A lady in a headscarf hurries back into the vandalised entrance to a tired block of flats.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the street, in the shadow of a newly-painted Roman Catholic Church, a well-fed politician is greeted by cheers as, using a loudspeaker, he proclaims: ‘the source of Austria’s problems, all of Austria’s problems, is the scandal of immigration.’
There is no doubt, we are living in a time of change. Demographically, socially and culturally, Europe is facing one of the greatest challenges of its history. Over 1million refugees arrived in 2015 alone and more and more reach our borders each day. And yet perhaps most difficult of all is knowing what the best solution is, if there even is one. I have no answers to this. But, political opinions aside, the fact is that there are hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in desperate need of hope. And, as Christians, we have the privilege, challenge and responsibility of being able to help.
Building Bridges Team
In September, I joined Operation Mobilisation’s Building Bridges Team in Traun – the town with the greatest proportion of immigrants in Austria. The above described scene was, quite literally, the very one which greeted me and is not unique to Traun.
I don’t want to be overly negative or critical and it would be far from the truth to portray rejection as the only response here in Austria. In fact, it is nothing short of breathtaking to see the beautiful energy with which volunteers – Christian, Muslim and secular – so wholeheartedly throw themselves into various social action projects, with ‘love’ written all over them. So, as throughout the rest of Europe, the reaction to our new neighbours, both inside and outside the church, is very mixed.
There should be no pretence; responding to such a dramatic change in our society is certainly not going to be easy. What it boils down to, of course, is a question of attitude: some welcome, some reject; some help, some ignore; some love, some despise.
Building Bridges is OM Austria’s integration project with the vision of wholeheartedly serving refugees and immigrants so that they experience God’s love in its entirety. We work in cooperation with local churches, mobilising and encouraging Christians to serve in this way. It is not a political campaign, but a loving response to the current situation we find ourselves in. Relationships are at the heart of the ministry and by living in community with the newly arrived families and individuals, we hope to help them in every way we can: practically, emotionally and spiritually.
Living in a safe haven
There is no shortage when it comes to opportunities to serve here. Each day, in an old bar (now known as ‘iPunkt’) at the centre of our area, we host German courses, homework help, children’s programmes and international cafés, which are all bursting at the seams. But living in community means that we are also able to serve our friends according to their personal needs, as they arise.
Sometimes it involves accompanying women to the doctor’s surgery, helping at the shops or filling out forms. Often it involves drinking copious amounts of tea, spending time together and being a listening ear.
There are of course great challenges, such as language barriers and cultural differences which go alongside living in an inter-cultural community. But above all else, it is an amazing privilege and joy to be able to share our lives, and the gospel, with people from so many countries and cultures and to see God at work, transforming lives through Jesus Christ.
The people we serve are from a wide range of backgrounds, with an increasing majority from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Uprooted as crisis overtakes their homelands, many have undergone unimaginably gruelling and dangerous journeys. Finally, hungry, tired and cold, but full of thanks, they reach the ‘safe haven’ of Europe. Yet instead of the warm scent of security and peace which they anticipate, a refugee’s welcome committee is often plagued by fear and doubt. Carrying little more than a rucksack on their way, as the reality of separation from family, an unknown future and complete culture shock begin to take hold, the psychological trauma which so many of our new neighbours carry with them is not so easily unpacked.
Indeed, when the frequent overhead planes turn the laughter of a game of dodgeball into panic and tears at our three-times weekly children’s programme, or when your ‘how are you?’ is met by a cold and distant ‘my heart is ill’, it really can be easy to become discouraged. You watch your refugee brothers and sisters in Christ being swallowed up by trauma-tisation and persecution in refugee homes and watch racism bring forth ugly violence.
Yet, as the church of Jesus Christ, we are the light of the world! We have a real and living hope in an almighty God who loves these people and offers them true peace, life and joy in Jesus’s name. In Jesus’s power, we are called to tell all nations of this incredibly good news. Now the nations are coming to us and we can do just that, wherever we are.
Opposition and delight
Of course, this is not always easy. Sometimes people hate the gospel, and we do experience that. We are laughed at and mocked for a belief in the triune God. We live amongst children, who are so strongly influenced by their mosque that, at six years, they trample on, spit on and then tear to pieces a cross-shaped paper cut-out. But Jesus said this would happen and he also promised he would be with us through it all. This divine presence is also a daily experience, as we witness God working wonderful transformations, answering prayers and miraculously providing.
A few weeks ago, these same children began to chorus ‘Yes, Jesus loves me’ and advise a fearful young boy: ‘Jesus conquered the devil, and has power over every bad spirit. If you are scared of evil spirits, you can pray to him.’ We experience pure joy as one Iraqi lady, in the midst of a deep depression, received a copy of the New Testament, and in tears of delight held it up to the sky, kissed it, and read it cover to cover, shouting Alhamdulillah! (Praise God!)
Beautiful church
Another great privilege is living in and learning from the amazingly beautiful diversity in the church as we are able to welcome brothers and sisters in Christ from warzones into our churches. And at the same time, we are experiencing an incredible and unprecedented unity amongst churches of all denominations as God uses our fear, weakness and uncertainty to bring us together to serve the nations as they arrive in Austria.
So, yes, we are definitely living in a time of rapid change and yes, there are definitely huge challenges facing Europe and the church worldwide. But God is sovereign and faithful. He loves the world so much that he sent his one and only Son to bring redemption for those who believe. Jesus is a hope for refugees too. There is no story too devastating, too hopeless for Jesus. And that is why we are doing what we are doing here in Traun, and why the church worldwide has an exciting and vital role to play in this time of change!
