A beautiful day in the neighborhood...

How's this for a face no one can resist? Today took me back to Clarkston where I joined my ministry partner, Terry Earl, in visiting several homes of refugee families.Children were everywhere -- in the stairwells, in the parking lots, on the sidewalks, in the open grassy areas.
We chatted in one home where the father of the family is blind. In another home we visited, the father suffered disfiguring burns on his hand. As if that weren't painful enough, last week he was hit by a car! He was still not feeling well today.

In both families, the disabled fathers are unemployed and the mothers have to work. They go to a chicken factory nearly two hours away by van. They work the night shift in a cold place where the labor is tedious. Then they return home, try to sleep a little, and at the same time make sure their children don't run wild in the streets. It's a difficult task.
The refugee family who lives in this home has been in the United States for many years. They've earned enough money to beautify their home with wall hangings and floor mats. The decorative piece on the ceiling was a gift from a friend.
This cutie pie has been in summer school. Refugee parents know how important education is to a successful life here. They make sure their kids know it, too.
After visiting in the homes, Terry and I drove over to a restaurant run by a family in which an Ethiopian is married to an Eritrean -- traditional enemies! Their beautiful daughter told us her parents escaped to a refugee camp during the war in which Eritrea split away from Ethiopia. In their restaurant, they serve many East African foods, including my beloved samosas, triangular pastry pockets stuffed with savory meat. Yum!