CiCi's with Specious and Her Family

So, one of my favorite things to do is to take refugees to restaurants. They don't get to go very often so it's always very exciting for them. I brought Specious and her 5 kids to CiCi's Pizza tonight. We've taken them there before, but they love pizza and every kid likes the games, so it's a always fun.

I learned tonight more about Specious. Her mom and dad died in the war in Congo. She says she looks like her mom.

She said that she knew all the African refugees who live in Columbia either at the camp in Tanzania or back when she lived in Congo. I was so surprised especially that she knew Noe and his family, since they lived in Congo but then went to the refugee camp in Burundi. How neat it must be for her to know them all and to get to live with them again!

Specious said 8 years ago she got sick and that's when her arm stopped working.

It was a great evening.

Generous Justice

I recommend a book. This is actually a big statement coming from me because I have 3 little kids and besides the Bible, I hardly ever make time to read. Reading books is mainly one of those far off things I plan on doing when my kids are grown and I actually have spare time. But today I'm on vacation so I have been reading a book and I am really enjoying it. It's "Generous Justice" by Tim Keller.

Reading "Generous Justice" has made me glad that we started Safi Sana and City of Refuge. It has echoed thoughts in my heart about how Jesus loves refugees and immigrants and we should too. And it challenges me to continue to be generous in giving to the poor.

Here is my favorite quote so far:

"Jesus gave us a long list of his disciples' activities. They were to give food and drink to the hungry, which meant emergency relief. But the 'strangers' were immigrants and refugees, and they were to get much more than food. They were to be 'invited in'. They were not merely sent to a shelter but were to be welcomed into the disciples' homes and lives and, it is implied, given advocacy, friendship, and the basics for pursuing a new life in society."

Tim Keller also talked about the concept of gleaning in the Bible. That "small business owners" would not farm all of their land but would leave some of it for the poor to harvest. It was a way for the poor to be able to work and make a living. This reminded me of our concept for our cleaning business, Safi Sana. Some of our workers are those that don't speak English well enough to get jobs in our city. Without the money they make from Safi Sana they would go homeless unless another charity or organization stepped in to help. We are giving them a way to work and provide for their families.

Do you know immigrants or refugees? Invite them "in" just like the disciples were supposed to. If you don't know immigrants or refugees but you want to, we would be happy to introduce you to some! Or join us by supporting us and by doing so you will be helping to care for their needs. How can you support us? Donate your garage sale items because we will have a sale this summer and all the proceeds will be going towards needs of Columbia's refugees. Or send us a tax-deductible check to City of Refuge; 102 Dayspring Dr; Columbia, MO 65203. We delight in caring for the refugees and immigrants and all your money will go straight to caring for their needs.

One More Idea - Monia

We have one more idea of how you can give. One of our Safi Sana cleaners, a Tunisian immigrant named Monia, is going through a very hard time. I'd love to tell you the whole story, but for her privacy we will just leave it at that for now. She is completely taking care of herself with what she earns from Safi Sana. And her school schedule has made her not available a lot. So, she has been earning less than $100 every 2 weeks. Monia is a Muslim woman that we want to practically demonstrate the love of Jesus towards. She is in need of a cell phone and we purchased her one for $20/month. Can you help us cover this expense? When she is able to work more we will have her take over this bill, but for now we need to step in and help her.

Ways To Give -- Computers & School

We have identified some needs and fun things to give to and were wondering if others would like to help us with these.

First of all a sweet Mexican college student that we all love, Lizeth Castro, put her laptop on her car this weekend. She put her bags, etc, in the car and headed down Broadway. You guessed it, as she was driving her computer flew off the top of her car and the car behind her drove over it. Would you like to help us get Lizeth a new laptop?

Secondly, Etienne received "Student of the Year" and recognition for his Gates Scholarship at a Rock Bridge High School awards ceremony this week. Etienne will be heading off to college this Fall and we would like to see him bring a laptop with him to school. Would you like to help us get a laptop for him?

And finally Marianne Bihomora, one of our favorite Rwandan refugees, is helping to take care of her niece in Rwanda. In fact, Marianne has started the paperwork to get her a visa to live here in the U.S. with her. I found out today that Marianne doesn't have any money in her bank account, yet not only is she working hard to provide for her own family she is also trying to raise $80 to pay for her niece's schooling in Rwanda. Would you like to help us pay for the schooling?

All your gifts are tax-deductible because City of Refuge is a 501c3 non-profit organization. We will provide you with a receipt.

Would you like the joy of giving today? Then drop by or mail us a check to: City of Refuge; 102 Dayspring Dr; Columbia, MO 65203. Every $1 helps.

Visiting Yvonne Tomorrow/Garage Sale

Tomorrow is Yvonne's court date for her charge of public nudity. (She was bathing in Bear Creek.) I wrote a letter on her behalf to the prosecuting attorney's office. (That was a first for me!) Caritas, Mary Kate, and I are headed to the jail in the morning to visit her. I'll let you know how that goes.

We are having a big garage sale for City of Refuge on Saturday. We are hoping to raise $500. So, why have a garage sale? City of Refuge completely relies on private donations. At this point, no church, federal, or state program donates money to help us help refugees. So, we need money to help pay for Caritas Habimana's salary that we give her for her daily work with the refugees. And we need money to help pay for the ongoing needs of the refugees. So, that's why we are having a sale. We are so thankful for all the items that have been donated so far. If you have anything to give, you can still do so on Thursday May 5 or Friday May 6. The items can be brought to 1408 Waterford. Since we are a 501c3, all donations are tax deductible. Come donate or shop for a good cause!

Yvonne Update & Fund Raising

Well, sad news. Yvonne is in jail for having a fire in a part of the city where you shouldn't make a fire. So in our jail tonight sits Yvonne along with people who have committed worse crimes. If Yvonne posted bond she could go "home" but she doesn't have the $500 she needs to post bond. I asked a friend of mine recently who is a Columbia Police Officer if it's better for Yvonne to be in jail since she is not sleeping under a bridge, but he said no. He said the jail is not a place that anyone wants to be because of the dangerous people who reside there. So of course I have questions that I'm wondering about. Should I contact the sheriff and see if Yvonne can be forced to get help from us and get off the street? Will the sheriff work with us? Will Yvonne be willing to be helped? My next step is to go and visit Yvonne with Caritas on Thursday morning. If you want to come too, let me know. Visiting hours are from 8:45am - 9:45am. I want to see if Yvonne wants help or if she wants to stay in jail. She's not always in her right mind, so it's a legit question.

We did have exciting news this week! Kyrsten Skulborstad, a great friend of mine, worked with some journalism students and made us a couple of videos:

City of Refuge: Humble Beginnings. Big Hearts. [Extended]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Andb8cx-XF8

City of Refuge: Humble Beginnings. Big Hearts. [Shortened]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSVukJV8Muw&feature=related

From Refugee to Scholar: Etienne's Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc9mfxZx4pY&feature=related

Our greatest need right now with City of Refuge is getting known and getting support so we can help the refugees. One of the videos features Caritas Habimana and we pay Caritas a monthly stipend so she can continue working with the refugees. Her monthly stipend is small really for all she does. Help support Caritas by supporting City of Refuge.

We are having a garage sale on Friday and Saturday to raise funds for City of Refuge. If you have items you can donate, email us at Mizzou4you@gmail.com.

Good News About Etienne & Yvonne Update

So, let's start with the good news. The really GREAT news is that Etienne, one of our city's African refugees won the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation Scholarships this week!! My husband Adam was so happy because he helped Etienne apply for college and scholarships and he particularly enjoyed reading the other recipients who were from ivy league schools. Etienne is the first one in his family to be going to college and will be attending Missouri State in Springfield in the Fall.

Now, for an update on Yvonne. This weekend several fire fighters and police officers surrounded her because they saw her fire and thought that someone was trying to burn down the Bear Creek Bridge, where she has been living. It was just Yvonne's fire to stay warm. When she was suddenly surrounded she screamed and was taken into custody and taken in for a psychiatric evaluation. They have kept her since Saturday, but released her...at the bridge...today. I left her a voice mail on her phone saying, "It's raining, we would be happy to get you a hotel room tonight" but she told her new friend Daniel, a college student, that she didn't want to go. Daniel is disappointed that the mental hospital didn't keep her since he has known her the best the last couple months and says that she needs help. We've learned this past week that since Yvonne is not in her right mind it's been hard helping her. So, what all of us are trying to do is what we think she would like us to do if she were in her right mind. I keep thinking to myself when she is heaven and if she is able to revisit the tape of what is going on I want her to see that we love her, want to help her, and are doing all we can to try and help her.