Love Our Only World

Jan 11th The Thanksgiving Tree

One of the high points of my week is the English class I teach on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  Most of the women who come are recent refugees from Afghanistan, many of whom have made challenging journeys of many months and lived in makeshift camps with their children before arriving in our city.  The classes we teach provide not just a boost to language learning, but a place to make friends, share stories, and find sympathy, support, and prayer.

On Tuesday of Thanksgiving week we decided to have a simple celebration and explain the meaning of the holiday.  I was grateful that one advanced English speaker came and was willing to translate my brief story of the Pilgrims and the tradition of turkey dinners for the rest of the ladies.  Then I introduced our special activity; another volunteer had cut out colored leaves and created a poster, and each of us took a leaf on which to write something we were grateful for.  Then each person had a chance to share with the group.

Many of them expressed thankfulness for being in the US, being safe, and for a place to learn English.  There were expressions of gratitude for family, especially children.  One woman wrote, “I thank God for my daughter and pray that I can see her soon.”  She and her husband had had to leave their baby girl with her parents in Afghanistan, and miss her every minute.

Each of these women have stories of loss, hardship, and trauma that we can’t imagine enduring.  We wish we had the power to heal all their wounds, reunite every family, and bring peace to their land, but only God has that power.  As I reflect on how God has blessed me at this time of year, I’m glad that I can provide a place of blessing for newcomers and help them begin to put down roots.  In the year ahead, may they begin to branch out and grow new, healthy leaves of thankfulness in their new home.

May 6th Take Care of My Unicorn…

Have you ever felt like someone has brought you a unicorn and said, “Could you please take care of this for me?”  What a gift, what a responsibility!  That’s how I feel these days…the someone is God, and the unicorn is a Somali believer named Farsa!  When we moved into our San Diego neighborhood in 2016, one of the things that brought me joy was the proximity of our apartment to a significant community of Somali immigrants.  I had hopes of making Somali friends, sharing the Good News, and seeing God work redemptively in the neighborhood.  But in the years since, while I have met many Somali women, I have only made one good Somali friend, and none of them have been open to deep discussions about faith.

Somali believers are like unicorns because they are so rare.  The Somali immigrant community is close-knit and holds tightly to Islam as a source of their identity, especially as a minority in the US.  But here and there, we see glimpses of God at work!  We’re part of a loose network of people in ministry to Muslims across the US, and when a member of this network reached out from the Midwest to find someone to connect with a Somali woman who was moving from there to San Diego, I eagerly volunteered!  A few weeks later Farsa and I met in person.  That was last fall, and we have been meeting almost weekly ever since.

This is the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in the Discovery Bible Study app, which we use in English and Somali.

Somali believers are like unicorns because they are both strong and beautiful!  Farsa came to the US as a teenager with her family, and has been through many ups and downs over the years.  She’s a single mom who works full time and manages not only to provide for her son but to send money back to her relatives every month as well.  She’s been a believer for a little over a year, and is still discovering what walking out her faith looks like.  It’s a joy to read Scripture together each week and to see how God is speaking to her and growing her faith.  We pray together, and lift up her needs and her family members in different parts of the world.

A second Somali woman has joined our study; she became a believer many years ago, moved away, and just recently moved back.  It’s a gift to them both to support each other in friendship and prayer.  And what a gift to me, to have these rare and beautiful women in my life!

Aug 28th Close Quarters

Can you imagine living in a small, two-bedroom apartment as a family of nine?  When three of those nine are teenaged girls and there is only one bathroom?  Afghans are used to living in close quarters and sharing family space, but it can’t always be easy.  When my friend Nuria invited me and my husband over for lunch, I was able to catch a glimpse!

I met Nuria last year when she started coming to English class.  She was an eager learner, and as her language improved I began to hear more of her story.  She and her family came to the US two and a half years ago.  Her husband was a military medic and worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan, so he was able to get a visa to move to the US.  They have seven children—six girls and a boy!  Nuria’s husband is studying English and hopes to eventually get a job in health care.

Nuria invited us to her apartment for lunch, and she and her teenaged daughters worked together to make an Afghan specialty called “mantu.”  They filled little squares of dough with a spicy meat mixture, then steamed them like a kind of dumpling.  It’s a good thing they had had practice, because they made hundreds of these little dumplings while I sat and talked with them!  They wanted to have plenty of extra to take over to an Afghan family in another apartment who had just arrived.

When the mantu were ready, Nuria arranged some on a big platter and spooned two sauces over them—a lentil sauce and a yogurt sauce.  We enjoyed this feast together seated around the platter on the floor.  We asked Nuria’s husband Najib to tell us a little more about his work in Afghanistan, but he didn’t say much.  It was clear that he had been in some very stressful situations and seen some real suffering.  But he was hospitable to us and kind and attentive to his wife and kids.

The teenaged girls speak English well, with only slight accents.  The two oldest, who are 18 and 19, are both hoping to become doctors some day.  They say that their father encourages them to study and work hard, and not to worry about getting married, although their grandmother in Afghanistan often asks how long they are planning to wait to find husbands!  They told me that their father had paid for private English lessons for them while they were still in Afghanistan in order to prepare them for the move to the US.  I could see real affection and respect for Najib and gratitude for how he cares for and encourages them.

This family is fortunate to have been able to transition to the US all together—many were not.   Nuria and Najib are working hard to take care of their children and provide a loving home as they all adapt to American life.  My prayer is that they will connect with the loving heart of their Heavenly Father as well.

Feb 2nd A Vacation– It’s Not

What comes to mind when you imagine arriving at a hotel in a Southern California beach town?  A pool with sunbathers enjoying brightly-colored drinks under umbrellas?  Tourists in shorts and hats unloading piles of luggage?  A family heading out to enjoy the beach, loaded down with bags of chips and boogie-boards?

This month, the picture is very different:  This hotel, and several others in our area, are home to dozens of Afghan refugees.

Many of them arrived with no luggage, not to mention swimsuits or boogie-boards.  If parents were fortunate enough to have all their children together, that was enough!  We participated in an outreach event with some of our ministry partners and were glad to be able to offer a little bit of help and a few smiles to these people who have been through so much.

Since Afghanistan erupted in chaos last summer, thousands of Afghans have arrived in the US under a special humanitarian program.  Hundreds of those have landed here in our city, and with affordable housing in extremely short supply, hotels with “suites” are filling the gap.  I’m grateful that hotel managers and staff are willing to do their best to be welcoming to these newcomers, many of whom speak little or no English.

On the day of the outreach, our partners had coordinated with area church groups to bring volunteers and supplies.  There were tables with food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.  A tent was set up with children’s clothing, and another one with toys.  I sat in the front, checking people in using a list supplied by the hotel, with a sweet Afghan teenager helping me as translator.  One thing we gave out that was especially appreciated was a roll of quarters per family—for laundry!  From an ice box, we handed out frozen chickens.

So many little things are needed when you’re starting from scratch in a new place!  Memories came to mind of our arrival in Africa for the first time…so much we didn’t know, so many questions we couldn’t even ask!  How do I do laundry?  Where do I get chicken?  And a pot to cook it in?

On that day, we only spent a few hours with the Afghan newcomers, but the supplies we handed out and the smiles we gave helped move them forward a little in their transition to life in the US.  Much more will be needed, over a long time.  My transition to life in Africa many years ago, and then the transition back to life in California, were made smoother by the kindness of strangers.  May that be their experience, too.

Jan 26th Pass the Pie!

What’s the best part of Thanksgiving?  Pie!

Over Thanksgiving, we took a break from teaching English classes.  But we didn’t want to let the holiday pass without celebrating with our refugee friends and giving them a taste of what Thanksgiving means to us.  So we decided to throw a pie party!

Pumpkin pie and apple pie were the main course, but sweets and fruit graced the “table” as well.  Not actually a table– a cloth was spread on the floor and we all sat around on cushions, Afghan-style.  The drink of choice was tea, poured into china cups.  There were about an equal number of American teachers and Afghan women, happily passing slices of pie and bowls of nuts and fruit.

Tammy spoke briefly about the meaning of the holiday, and one of the intermediate students translated her words into Pashto.  Then she demonstrated expressing gratitude to God: “God, I thank you for…” and then we went around the “table,” each woman taking a turn filling in the blank and thanking God for what was significant in her life.  After each person’s turn, the whole group would respond together, “Thank you God!”  The Afghan women got the idea quickly, and after what had been, for some of them, a traumatic year, they enjoyed focusing together on gratitude.  There were lots of smiles and laughter.

Tammy finished by reading Psalm 103 and passing out a Pashto translation that the women could take home.  And then she prayed blessings and protection on the women and their families, especially those left behind in Afghanistan.  As we shared pie, smiles, love, and God’s Word, we prayed that 2022 would bring each of these precious women more reasons to thank Him.

Jan 18th The Newest Citizen!

What does it take to become a citizen of the United States?  Most of us have only a fuzzy idea of what the “naturalization process” entails.  We became citizens the easy way—by being born on US soil!  I recently got an up-close-and-personal look at becoming a citizen as I helped a new friend take the final steps on her journey.

“Fatima” is from Afghanistan, and has been in the US for five years, along with her husband and three children.  The law says that a person must be a legal resident of this country for five years before they are eligible for citizenship.  So at the four-and-a-half year mark, Fatima began studying for the exam.  I met her in October when she showed up at the English class I was helping with, not far from her apartment.  We worked on English for several weeks, but since her listening and speaking were fairly good, she asked if we could help her with her citizenship process.

One of our interns, Kendra, joined me in quizzing her on the 100 civics and history questions she had to know the answers to.  Some of the questions are ones that we weren’t sure about… How many US Representatives are there?  What are three of the positions in the President’s cabinet?  Name one war the US fought in the 19^th century?  But Fatima is bright and she quickly learned the answers.  (In the actual test, applicants are asked only 10 questions, taken randomly from the list of 100). In addition, we helped her practice for the reading and writing portions of the test. And we reviewed her lengthy application, to make sure she had understood and answered all the questions correctly.

After each tutoring time, I made sure to ask Fatima about her children and her family back in her home country.  Tears would come to her eyes when she spoke about her two brothers who were in hiding in Afghanistan, in danger and trying to find a way to join her in the US.  Then either Kendra or I would pray for her and her family in Jesus’ name.  After a few weeks, Fatima would eagerly ask us to pray for her as we finished the lesson.

When the big day came for her citizenship interview, Kendra and I told Fatima we would be praying for her, and we did.  We were grateful, though not surprised, when she texted that afternoon, telling us that she had passed!  She told us later that she felt peace in her heart because of our prayers.  After English classes ended, she hosted all the teachers and interns at her home for a celebratory meal!

We long for the day when Fatima and her husband will not only be fellow citizens of ours in the United States, but also in the Kingdom of God!

Jul 4th “Why did He look like that?”

We met Sam & Farah at the place you would be least likely to find Muslims—at church!  Back in September, the church had done a literature distribution campaign in the neighborhood, putting small bags with DVDs and invitations on doorknobs.  Sam & Farah got a bag and decided to give church a try, as they had become completely disillusioned with Islam and were curious about Christianity.  The pastor, after meeting them, thought that they could use some focused discipling, so he introduced them to us.  Sam & Farah had arrived only four months earlier, having left their country as refugees.  As we talked with them, they made it clear that they had already rejected Islam because of the mess it had made of their country.  That first Sunday, we sat with them at church, and the pastor was preaching on the road to Emmaus story.  As he spoke about how Jesus has been with us all along on our journeys, even when we didn’t recognize him, I looked over and saw big tears rolling down Farah’s cheeks!  After church, we made a plan to meet later in the afternoon to talk more.

That afternoon we heard more of their story, and it was clear to all of us that God has indeed been with each of them on their journeys.  Sam barely survived a terrible car accident in his home country.  After fleeing a repressive regime, they met each other in Malaysia, where both had gone to apply for refugee status.  It’s a miracle that they were permitted to come to the US, when doors have closed to most refugees!  And while they were waiting in the lengthy refugee process, Farah had had a beautiful dream of Jesus.  He had appeared in her dream dressed in a white coat-like garment which was dirty and torn.  She said, “I knew it was Jesus, but it looked like he had been in a battle.”  He came up to her and hugged her, and she woke up filled with peace!  Farah said that she couldn’t understand why Jesus looked that way in her dream.  We told her that we would start studying the Bible together and that God would show her through the Scriptures what the answer was.

We began weekly discovery Bible studies, working our way through the major Old Testament stories and then the life of Jesus.  It was lovely to see their faith and understanding unfold.  After the climactic story of the crucifixion, Farah said that she now understood why Jesus appeared in her dream as though he had been in a battle.  She said, “It’s because he had to fight for me.”  Together we prayed a prayer of gratitude to God for how much he loved them, and for how he has been with them all along the way.

Jun 26th A Match Made in Heaven

The mother of a handicapped child carries heavy burdens.  If this is true when she and her child live in their own country, speak their native language, and are surrounded by family and friends, how much truer it is when they live far from their familiar networks, in a country thousands of miles away, where everyone speaks a different tongue and the health-care system is complex and expensive.  I have had the privilege of meeting several strong and courageous mothers, who have arrived here with their families as refugees, carrying the physical, emotional, and spiritual burdens of caring for a handicapped child.  My friend Hamila is one of those mothers.

Tifa helps with lesson materials

As I mentioned in my last post, many refugee women find themselves unable to attend English classes regularly because of health problems, either their own or a child’s.  Hamila’s 9-year-old daughter Tifa has cerebral palsy, and is unable to do many things for herself.  Hamila and her husband have three younger healthy children in addition to Tifa, so their lives are very full.  He drives for Uber, and they are only beginning to find stability after many months in a refugee camp.  Hamila has vivid memories of fleeing their home in Syria, she carrying their baby and her husband carrying Tifa, while the two middle children did their best to keep up in the chaos.

A colleague of mine had met Hamila and got in touch with me when she heard that I could do in-home English tutoring.  We met at Hamila’s home and, over cups of steaming sweet tea, we planned to begin meeting weekly for English lessons.  She is very bright, and eager to learn!

When our last Studio session started, I asked the group of interns for volunteers to help with English tutoring, and Maria was quick to step forward.  During our getting-to-know-you time, we had learned that Maria has a brother at home with cerebral palsy.  I decided to bring her along to help with Hamila’s lessons, and meet little Tifa.  It was a match made in Heaven… truly!

While I had been a little hesitant and cautious around Tifa, Maria came right up to her and started interacting in a sweet and natural way, just as she had most of her life with her brother.

Tifa, Maria, and Hamila

Hamila was clearly happy to see someone loving and playing with her daughter in a way most people don’t.  From then on, Tifa would get excited and be eager to participate in our English lessons when Maria and I showed up.  Maria’s presence in our cohort, and in Hamila’s home, was a blessing to everyone.  I was blessed to see how Maria’s challenging family background became a gift that she could use to bless this burdened Muslim family.

From the first day, each time we met for English practice, Maria or I would pray aloud for Hamila and her family, especially Tifa.  Maria has now returned to her home to prepare for departure to her long-term ministry location in North Africa.  I am continuing to meet with Hamila, helping her with English, praying for her, and doing what I can to lighten the burdens she carries.

Mar 15th Lessons, Friendship, and Prayer

How much fun can learning English be?  Hiya and I are finding out!

A few examples from our most recent lesson:

“Put the old woman in the teacup.”

“Put the elephant in your ear.”

“Put the baby on the old man’s head.”

English learning tools

Hiya is relaxed and smiles a lot during our lessons, and she is growing in confidence that the language that has eluded her for the past several years is finally within her grasp.  And the fun of English activities is growing into the joy of relationship.

Hiya and I met at a Christmas party for refugees sponsored by a volunteer organization.  My husband and I sat at the table with her and her husband and some of their six children.  Her husband was a well-drilling engineer in their home country, but since fleeing to a refugee camp during the war, he hasn’t had steady work.  They’ve been in California for about three years.  Life has been hard, but their kids are all doing well in school and making friends.

Hiya has been unable to attend English classes regularly because of chronic back problems.  A few months ago she had major back surgery, and her recovery has been slow.  She has appreciated having English lessons at home when I come to visit.

With Hiya at the Christmas party

When she was young, she didn’t have the opportunity to attend school, so she never learned to read and write her native language.  Most English classes use a lot of reading and writing, which is discouraging to her and limits her learning. Our lessons, which are based on listening activities, fit her learning style much better.

Of course, Hiya’s culture is known for its hospitality, and I never visit without eating a meal and taking food home for my husband!  Somehow they are making life work in a two-bedroom apartment as a family of eight.  And I never leave without praying for her, for healing for her back, for God’s hand of blessing on her family, and for peace in her homeland.

Nov 28th God’s Divine Appointment Book

This is Part 2 of Aisetta’s story; Part 1 is below.

It’s a rare thing to meet someone with a genuine hunger for God like Aisetta has!  We met with her four more times while we were in Chicagoland.  We did a discovery Bible study on Jesus calming the storm, showing us how He is able to rebuke the powers of chaos and fear and speak calm and peace into our lives.  Together, we studied the Genesis account of the creation of human beings, and saw God’s intention that men and women reveal His image and live in relationship with Him.  We read the story of Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage, and reflected on His power to overcome death with life and uncleanness with purity and healing.  We were able to share a few of our own testimonies of God’s restoring power after traumatic experiences.

Along the way, we heard more of Aisetta’s story.  Arriving as a refugee, she had been enrolled in World Relief’s resettlement program.  World Relief had recruited volunteers from local churches to help new arrivals with getting settled.  Aisetta expressed deep gratitude for the volunteer family who had taken her under their wings and helped her with housing, shopping, English classes, finding a job, dental care, learning to drive, and many other things that could have been overwhelming.  They also took her to church, and there she had her first experiences of the Body of Christ.  And when she listened to the pastor preach, she said, it had seemed like he was speaking directly to her!

The Spirit was at work in her heart, and after some months, Aisetta put her faith in Jesus, and then decided to be baptized.  She looks back on her baptism as a turning point in her life.  Before that, she said, she had often felt depressed and her life had seemed dark.  She usually wore black clothes and kept her apartment dark, with the shades drawn.  She kept to herself and had few friends.  After being baptized, suddenly she felt that light had come into her life.  She began buying colorful clothes and letting sunlight into her rooms, going out with friends and feeling hopeful.  Aisetta had a real experience of being buried with Christ and raised to new life!

Aisetta has had no contact with her family in Guinea since she ran away; because of her feelings of betrayal, she doesn’t have any desire to renew those relationships.  It’s unusual for an African to be completely cut off from family, and it’s a painful and lonely situation to be in.  She has friends that she made when she first arrived who are Muslims from other countries, but because they put pressure on her to come back to the mosque, she avoids them now.  We pray that God will grow in Aisetta a desire to someday reach out and share the new life she has found with her Muslim friends and perhaps even with her family back in Africa.

We’re grateful for the small part we’ve been able to play in Aisetta’s remarkable story, encouraging her on her journey, and look forward to the new chapters God will be opening up for her in the future.