The future vision of Asha’s Refuge is broader than many may understand. I believe with all my heart that God gave me a vision in 2010 of just how I was to be involved with helping disadvantaged refugees who were feeling “stuck” in my city to achieve a successful resettlement by first Just Loving them as Jesus would. The vision was clear; it was reaching Nations for Jesus and was to include other believers. Asha’s Refuge is NOT just a weekly language class for local refugees nor is it just a group of caring people running around hoping to help a struggling refugee family for a moment to understand the American culture or manage their difficult situation as they start their life here anew. What you see and hear about with Asha’s Refuge today is just the very beginnings of something much greater. 
Our heart is to impact nation’s for the sake of the Kingdom! Our vision involves obtaining a large piece of land where disadvantaged refugees will be invited to live in college-like dorms for a stretch of about five years while being immersed in the English language, taught job skills, healthy habits, good communication skills, basic computer skills, American life skills, given their basic education, offered counseling, have opportunities to take part in artistic and creative learning activities, gain a driving education, and be surrounded by the encouragement and love of Christ through His unified body at work. This place we will call, “A Place of Hope”. The name “Asha” means “place of hope”.  
The Place of Hope will have urban gardens, a restaurant “Tastes of the Nation’s” where the menu has no set prices and diners pay by donation, a pond to fish in, workshops for training men how to repair small machines, learn the basics of automobile mechanics and learn about the construction world. It will have small cabins for job skills training such as a mock hotel suite to learn housekeeping skills, a grocery store learning facility or a mail processing center. There will be a preschool class to teach refugee preschoolers Kindergarten readiness, a playground, a church and so much more! We want to really involve ourselves in helping the community come together to gain a broader and better understanding of other cultures through our work with local refugees. We will learn as they learn and while we provide basic education, job skills, American life and language help and actual resources it will enable underprivileged refugees to better provide for themselves succeeding leaps and bounds over their current resettlement success rate. Our prayer is that they are gradually introduced into our American society esteemed with positive feelings of confidence, education and the very job and life skills necessary for them to have no need for government assistance programs.
I have been reading the bible as I press towards reaching the goals and visions in my heart for Asha’s Refuge and a single word keeps coming back to me: “Ask”. A few years back as I was planning for the American Life and Language classes, I became a little overwhelmed with the amount of needs we would have to accomplish hosting the classes. We would need classroom supplies. I mean, lots of classroom supplies and this included tables and chairs for students. While I had access to several rectangular folding tables, I was a little worried about where I would find enough chairs for the students. I didn’t stay my mind on this worry but it came up to the forefront of my mind every now and then. One day I was walking up the stairwell at Highland Heights Baptist Church where we have been so blessed to share building space to hold our classes. I came to the top of the stairs and I saw a closed door I thought possibly to a closet or another room. I decided to open the door and peek inside. When I saw what was just behind the door, my heart was overjoyed and seriously in awe. I couldn’t help but to stop a moment and thank God and also apologize for doubting Him to provide the resources we needed at Asha’s Refuge. You want to know what I saw don’t you?! Chairs. I saw chairs! Lots and lots of chairs. From one end of the room to the other end by the window, behind that closed door were chairs stacked from the floor to the ceiling in every which way. All I needed to do was “ask” God. He knew in my heart what I desired and my desires lined up with what I believe was His will. (I later took a picture of those chairs as it will forever be a reminder to me to “ask” because the blessing or answer may already be waiting on the other side of a closed door that simply needs to be opened.) See the picture below.
The Just Love Project 2016 was an effort to just “ask” for your financial support in helping us move stronger towards reaching our vision and goals for Asha’s Refuge. We need just 200 people to commit to $20.16 a month. We aren’t doing a fundraiser this month because fundraisers actually cost us funds we don’t always have and requires energy from a lot of people we sometimes feel we drain. We trust you understand. Of course fundraising has its benefits as it helps us to raise awareness, gets others involved in helping us to reach goals, helps to provide for refugee immediate needs and so we will be doing those at times too.  
We want to thank all of you who have committed to participate in the 2016 giving Just Love project. If you still want to help, it certainly is never too late. One time donations are also certainly appreciated. Thank you for allowing us to feel free to “ask”. We pray you are blessed beyond what you would have imagined by taking part in helping Asha’s Refuge reach the nations for Jesus.