Working with Refugees

We have heard a lot in the church lately, both in General Conference and in our recent Stake Conference, about how we should be helping refugees in our communities. Kim and Sara have started mentoring a refugee family and have had some great experiences so far! We will be keeping up on the blog some of their experiences (and photographs!) with this wonderful family--talk to them if you are interested in getting involved! Here is Kim's insight so far:

The MuMu family had lived in a refugee camp for over 5 years before applying, being carefully screened and finally accepted to come to the United States.  They arrived on May 23, 2016 with very little except the clothes on their back. Their family consists of Pah Da, the father,  MuMu, the mother, Pah Say, daughter (15) Htee, son (13)  Saw, son (5).   Through the Lutheran Community Services Program, they are given a place to live and are helped by a caseworker for three months.  During this time they are expected to take ESL classes, find employment,  enroll their children in school, figure out public transportation, learn to get to the grocery store, learn about banking, pay bills, and learn American ways.  It is overwhelming for most families at first, but with time and mentoring they come to understand and adjust to living in a completely different culture.  Sara and I go each Tuesday evening and spend a couple of hours with them. 

 This Tuesday was Htee's 13th birthday.  We decided to throw him an American Birthday Party, complete with hats and banners!  We're not sure they loved the hats, but they were good sports about wearing them, at least for the picture!  We took pizza, watermelon, cherries, cookies and ice cream for dinner.  We found out that they have a cousin who speaks English and lives nearby so we invited her as well. (She made things much easier for our second visit!)  The pizza was enjoyed by everyone of course, but what we didn't expect was their generosity in providing us food from their culture.  We were a bit nervous, but plunged in and tasted everything they made.  It was great!  We really did like it...which surprised us both!  We gave Htee a new soccer ball and bought new flip flops for the whole family (thank you Fred Meyer for having them at 50% off!)  Sara purchased a couple of games she thought might be fun to play...Chutes and Ladders and Spot It.  They were huge hits!  It was tender to see Mom and Dad interact with their children while learning a new game!  We enjoyed our cookies and ice cream although we think American cookies are a bit too sweet for them right now!  We left them a bunch anyway!  We also took them quilts, of course, which they seemed to love!  When it was time to leave they gave us hugs, so we think they like us!  We sure like them!