Suppose reliable word came that within hours this area of the country would be attacked by enemy missiles. Orders from the military broadcast over the emergency stations tell us to evacuate our town and literally run for our lives.

Perhaps we would quickly plan some strategy of escape, maybe with some close friends and relatives. Or we might hold a hurried congregational meeting and decide to leave in some sort of protective caravan. No matter what our specific response, all of a sudden we would experience what it is like to become a homeless people. Suddenly, without warning, we are part of that vast number of refugees whose chief goal becomes survival.

We soon discover that nobody wants us. Everywhere we run into negative attitudes: "We have enough economic problems and unemployment th…