United Nations Reports: 232 Million International Migrants Globally (And other random thoughts)

Random Picture of Me Performing a Naamkaran Ceremony for a Nepali Family.
Has little to do with the article.

Okay, first, take a look at this press release from the United Nations:

http://esa.un.org/unmigration/wallchart2013.htm

They are reporting that the total number of people living in diaspora as first generation, international migrants is now 232 million!  That's huge.  That's 3.2% of the world! 

The same report says that while the United States remains the most population destination country, Global South to Global South migration is now on an equal footing with "southerners" going to the Northern nations. And there is now a new top ten list for host nations (replacing the now outdated one I posted here recently):

In 2013, half of all international migrants lived in 10 countries, with the US hosting the largest number (45.8 million), followed by the Russian Federation (11 million); Germany (9.8 million); Saudi Arabia (9.1 million); United Arab Emirates (7.8 million); United Kingdom (7.8 million); France (7.4 million); Canada (7.3 million); Australia (6.5 million); and Spain (6.5 million).

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So, it is exciting stuff, to be sure.  People are on the move like never before and God is on the move among them.  During the next few days, I will be speaking on diaspora missiology first at a Dallas-Ft. Worth Diaspora Leaders Roundtable and then at the annual gathering of the International Society of Frontier Missiology.  I am excited about the opportunity to share and pray that God uses the time to influence these leaders for the sake of missions among scattered people.  I hope you will pray.

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Also, if you have been tracking with us, you will have noticed that MoveIn and Trinity International Baptist Mission have just announced today that they are joining forces to launch MoveIn in the United States.  TIBM has two "MoveIn" teams that have already moved into "patches" and are engaging those communities with prayer and the gospel.  You will hear more about this development in coming days and weeks, but for now, I hope you will check out MoveIn and learn more about the vision.

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By the way, when I'm on the road, I like to post to my "Scatterings" blog which is on Tumblr.  So, if you haven't added me on Facebook, you can check out that blog for pictures and updates from my travels.  Usually.