We are moving forward with some serious paperwork and discussions concerning the start-up of Asha’s Refuge. Today, we had our first meeting with Mr. Lou, a friend that is helping us navigate through the 501(3)c process. I am learning that he is a big time blessing dropped right into our lap. Mr. Lou has had a lot of experience with this process and will be invaluable to Asha’s Refuge. He has already given me tangible assignments.

I’ve got to cut my Mission Statement down to 25 words or less. Eek! If anyone knows me well, my writings aren’t usually short. I don’t know why, but they just aren’t. I remember a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?” I guess I never really paid attention to the quote. In my mind I try, but I write as though I were talking to someone. And when I talk, I talk a lot. Especially about the things I am passionate about. I suppose I should learn how to not talk so much. I think I’m a good listener though. I listen very intently, but I also respond with great detail and passion. But, I keep hearing, “less is better”.

I’ll practice and try to post this update shorter than my previous posts. My husband, Deborah, my pastor from Nations Church and I met with Mr. Lou. My friend, husband and Pastor were all very supportive and seemed excited. It was a fantastic meeting and we now have better direction and I’ve got more things I need to get in order paperwork wise. We are excited and have to begin having staff meetings. My heart is thrilled as I watch things take shape for the sake of my friends from other countries. I can say that I work with Asha’s Refuge now and that is way cool to me! My God is an awesome God!

—

Since I last posted “Less Is Better”, I have decided the title fits a concept very important to me. In life, it seems that we can often have the misconception that having more things is better or that more stuff is going to make life better. As I have worked with the poor, I’ve realized more and more that there are poor people in need and rich people in need. I’ve also understood more and more that having a lot of things are just not so important and in fact, having lots of stuff can quite frankly drag us down and keep us stuck. When refugees enter in to the US they have nothing more with them than a small suitcase, a plastic bag with important papers in it and a large sign hung around their neck that says, “REFUGEE”. Most of them have never had all of the kinds of stuff that Americans have. They may never of had a home of their own. When they arrive here, their apartment is usually already set up by the local resettlement agency. It is filled some basic amenities and necessities such as bedroom and other furniture, kitchen dishes, kitchen appliances, a lamp, food and closets stacked with toiletries, towels and bed linens. They are usually thrilled to have things they can call their own and curious how to use what they have (such as a microwave, oven or stove). They feel satisfied.

Americans often come into the new apartment homes of my refugee friends with eyes that see a home half empty instead of a home half full. They sometimes quickly jump to feel sorry for them as they see empty white walls, no TV’s or an entertainment system, mattresses on the ground with no frame, headboard or footboard, a practically empty closet with only a few outfits hanging, children’s rooms with little or no toys, a used couch and table and many empty cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. Some people find it hard to believe that things like decorations, Xbox, Wii and other gaming systems, excess china, a closet full of clothes and TV’s are not necessities. I think it’s important for us to recognize that we are not helping refugees or the poor by trying to fill their homes with stuff.

There are scriptures and quotes that give definition and heart to what I am trying to say. Here are two:

“A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

“He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.” (Henry Ward Beecher)

Sometimes having more stuff can cause us more hardships and headache than the stuff is worth. Several couples I know have admitted to me that they have spent many years struggling to work hard to buy stuff only to then spend many harder years trying to hold on to that stuff. They say they realize now that the hassles they’ve had trying to hold on to their stuff was not worth it. They often express to me that if they had to do it all over again, they would have never collected so many things throughout their life. The problem I’ve noticed is that once you have collected a bunch of stuff it is hard to maintain it and then get rid of it. Sometimes less is better.