Refuge

According to the United Nations, a refugee is a person “forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country.” As we’ve been studying the history of Limassol, we read about Iraqis who have fled their country, whip marks scarring their backs, Israelis on vacation in Cyprus who want to be baptized into Christianity, and Africans, Filipinos and Chinese seeking a better life. These last are simply migrant workers and students, but they join the previous group as people seeking a better life. These people are often the friends missionaries bring to church because a better life IS the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It may seem like refugees are a new 21st Century problem, but refugees and migrants have been around for as long as war, famine, and the plague. It really isn’t so much of a problem as it is a fact of life in every generation. However, social discord is one of the signs that the Second Coming of the Lord is near and this is a stressful time for all of us. Notice the sign below.

Even if one isn’t forced from home, stripped of hard-fought freedoms, or otherwise oppressed, just the sheer number of people coming and going is stressful! Many people turn to the gospel of Jesus Christ to find peace in this restless, chaotic world. https://bookofmormononline.com/3250/being-overwhelmed-how-i-found-peace-through-jesus-christ

Recently we enjoyed visiting the tomb of a refugee who fled oppressive persecution 2000 years ago. Around the same time as Stephen was stoned by an angry mob, Lazarus, brother to Mary and Martha, immigrated to Cyprus to escape persecution. Raised from the dead by Jesus Christ, Lazarus was true to his testimony and wouldn’t deny it. As a faithful saint and refugee, he lived out his life in Cyprus and was buried in Larnaka.

Just off the beach in Larnaka, Cyprus, the Holy Church of St. Lazarus stands in its beautiful old-world architecture. Patrons can peruse the Byzantine paintings, kiss the holy relics, and light candles to worship there. Run by the Greek Orthodox Church, it pays homage to a righteous refugee seeking a better life.

You never know what that person next to you has been through or is going through. We are ignorant of so many things. The only way to truly begin to understand is simple. Be kind to everyone!