Got hangers?

We could use a bunch of hangers for Y and H - adult and children hangers - anything is great. Thanks!

Things are going really well. They are moving in. Update to come - there are so many God stories I need to share. Thanks for your continued prayers!

My sister now has the whole family of 7 living with them. I just realized last night that now we are both households of 12! Please continue to pray for them as well. Check here to see her updates and pictures - they have exciting news on the Ethiopian adoption front too!

Rough day - long road to healing

Jameson is learning to be an African baby and he likes it. She obviously loves babies.

Today was rough, over and over. The night ended peacefully, with singing praises in English and Swahili. The little girl loves to belt out her songs to the Lord in her language and her mom has such a proud smile on her face, when her daughter is singing. They laugh at us as we try to sing, "Tutiman moongooshi" Javier taught the Bible and then she wanted to sit in his lap. The other night she asked me, "Does that man sleep here?" I said, "Yes, he is the daddy, he pays for this house and our food." She is learning what a daddy is. Her mom told me today that she always asks who is her daddy and she tells her Jesus, but she won't listen to that answer. The answer is something she can not understand now and would just bring more pain.

The little girl, H, only wants to eat Injera, Shiro, rice, apples and french fries:). She has good memories of the almost 2 years they lived in Ethiopia as refugees. Today we looked at all of my pictures of Ethiopia and she would point with great excitement and say, "I know that is African car, that is Donkey, that is Ethiopian kids" etc. We also printed off the picture of her as a princess and put it in a frame. She was carrying it around like a treasure. Those were the good times today, but my kids were hurt a lot and are learning how to deal with her, but amazingly they still love her and come right back wanting to play with her and hug her. Kids' hearts are amazing!

The mom also shared with me (without me asking) about her 4 escapes and other tortures. She has pain but it is good she is able to talk about it and share her feelings. When the little girl overheard the mom describing one of the scary stories, she screamed and flailed on the ground. Clearly the most painful thing of all for the mom was when she told me what she had to watch being done to her daughter.

Please cover them in prayer - our God is a God of restoration!

Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.

Asanti sana - thank you

This is the little girl staying with us. She loves to play dress up with my girls all day long.

This is the fire victim family with their 3 youngest children.

On the left is the lady and her daughter who are living with us, then our pastor friend of 11 years and his wife and then his brother's family.

Asanti sana - or as they say, thank you very much! We are overwhelmed - speechless! People from our church, surrounding churches, blog friends and family have poured out love and donations on the refugees in need.

Here are some examples of things we have received:

*all kinds of toiletries

*canned food

*tons of clothes

*new undies for the kids

*hair things

*toys and books

*wipes

*pack n play for the 3 month old baby

*jackets for everyone

*a target gift card for 1 family

*many blankets

*many great shoes for the little kids (a few for the adults)

Tonight we found out from the refugee pastor, Augustin, that another refugee family from their refugee camp church is coming to America (AZ) tonight and another one next week. When they come, the government literally gives them an apartment for a few months and mattresses on the floor. The great thing is we already have enough blankets and toiletries for them and surely some of the overflow of clothes we have will work for them too.

My sister and brother in law are taking in the fire victim family until they can find an affordable apartment. Please pray for my sister's family as they take on this challenge and blessing. They will have 6 kids 6 years old and younger in their house (the oldest 2 children from the family will probably stay with a friend so they can continue to go to their school in Phoenix).

We have never felt so covered in prayer like we did this week! Miracles from the Lord is the only explanation for what is happening in our home. We were warned of severe and dangerous behavior from the little girl staying with us, but so far she has done pretty well and is learning how to behave. The mom would love prayer for healing of her daughter from the trauma and a job for herself. She needs healing from the trauma as well. Praise God that He is the all powerful healer.

Below are ways that you still can help: The items in this gray color are no longer needed.

*volunteer to help me babysit the 5 year old girl when her mom has appointments

*help the mom apply for jobs

*sz 7 1/2 or 8 women's shoes

*women's sz 3/4 (XS) and size 16/18 underwear

*bath scrubby fluff balls - we have had several body washes donated, so they will last much longer if used with those things you can find at the $1 stores

(with homeschooling 4-5 kids and with 3 babies/toddlers -taking on a 5 year old with major emotional/behavioral needs or running errands like applying for jobs, is more than I can do)

Anything for the new refugee families:

*furniture (not mattresses) - kitchen table, coffee table, something to set a TV on, desk and computer for the older boys

*dishes

*cups

*large pots and pans (nothing for baking - they don't bake)

*utensils

*laundry soap

*towels

*pillows

*sheets - any size

*clocks - still need alarm clocks

*school supplies

*toilet paper

*someone with a truck/trailer willing to deliver stuff to the families in Phoenix

*anything else you can think of to set up an apartment - like I said earlier, they get mattresses and about $220/mo + food stamps to pay for rent/food/toiletries and everything for a few months. There is nothing left to buy any of the necessities I mentioned above.

Thank you for all your help! I hope we can have a big African party at our house where everyone who has helped or who is interested can come hear their stories and enjoy their singing and thankful spirits.

Urgent needs for refugees

Here are the brother and cousin of the refugee whose apartment burned down

Here is an article from CNN and a quick video (click on video under the title) of one of our African refugee hero friends. She now Biblically helps other refugee women deal with their past and forgive their captors. She has an amazing story and radiates the joy of the Lord. (she had 7 children with her in the death camp, a 4 year old that she got separated from and was reunited with 14 years later, and she gave birth to twins in the death camp - a total of 10 children!)

The post below is for my friends here locally in AZ.

Urgent needs:

Situation #1:

One of our African refugee friends’ apartment burned down a few days ago. They have nothing. Last I heard was they may need to go to a shelter as of last night. We are working on getting them another government apartment, but if anyone has connections of a place to stay or low income housing, please let me know.

I told them we would try to collect clothes and shoes for them right now and once they find an apartment we can try to find furniture/household items. If you have any used or new items that you can give them, will you please email me or leave a comment.

Dad – size 34x32 pants and Large or xLarge shirts
Mom – size 16
daughter – size 8
son – size 6/7
daughter – size 4/5
son size ¾
baby girl size 6-12 months

hygiene products – toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, soap, etc.
maybe a basketball , dolls/stuffed animals, blankets

You can guess on shoe sizes if you have some that you think might be age appropriate. They did not give me shoe sizes.

Of course they could use diapers, gift cards, or anything else you can think of.

SITUATION #2:

We are helping a refugee lady and her 5 year old daughter. They witnessed the killings of her father and brother and were held prisoners in a death camp in Sudan, where they both endured and survived unimaginable atrocities. They were brought here as refugees by the US government in November, but there is no more funding for them. They are just trying to get settled and especially receive treatment for the daughter, so that she can stabilize and get the right help she needs. The mom can not work until her daughter can enter school, but soon they will be homeless.

Meanwhile we will be having them over for a short stay or possibly longer. In any case, we would like to help her with basic needs. Can you help with any of the following:

Clothes for the mom size 5 pants/ medium shirts
Clothes for the daughter size 8
Toiletries/hygiene products – hair bands, pony tail holders
Feminine products
Canned food, white rice, oil

A few things we need:

A baby monitor so we know our children are safe

(not a need but it has been suggested to us if there is one available) A camper to put on our side yard if safety becomes an issue or for her to go to if she goes into a rage/panic

Above all – please pray for these 2 families – that their physical needs would be met through the body of Christ and that they would receive the love and healing they need.

We will take any donations above and beyond what is listed. If it does not work for one of these families, we can give the items to help with the next garage sale for the refugees or my sister’s garage sale to raise $ for the adoption expenses of their 2 boys in Ethiopia.

Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in helping.


Matthew 25:34-46
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, [6] you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”