First wave of refugees: 1980s

from the Soviet Invasion

The Soviet invasion caused the first wave of Afghan refugees as millions flooded into Pakistan, Iran and India.

At the same time, Afghans began to resist the Soviets and Kabul government, which birthed the Afghan mujahideen (holy warriors). The U.S. saw an opportunity to oppose the Soviets by supporting the Afghan warriors. Islamic enthusiasts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere, joined with the mujahideen in “short-term mission” service—an ideal chance for young radicals to practice jihad. Osama bin Laden was one such warrior, and he started the al-Qaeda Islamic party

Winnipeg, Manitoba

On October 17, 2021, Kingdom Life Church (KLC) members met together at St. Vital EMC in Winnipeg, Man., with whom they have established a formal partnership. This service marked the official opening of KLC as part of the EMC, under the leadership of I and P, workers supported by the EMC Church Planting Task Force.

An interview with a single man

Life stories can be told in many ways. Come with me for a bit. I’ll take you through the chapters of my life, starting with my childhood.

I grew up as a missionary kid in Pakistan. We had a jungle gym in our backyard and, very often, my sister and I would sit on the swings and play a game in which we would imagine we were grown up and living out the most ideal life we could think of: we were missionaries in the Peruvian jungle, with about 10 kids each. We homeschooled our kids and were, of course, the perfect missionary families.

I remember the first time meeting the post-secondary student advisor from my home reserve of Fisher River Cree Nation, I had never met anyone from here before and I was nervous.

Have you ever seen a vehicle where the dash in front of the driver is full of papers or books? It has scraps of notes, receipts, work sheets from a project or any other such thing cluttering up the top of the dash.

It started with a Bible study. Young families sensed God moving in revival. The good news of salvation in Jesus transformed their lives. Bible studies formed to discover the meaning of new life in Christ. Still, their church remained traditional and legalistic.

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (Micah 4:3; Isaiah 2:4).

As we continue to search for ways to meet our deep longings for communion with God and others, let’s consider how the practice of hospitality might be just the thing we need as we ride out this pandemic.

I (Jennifer Kornelsen) visited with Elvira Cote one rainy day this spring. Elvira is from Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan and she lives in Winnipeg.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been with us over a year. Since it began, we have been living under a constant diet of change with an overriding emotion of fear. Provincial and federal governments have mandated restrictions in hope of containing the virus, affecting every sector of society.