Just in from Africa!

Today, Terry Earl and I visited a Burundian family who arrived in the United States just a few short weeks ago. For three months, they will live under the watch-care of a refugee resettlement agency. For now, they have an apartment and food to eat.

But what happens next?
These young parents have three children -- including a baby. Mom speaks no English. Dad speaks very little. He will attend ESL classes and then try to get a job. But she needs to stay home with her children.
The auntie (mom's sister) also lives with this family. The women were happy to learn that Overflow Ministries may be able to come into the home and teach ESL, literacy, and life skills.

How would you feel if you woke up one morning inside a hut in a refugee camp in Tanzania? What if you spoke no Swahili, had neither a job nor a car, and didn't know how to keep your home clean and safe?

Though America is the land of opportunity, our newest refugees enter with a sense of hope mingled with trepidation. Jesus commanded His followers to welcome aliens and other foreigners -- for when we help "the least of these," we're helping Him.

Let's get busy!

Come on in, Jesus!

The GoldRush team from North Carolina was back at Huntington Ridge today with games, snacks, and a craft project. The youth taught the children how to make "salvation bracelets."As they slide different colored beads onto a string, the children learn about God's purity and their own sin. They hear the good news that Jesus shed His blood to take away the separation between them and God. Today, this precious boy decided he wanted to welcome Jesus into his heart. Darion has experienced a lot of difficulties already in his young life. He has several brothers and is a loving role model for them.
Thanks so much, GoldRush, for returning to Huntington Ridge and teaching our children about the love and hope they can find in Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for Darion and his family and friends.

More precious than GoldRush

Today we welcomed a 20-person team from Grace Fellowship Church in Kinston, North Carolina. The 16 youths and four adults came to Atlanta for the annual GoldRush missions blitz sponsored by Perimeter Presbyterian Church – great supporters of Whirlwind Missions and Huntington Ridge in particular.
“We love it,” declared junior high youth leader Anne Albritton. This marks the fifth consecutive year for the North Carolina church to send a team to GoldRush.Several members of the team donned gloves and picked up trash along the pathways.
When the volunteers arrived at mid-day, it appeared they would have few children to participate in their activities. Many Huntington Ridge children are in summer school. But the visitors walked through the apartment complex and invited every child they found, and soon the “after-school room” was filled with face-painting, game-playing, laughing youngsters.

The team will return Wednesday and Thursday. We thank God for the willingness of these young people and their leaders to minister to the residents of Huntington Ridge.

God was in control of this event, and the team was fully prayed up. Thank you Gold Rush -- and thank you, Lord!

Two little girls from Africa ...

This past weekend, I had the great joy of taking my best friend back home to "Africa."

Janice and I met when we were little girls, and I have known her longer than any other friend. Our missionary parents served God in Tanzania and Kenya. We first became pals at "mission meeting." Once a year, everyone from our mission group in East Africa gathered for this week-long extravaganza of Vacation Bible School, conferences, personnel meetings, games, banquets, song-fests and other events. One special year, Janice and I got to be flag holders during VBS. (Notice the spiffy patches on the knees of my pink jeans. Also notice Janice's very fancy cat's-eye glasses. Weren't we special!)
Janice and I continued our close friendship in middle school at Rosslyn Academy and in high school at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya. We roomed together at boarding school and spent hours comparing notes on boyfriends. Years later, Janice and I had the great joy of adopting siblings from an orphanage in Romania. Her daughters Andrea and Katie are birth sisters to our son Andrei. We've stayed very close and try to get the kids together as often as we can.I was thrilled when Janice told me she and Andrea would be coming for a visit this weekend. They arrived on Friday morning right after the donut fiesta, and we headed for "the village" in Clarkston. I just loved seeing my best friend's beautiful smile as she held African babies, spoke in Swahili to our friends and ate a samosa at the farmer's market.
Janice spent much of her childhood in Kigoma, a town near the camp where our Burundian families lived for many years. They had great fun reminiscing about Lake Tanganyika and the surrounding countryside. The hospital in Kigoma where one of the refugee men worked actually began as a clinic in Janice's backyard!

My heart is full as I look back on my childhood and this long friendship through which God has blessed me so richly.

Spirit of America

The Fourth of July is part of the pantheon of holidays you loved as a child, and then grew up to experience through the eyes of your own children. What sets Independence Day apart is the fact that it specifically celebrates our country.My Spirit of America moment occurred as I was busily serving coffee and juice to people at our Krispy Kreme Fourth event. I had bought two discount CDs of patriotic music at Wal-Mart, and one of them was playing on the boom box.

As I heard Lee Greenwood sing God Bless the USA, I had to walk away from the serving table to collect my emotions. The collective memories of 58 Fourths of July, the stars-and-stripes banners moving in the breeze, the joy and relief that people had come to our event...it got to me.

What I wanted our observance of the Fourth to say to our neighbors was something like this: America is a great place. You know that or you wouldn’t have come here to live and work and raise your family. And whether you are a native or not, whether you are a citizen or not, whether you are documented or not, you are entitled to celebrate America.

I’m glad we did. We should all count our blessings to be here, every day of the year. And we should do what the Bible says and minister to the aliens among us.

How to wear an African scarf!

Now that I live and work among two people groups who traditionally hold elders in high esteem, I've decided to welcome in my white hair. This transition calls for a head scarf of some sort -- which fits right in with my African friends. My technique is pretty dull, while they know how to tie them in many elaborate styles! While visiting our refugee friends in Clarkston today, Terry and I met this sweet Burundian woman who was eager to teach the "wazungu wazee wawili" (two old white ladies!) how to wear a traditional scarf.

Start with your pretty blue scarf...Take out your fabric and fold it in half lengthwise, and then in half again...Now remove one scarf and begin to wrap on the new one ...Lay the scarf across your forehead ...Wrap each end around your head and bring them to the front ...
Take the two ends and put one through the other to tie the scarf ...
Pull the ends tight and tuck part of one length back through the knot ...
Wow, you look maridadi! (fancy!)
While I was getting my scarf tying lesson, Terry was helping our friend's husband with a phone problem. He's being billed for a telephone he ordered -- but never received in the mail.

This man and Terry have tried several times to discuss the situation with the phone company. The representative won't speak to Terry, because she's not the the person with whom they have a contract. But our friend can't speak English well enough to communicate the problem. Next time they're going to turn on Terry's speaker phone so they can both talk to the representative. This is the kind of daily need we encounter every time we're in the village. Please pray!
Before heading home today, I paused outside. Terry and I are writing our ESL/literacy/life skills curriculum inside an office at Clarkston International Bible Church (Southern Baptist). CIBC hosts church groups worshiping in many languages throughout the week. The Ethiopian congregation is well established, and they have a pastor of their own. It's exciting to see God at work in the lives of people from all over the world . . . in Atlanta!

Sunday joys and victories

This Sunday was one of those rich days when you feel the glow of God's smiling face. We loved the worship service at Cellebration Fellowship -- otherwise known as "the refugee church."Worshipers from Burma, Burundi, Congo, and the Karen people group sang hymns in their native tongues. What a joy to hear "Count Your Blessings" sung in Karen by people who have countless reasons to consider themselves among the most unblessed in the world. Yet through Jesus, they rejoice! Our African friend sang in Kirundi. He often cries when he sings, because his heart is so full of passion for Christ. And when you see a smile like this, can you doubt the joy God brings to his life?By the way, this young man fled for his life from a genocidal regime in Burundi, spent many years in a refugee camp, and has done hard labor in a chicken factory in the United States. Only a close relationship with the Father could bring such happiness to a man who has experienced this depth of suffering.

We're grateful to pastor Dave Lambert for his leadership at Cellebration Fellowship, a church that meets on Sundays at 10:oo am (or refugee time, which can be much later) at the Atlanta School for the Deaf on Indian Creek. If you're in the area, come join us!
World Relief, the agency that brings many refugees to Atlanta, was at church filming a documentary on the life of this young Burmese girl who stands outside with her family. What a beauty she is!
The Atlanta director of World Relief talked with Tim after the service. This agency does so much good, yet their existence is always precarious. Please support them. They serve refugees in the name of the Lord, and not all agencies are dedicated to Jesus. Christ commanded us to welcome the stranger, saying: "If you do it unto the least of these . . . you do it to Me."
Lunch brought a great victory to one member of our family. At Cracker Barrel, Andrei continued his dedicated effort to conquer the Peg Game. On Sunday, he achieved his goal -- only one peg left on the board! Congratulations, Andrei!
After lunch, we went for a walk. Children came running our way, excited to tell us that their mama cat had given birth to five kittens! They were eager to show us these newborns. Beautiful image of maternal love from Mrs. Gato!There's nothing like a pet to soften hearts and brighten lives. We're so grateful that the management gave us special permission to have our own ambassador of joy. Everyone loves Tessie!