Omid

14th Dec, 2019 : 11am - 8pm

15th Dec, 2019 : 2pm - 8pm

Strangers become friends...friends become family!

The world is seeing an unprecedented refugee crisis. United nations estimates that 70.8 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 25.9 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. Every minute in 2018, 25 people were forced to flee because of war, persecution and conflict.

The Bible uses the term “strangers” and “foreigners” to refer to modern day refugees. God says in Exodus 23:9, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.”

We see this theme of “strangers” continued in the New Testament when Jesus says in Matthew 25:35, “... I was a stranger and you invited me in.” And in Hebrews 13:1-2, we are commanded to “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

The reason for these commands to love the “strangers” in our midst is because the Bible teaches us that we were “strangers” before a holy God. We were displaced from our original home and communion with God and we are spiritual refugees wandering in this life looking for our eternal home. But through Jesus by faith, God offers forgiveness of our sins and welcomes us into his family. When we accept this gift through Jesus, we are no longer “strangers” but we become “friends” and “family” of God.

It is with this heart, we want to extend love and hope to our Afghan refugee friends in Delhi. This art exhibition is in partnership with Bridges Academy students. These students have been taught to paint, some even for the very first time, by Rajesh Gogu who is a car designer by profession and passionate about art. Rajesh spent every Saturday for the last six months with these students patiently teaching them the nuances of sketching and painting. In this exhibition, you will witness not only his hard work in engaging these students but their commitment to learn and excel.

The exhibition is rightly named as “OMID” meaning hope in Dari. May these paintings bring hope, joy and confidence to these students and their families to dream big. In the last few months, these “strangers” have become our “friends” and “family”.

The entire proceeds from the art sale will go towards supporting the education of the students through Bridges Academy.