, and teachers who trained me to be persistent. It took the training of many, many people to make me the person I am today.
The Bible also talks about training children. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” Proverbs 22:6 reminds us. “Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (ESV)
As children learn and grow, they need training and direction to become healthy, compassionate, and productive people.
But some children don’t have anyone to train them … especially refugee children.
They might need training even more than children who live in security and safety. These kids need to know how to handle their chaotic circumstances and find hope when things are scary. But finding the training they need can be nearly impossible.
Many refugee children don’t have any parental influence. Some have lost parents to violence or famine. Others are simply separated from their parents and don’t know if they’ll ever reunite. In refugee camps in Uganda, child-headed households are the norm.
For these children, violence and unrest is all they’ve ever known. And not only is there violence in their past, there’s also a strong potential for violence in their future.
Pastor Isaac, a refugee from South Sudan, knows the future can be dangerous for the children in the camp where he lives:
“There’s no moral model, which could be the greatest challenge. If they don’t get help here, they’ll definitely be going back to become the militia. We need to change their direction of not going back to hold a gun. They should go back as instruments of change.”
Pastor Isaac reminds us of the difficult truth about child refugees. Most of them have no idea where to go or what to do with their lives when they finally leave the refugee camps. And because of this, they take the first path they see. Often, that path leads to violence.
Around the world, nations are trapped in this cycle of violence and poverty. Generation after generation grows up in war zones and turns to militias and rebel groups to find identity and community.
Countries where this happens face constant warfare, and many people feel hopeless that the cycle will never end.
But you can help break that cycle. You can give a refugee child the training he needs to choose a better life by providing a Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that all of Scripture is useful for training in righteousness. And that training is exactly what refugee children are searching for. These children will find hope and security in God’s Word no matter how much their lives are falling apart.
Right now, most refugees don’t have access to Bibles. But today, you can send six Bibles to people who have never owned one — all it takes is $30.
When you send Bibles to refugee children and other people around the world, you show them how much you care about them and their futures. You show them that they matter.
These children are begging for a chance to break the cycle of pain. And Pastor Isaac knows it’s our duty as Christians to offer the hope we have in Jesus as a solution:
“Let’s take this responsibility as a church people to become fathers and mothers to these suffering refugee children who are orphans. We need to love them like people who want them to go to heaven.”
You can love these children today by sending Bibles to train them and other people around the world with the Gospel. Your gift will bring hope to broken nations, scary refugee camps, and the hearts of children in need.