Friends.

There's a lot that is going on all the time it seems like. We bounce around from event to event and just when we feel like we are catching up with everything that's happening, five more things pop up. Recently, we've been busy people over here at Friends of Refugees. Let me break it down for you:

CCDA Conference
This past week, I had the great opportunity to join seven other FOR staff members at the Christian Community Development Association's annual conference that was held in Memphis. We packed up the vans and spent lots of quality time setting up a booth, roaming around the city looking for places to eat, connecting with other organizations from around the country, and sharing fondue with new friends.

Having fondue with Friends and having conversations about working with refugees.

The sessions and workshops at the conference were both encouraging and inspiring. It was so much fun to connect with people who have similar missions and goals from different cities and compare notes on how to overcome struggles or celebrate wins. One such friend that we made is Sarah from Ekata where refugee women in Memphis gather to create beautiful jewelry to help supplement their income, very similar to our own Refugee Sewing Society. We also connected with World Relief from many different cities and bonded over similar stories of successes and challenges of working with newly resettled refugees. Josh and I particularly had the unique opportunity to bond with Ms. Cam from the Refugee Empowerment Program in Memphis that is the only after school service available to refugees in the area. In speaking with Ms. Cam, we learned that she is an Atlanta native and fan of FOR. It was extremely humbling to hear how she talked about our organization as something that she admired and looked up. After getting the chance to pray with her and share stories about our own after school program, we all left encouraged.

Our awesome double-wide booth with our lovely staff sharing about what we do.

As great as the networking was and as enriching as the sessions and workshops were, the favorite part of the convention by staff was definitely getting a chance to know one another better as friends and not necessarily co-workers. Having dinner together and spending hours and hour together in vans was just fun. Building and strengthening the Friends of Refugees community was both needed and just a blessing.

Cracker Barrell brings everyone together!

Festivities
Tis the season for fall festivals and Christmas parties. Josh and I had the opportunity to set up a booth at our local Chick-fil-a for their Fall Festival. We recruited some kids to help us run activities and treated them to dinner after. It was really fun to get to hang out with kids and reconnect with some that I haven't seen in a while. They may net be the best workers in the world, but their silly jokes and goofy personalities make them so much fun to be around that it doesn't matter.

Working hard or hardly working? We aren't sure either. :)

There was also a garden party recently where we gathered to celebrate the birthday of someone from CNN who had worked in the Jolly Avenue Community Garden for a day and fell in love with the community. We gathered in the rain, ate good food, and took the opportunity to hang out with some families that live in the surrounding apartments. Though it was cold and wet, the fire was warm, the food was good, and the company couldn't be beat!

Friends and a bonfire make everything better.

Family Progress
Thank you so much for your prayers for the camper family that has been trying to get back on their feet. The middle schooler has been bussed to school for a week now without Josh and I having to take him and mom is continuing to practice her English in and out of class. They still have a ways to go, but they are working hard. Pray for them to continue to build their community and gain opportunities for a job and childcare for the baby. God is good!

The Elephant in the Room
There's a lot of talk about refugees these days. I don't think I can count the articles I've seen posted to Facebook or the response emails I have received from other organizations working with refugees in the community. I have seen news trucks all over Clarkston and know that many of my friends and co-workers have been flooded with questions from friends and family who just want to understand what's going on. Part of me is happy that people are seeking knowledge about refugees and that we have the opportunity to educate a lot of people about what we do. The other part of me is deeply saddened by the half-truths and misinformation that is floating around and skewing the views of people with good intentions. The fears people have about the safety of their country and families are valid and worthy of being addressed. I urge you to read Friends of Refugees response and I invite you to come and visit me at work. I'd love to sit down with you and have a conversation about the refugee resettlement process and show you around our beautiful little city. Fear is emotional and facts often don't ease fear, rather it takes an opportunity to show some courage and experience what could be. So please call me, text me, email me, Facebook me, or come visit me. I would love to share my experiences with you.

Story Time
Let's leave this on a happy note. I've had a great day today, y'all. After a morning in the office, I took the afternoon to visit a Somali family with a few of my friends who are current Missionary Training Students with Global Frontier Missions. I was instantly encouraged as I met with my friends before we left for our visit. I learned how many of the youth they are visiting on their own time that I didn't know about. Praise the Lord that people are in the community helping to care for and love these kids! Being one of just a few full-time youth workers in the area, it's such a blessing to know there's a team of people out there because we can't do it on our own. It's both humbling and encouraging.
Back to the family we went to visit. I've known them for years through summer camp and have always had a soft spot in my heart for them. For years, I have been praying for people to be able to invest in them more frequently than I can on my own and when I heard my GFM friends were at their house weekly to just hang out I almost cried. God is so good. It was so sweet to be welcomed in and to catch up with the youth that I have come to know so well. The oldest daughter made tea for us and pulled up the summer camp video from when she was a camper (my first summer interning) and we reminisced about the good old days. The younger boys tried to sign up for camp on the spot and cheered when I told them I was the Camp Director this year. Those boys can be a handful, but over time I've seen them make better and better choices, "I was really good last summer! I never even got a strike, right Ms. Emily?!" It made my heart full to be able to brag on him in front of his family and friends about what a good kid he is.
I left praising God for how good He is and thanking him for using those kids to remind me why I'm here.

I know this was a long one! Thanks for making all the way through. I appreciate you so much and pray that you would be living the abundant life too. :)

God Wins

It is becoming abundantly clear to me what abundant life can be like. Over the past week or so I have just been overwhelmed with how supportive and loving the people in my life are (and just how many of those people in blessed to have in my life). A trip to Athens to visit with old friends, some FaceTime to visit with far away friends, and quality time with new friends right here in the Atlanta area. Community is such a sweet, sweet thing.

Don't forget my family, though. Their phone calls, texts, care packages, and visits have what helped me get here in the first place. They are amazing, y'all. They keep tabs on my life better than I can and I'm so thankful for their interest and desire to be a part of what I get to do here in Clarkston. I'm well aware of others in similar jobs as mine that don't have the unconditional love and support I've received. Family, you rock. 

Updates!

Everything is holding steady. We've had so much fun with the girls group on Thursdays getting to know each other, laughing, and doing homework. Their a pretty incredible group of ladies. Our volunteers too though. We could not have such a great turnout without their help. These girls can't help but to leave the group knowing that they are loved and cared for by others. While I don't spend as much time with the boys in Tuesday's, I know there's a similar theme there. 

Never get tired of pictures of this room. It's where God comes to meet with the youth. 

I've started to come to the conclusion that the job of all the youth staff in all of Clarkston to prove to these young people that they are always loved wherever they go and whatever they do. It's a beautiful thing really. I saw evidence of this at a bonfire after Friday night youth group. It's pretty awesome when a group of adults gather together to pray about and discuss the best ways to minister to the youth in the area. It was both personally refreshing and enhancing to the Kingdom. 

Who doesn't love a good fire? 

My friends who I get to Drive around town frequently are doing really well right now. Staying in a house with another family has been a blessing for them. The 12-year-old has been granted access to stay at his school (praise the Lord) and soon a bus will take him to school. Trust me, this kid deserves some normalcy in his life. He's been a champ through the whole situation. Mom is also doing well. Staying with another family has given her the opportunity to help around the house and find other ways to serve the family hosting her. It does wonders for your dignity when you can help provide for your family even a little bit. Keep praying for them to move towards getting back on their feet. 

My view for much of the time I'm in the car.

That's about all I have for you. Except one more thing...WE GOT A $50,000 CHECK! Youth Programs applied for a grant through Chick-fil-a's True Inspiration awards and out of all the other youth programs in the nation, we won. Praise God!

I know I am a tiny person. 

Speaking of, tonight I'm going to hang out with a bunch of volunteers who have decided to put in their own pumpkin carving event for some youth. I love their intentionality.