Refugee Family Resettlement Update

Time flies! Our commitment to the refugee family ends November 11. That was our agreement with World Relief, to walk alongside them for six months. But we are not abandoning them. Seven of us plan to stay in contact with the Yusuf family and help as required.

Walking alongside of them has been quite a “ride”. We formed a great team that carried out our mission to help. We cleaned, furnished and supplied their residence before their arrival in one and a half days. WSTA has excellent city coverage but poor connections and not enough buses, so for five months we were trusted chauffeurs. We were there when they found employment and when three of their kids started school.

A Hine Fund grant generously provided half the cost of a car, as well as winter coats and other seasonal accessories for the children. Your love offerings helped with countless expenses along the way and because of your generosity, the Yusuf family is well on the way to self sufficiency.

I have bonded with this family. They have shown me how people from an exotic locale such as Somalia or South Africa share our values and concerns. They want to live in peace and freedom without fear, work honest jobs, care for and instill good values in their children and worship God as they choose. I found friendship to be the same in any language. We tried to help our new neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ by advocating for their needs and interests and helping them access resources for basic human necessities. We made them comfortable with their new country and its people. We’ve tried to teach them the “ropes”.

We will be thrilled when they become American citizens, years from now. I know this family received our help, but I am the one who feels fortunate and thankful. I will always view the last six months as a gift from God. I hope others in the congregation will consider having a similar experience in the future.

Luis Dominguez