As an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum in France, Sahr finds the legal process confusing and frustrating. More than anything, he needs friends who care about him and can help him navigate the complexities of trying to build a new life in a foreign country.

Sahr needs trusted friends.

Joe, an IAFR missionary, met Sahr earlier this year through a trauma healing group that Joe helps facilitate at the house where Sahr lives with fourteen other displaced unaccompanied minors, a missionary couple, and a few families from the community.

One night a few weeks ago, Sahr shared some of his frustrations with Joe. "They want me to go to the judge. Why do I have to go to the judge? I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't commit any crimes."

"It's part of the normal procedure to recognize you as a minor in France so you can go to school," Joe reassures Sahr.

"One of the reasons that I set out on this risky journey was to go to school and have new opportunities. But sometimes, I just don't know what is going to happen. Sometimes I want to go back where I was before." Sahr mourns.

Seeking to encourage Sahr in the long wait, Joe offers tutoring in computer skills once a week. This helps Sahr work toward his educational goals, preparing him for when he can attend high school. It also provides opportunities for personal connection.

"I don't know where she is. It keeps me up at night."

During last week's computer use lesson, Sahr confided to Joe that he hasn't seen his mom in four years. "I don't know where she is," Sahr says sadly. "It keeps me up at night worrying."

"I'm sorry. You must miss your mom so much." Joe grieves with his young friend.

He knows Sahr has access to a psychologist and the other people who share the house. But the significance of losing his entire family back home has left him feeling extremely isolated, even with supportive people around him.

Relationships make recovery possible.

Joe realizes it takes a lot of people to create a community for one person. The gift of emotional support through personal relationships is vital to recovery and resilience for youth like Sahr.

"I remember being sixteen, and I think about all the stability and care I was given. Thinking about Sahr and how crazy it is that he has to live this experience, and how disorienting that must be, gives me a lot of compassion for him." Joe says.

You are helping break Sahr's isolation.

As partners who support missionaries like Joe, you are helping break the isolation of Sahr and other displaced people, connecting them to the vital resource of a safe and welcoming community and hope for a better future.

Missionaries are our greatest asset.

Relationship is at the center of God's plan to rescue the world. That's why we celebrate Christmas - the day that the Creator of all things and the source of Life itself chose to be born into the human family and live among us.

And that is why missionaries (like Joe) are our most valuable asset. They are like shepherds, waking up every day to walk alongside of people who have lost their place in the world and are in need of hope and refuge.