This is a land of refugees. Every day, more arrive from the camps, inside and outside the country. These refugees have hope, the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul that leads them home, leads them to believe that life will get better, that the wars will end and they can simply live in peace.

Their hope was taken away during those wars. While peace treaties do give them some hope, those treaties do not provide the anchor they need to continue living in this harsh land. Instead, they find their hope in the risen Lord, the one who suffered with them, who died with them, and who has been raised to new life ... with them.

Christianity has blossomed wildly here because life is so hard. The refuge that Christ offers--the love, the hope, the idea that life can be different and is different – not only gives them something to hold onto; it makes them want to go forward in new and powerful ways. God's gift of hope shows them how to live these new lives.

Christians here have seized God's hope, and it is marvelous to behold.

PRAY for the Diocese of Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands (North India)

Ps 37:1-18 * 37:19-42; Genesis 11:1-9; John 4:1-15

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