An Update on Jalos

So, for those of you who know the crazy, exciting story of Glori, the Burundi refugee we helped get life saving surgery in Kenya, I thought you might be interested in getting an update on how the family is doing. Glori's dad, Jalos, still emails me. Just like Noe Rusaya, an African refugee that lives in Columbia, we consider Jalos and his family a part of our family. We heard just this past week that Jalos' family was robbed. Adam and I just couldn't get over the fact that they were already dirt poor, as a refugee, but then to have someone come in and steal what little they have must have been very discouraging. So, City of Refuge sent Jalos a check to help recover what was stolen. Jalos sent me an email that said they were overjoyed because he didn't have enough money to send the kids to school so now all of them are in school. It's fun helping people that our African brothers care so much about. We love them now too.

Burundi Pastor Comes to Columbia

Today I had another pinch me I'm dreaming moment. About a year ago Noe was at our house and he was stressed because his pastor back home needed some money for their church because they didn't have enough money to pay rent and they needed money to pay rent so they would have a place to meet. It was one of those moments when Adam and I could tell that Noe really wished he had enough money to give but didn't. So, Adam and I wrote him a check for $150 and really never thought about it again. That is, until yesterday when we received a text that the pastor from that church was in town. We had no idea we would meet anyone from the church until we got to heaven. But today, in my front living room, sat the pastor of the church. His name is John and he is a traveling pastor. He has many churches in Burundi, Congo and Rwanda. The country church Adam and I helped is now thriving and has now grown out of the place they are renting so they were wondering if their "missionary" could help them. So, we did as a part of City of Refuge. We also gave money to Pastor John's main church in Burundi. Pastor John's main church is the one that Noe used to be a part of, as well as many of our African refugees here in town. It's the church where Jalos and his family are attending. Jalos is the dad of Glori, the little boy that we helped get life saving surgery a couple years ago.

Poor People Like Nice Things Too

One of the things I'm wondering about is how to get across the message to my friends that poor people like nice things too. A very giving lady dropped by a bag of clothes on my porch and in it I didn't find a single piece of clothing that anyone would want to wear. It was all 20 years outdated, very worn, or missing buttons. I'm happy to help people who can't throw things away throw them away, but somewhere along the line we (me included) decided that even our worst piece of clothing should be shared with someone instead of thrown away. I wish there was a way to tell people if there is a very good reason you wouldn't want to wear it...it's very stained, old or damaged then a poor person is not going to want to wear it either.