The Afghan Refugee Resource Team at Messiah is working closely with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) to help settle refugees from Afghanistan in the Vancouver area.
Currently, 20 volunteers from the Messiah community are busy moving donated furniture to the refugee's new homes, helping them register for the government programs they are entitled to such as SNAP, helping acquaint parents with our school systems and helping their children register in schools. Some are buying and delivering initial provisions including hygiene supplies, food staples and fresh food.These are needed to supply families until they can enroll in the SNAP program. Messiah's contact at LIRS has been Nikki Chung is impressed with the wide range of expertise that the Messiah community has to offer.
Messiah has been fortunate to have adequate funds to buy the initial supplies that the Afghan refugees need. Many years ago, Seeds of Faith had a fundraising event in hopes of bringing Lawson Jallah's fiance to the USA. Unfortunately this did not happen and funds remained after Lawson's death. Those designated refugee and immigration aid funds along with a generous donation from the Endowment are being used for related expenses. Others, including non-members, are donating through the Messiah website's giving portal to support our efforts.
Once the Afghan refugees have been settled into a routine, there will be many opportunities for us to build relationships with them. We will look forward to that as a phase 2 of our involvement.
If you are interested in helping now or in our phase two please let the Afghan Refugee Resource Team know. Contact information is below. We know that not everyone is capable of active participation. These families and individuals were of aid to American troops and they have given up their known lives because of that. We ask you to pray for the successful settlement of the Afghan refugees and our efforts to help them. Thank you all for being Christ in the world, welcoming and loving the strangers among us.
Janet Borst,
Jim Dawson,
