Maurice Kandalaft knew what it was like to immigrate to a new country without any support. It was a difficult adjustment for him as he navigated the challenges alone. Having been through that experience, the Lord instilled in Maurice’s heart a desire to support others in a similar situation. Maurice and his wife, Laila, minister among an Arabic-speaking community in Calgary, which of course leads to meeting many newcomers. “I was against [helping with refugee sponsorship from] the beginning. The reason – I didn’t want people to come to me for things like that. I want people to come to me for Christ. Not for what I can do for them.” As Laila ministered among the women and shared the stories of those she met, Maurice felt God compelling him to respond. In Arabic culture, the husband of a family holds the responsibility for earning an income and managing finances. Laila shared with him how a young woman suddenly became a widow with five children to care for. Maurice began advocating for affordable housing for this family, without having met the woman. “See when you do stuff like that, people remember you. People they talk about you. They share what you’ve done.”
It was important that people knew Maurice and Laila’s motivation for helping them. “We’re not doing this as a charity organization. We’re doing this because Christ Himself put in my heart that passion to help whoever needs our help, regardless of their religion. But one thing you need to promote in this whole thing is Jesus. If it wasn’t for Jesus, I would never do that.”
How did this lead to refugee sponsorship? Another single mother with two children came to the Kandalafts and asked if they would help bring her sister and family to Canada. Feeling that pull on his heart again, he agreed to look into the possibility with Chestermere Christian Fellowship. At that time, George McDade was pastoring and Maurice was offering his services as pulpit supply twice a month. George listened to the woman’s story and then offered to share the request with a committee. The committee then agreed to undertake this sponsorship with the woman acting as a co-sponsor.
Chestermere Christian Fellowship is not a large church. In fact, most of its members are over the age of 70! Refugee sponsorship can seem a daunting undertaking for a church of any size but especially a smaller one that may not have financial resources. There are lots of people in Canada looking to sponsor family members and they are able to provide the finances themselves. However, they need a church to partner with them because their family members don’t have formal refugee status documents. This is a great way for a church to engage with their community, coming alongside a sponsor and providing the practical support in order to apply for a sponsor’s family to come to Canada. It’s a beautiful opportunity to live out the Way of Jesus before the co-sponsor and the refugee family. When the family arrives, the church can then rally around them in their practical support roles and build relationship with these newcomers, helping them to settle in to their new life, and establishing community around them. Having people they know and can rely on helps these newcomers feel more settled. Through this display of love and care in the name of Jesus, the gospel can have its effect.
The co-sponsor is a wonderful hostess and her house is always full of people. When the Kandalafts drop in for a visit, they get to meet with many more families from various parts of the middle east. “Why [do] we send missionaries to the middle east when it costs us millions of dollars to share Christ with them? …. So now we don’t have to go there. Jesus reversed it. They’re coming to us. So, we have to take opportunity of that. And that is stepping in with boldness. You got to love them. You got to be transparent. You got to share with them without forcing them.... It’s a very enjoyable ministry. And people say that it is difficult to evangelize. To us, it’s the easiest thing to evangelize because it’s not you. Before we leave the house, we pray, ‘Holy Spirit, go before us. Prepare their minds. Prepare the house. And let them accept us for Your glory.’ And when we go there everything is ready for us. Sometimes we talk. And sometimes we don’t share our hope and we say ‘Thank You Jesus’ because You are the One who ordained this thing. But if you do it by your flesh, that’s when you get disappointed. That’s why you don’t get any results. It’s all through the Holy Spirit.”
Chestermere Christian Fellowship hosted a Christmas event inviting six newcomer families. There was a potluck to enjoy together. Pastor George dressed up as Santa Clause and read the story of Jesus’ birth to the children gathered around him. And the evening finished with a campfire. It was a fun event for all who attended.
