{"id":3127,"date":"2016-09-13T08:50:26","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T08:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/sitenews\/2016\/09\/13\/helping-refugees-as-important-as-preaching-the-second-coming\/"},"modified":"2016-09-13T08:50:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-13T08:50:26","slug":"helping-refugees-as-important-as-preaching-the-second-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/helping-refugees-as-important-as-preaching-the-second-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping refugees \u2018as important as preaching the Second Coming\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

12 September 2016 | Belgrade, Serbia [Andrew McChesney\/AR]  Seventh-day Adventist pastor Igor Mitrovi\u0107 once believed that the church\u2019s prophetic calling was to proclaim the Second Coming of Jesus.<\/p>\n

But after working on the frontlines of Europe\u2019s refugee crisis for the past year, Mitrovi\u0107 sees a second and equally important prophetic calling: to help the helpless.<\/p>\n

ADRA\u2019s director for Serbia shares the lessons that he\u2019s learned from Europe\u2019s refugee crisis.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Igor Mitrovi\u0107, ADRA\u2019s country director in Serbia<\/figcaption><\/figure>The two callings are not unrelated, Mitrovi\u0107 said in an interview at a refugee crisis centre that he helps run in Serbia\u2019s capital, Belgrade. By reaching out to those who cannot help themselves, Adventists are sharing the gospel with as much power as with an evangelistic series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you find a stranger, someone very helpless, you are called to raise your voice and protect,\u201d Mitrovi\u0107 said, citing Old Testament prophet Amos and his strong denouncements of the exploitation of the helpless in passages such as Amos 2:6-8<\/a> and 8:4-7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mitrovi\u0107, who has worked at ADRA\u2019s country director in Serbia for the past five years, also expressed new appreciation for biblical characters who were refugees and said the church\u2019s front-line refugee work was pointing both refugees and non-Adventist partners to the gospel. He shared how an interpreter recently began attending an Adventist church.<\/p>\n

ADRA is not alone is assisting refugees in Serbia. Many of the small Balkan country\u2019s 6,000 Adventists sprang into action as refugees poured in last year, collecting food, clothing, and water and then distributing the supplies. Church members also wanted to open up their homes, but the authorities forbade this, saying they needed to keep track of the refugees by housing them at state-designated facilities, said Djordje Trajkovski, president of the Adventist Church\u2019s South-East European Union, whose territory includes Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro.<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch members have had a very positive attitude about the refugees coming to Serbia,\u201d Trajkovski said. \u201cWe were surprised at the speed some churches organized themselves to help. Many young people volunteered at the spots where refugees needed initial help, especially at the beginning when other NGOs were not prepared to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said church members were able to empathize with the refugees because they had experienced similar hardships amid a devastating armed conflict that erupted following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey understand what it means to be in a situation like this,\u201d Trajkovski said. \u201cAs with every trouble, this one made people more united. It made them unite in their efforts to relieve the pain and suffering of their neighbours.\u201d<\/p>\n

ADRA Takes the Lead<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ADRA took the lead in opening a refugee crisis centre with four other organizations near Belgrade\u2019s main train station in July 2015, just when Europe\u2019s refugee crisis spun out of control.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cADRA has invested significantly in establishing both an international and country level response to disasters,\u201d said Jonathan Duffy, president of ADRA International. \u201cThe situation in Serbia serves as a good example of the plan working where we were able to mobilize and respond rapidly.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, about 5,000 refugees are living in Serbia at any given time, a decrease from highs seen a year ago when thousands of people flowed across the country\u2019s border daily, Mitrovi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n

Many of those refugees stop by ADRA\u2019s Asylum Information Centre, which provides food and other supplies, psychological support, activities for children, and information to parents and teens on the upper floor. The ground floor, which is run by another organization, provides legal support and free Internet. The refugee centre is open around the clock, and ADRA has seven paid employees working with 50 to 70 unaccompanied minors or families daily.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Igor Mitrovi\u0107 shares his story with Andrew McChesney, News editor, Adventist Review<\/figcaption><\/figure>Mitrovi\u0107 said the ongoing refugee crisis serves as a wake-up call for Adventists to not only dress up in \u201cnice suits\u201d and proclaim the gospel to strangers in \u201cnice venues\u201d but to also engage with strangers who are helpless.<\/p>\n

He could well find a basis for his stance in the earthly ministry of Jesus, who is recorded as spending much more time healing the sick and caring for the marginalized than preaching sermons.<\/p>\n

Working with the refugees has allowed Mitrovi\u0107 to see biblical characters like Jesus in a new light.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the Bible\u2019s main characters have been refugees: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jesus,\u201d said Mitrovi\u0107, who projects a no-nonsense image with a muscular physique, a shaven head, and a determined voice. \u201cWhen you have first-hand experience, you can appreciate the Bible stories a little differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaching Refugees \u2014 and Partners<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Like the biblical characters, today\u2019s refugees have stories of homes lost and of being uprooted in various ways, he said. All they have is their belongings as they seek a place to call their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have this wonderful opportunity to learn how God can help,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of them come from a proper religious background. I think if they encounter an authentic Christian community along the way, then they will be very much open to God\u2019s call.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has seen a similar openness to God\u2019s call among non-Adventists partnering with ADRA as interpreters and social workers. He said that although ADRA had a small office in Serbia, the refugee crisis put it in a position to attract highly qualified professionals to help. As a result, the first people to see the gospel in action has been those non-Adventist partners.<\/p>\n

Mitrovi\u0107 said his faith has not been a topic of discussion in the office, but just a few days ago a co-worker told him, \u201cDid you know that my aunt is a Seventh-day Adventist and she helped me when I fled from Croatia?\u201d On a different occasion, another said: \u201cMy grandmother is an Adventist from Australia. She helped me and my family during the nasty wars of the 1990s, sending money.\u201d Others told him that they have been listening to church sermons by him and other ADRA staff members online.<\/p>\n