Sometime towards the end of 2009 I met JeneRose and her family. It is my understanding that she had already been in the US for a few years before I met her.  She’s a Christian that loves to proclaim her love for Jesus and share the bible stories she has learned.  She sings beautiful in the Kurundi language and I believe also in Swahili.  She’s from Rwanda but her family escaped the terrible Rwandan Civil War when she was just a baby.  They left in the middle of the night to escape the violence and went to Burundi Africa where many others also fled for their safety.  In 1994, Hutu extremist controlled Rwanda and brutally murdered an estimated 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the worst episode of ethnic genocide since World War II at its time.  The massacres began back in October 1990 when the government prepared for the elimination of Tutsis.  Understanding the Rwanda Civil war, a war between two similar groups of people can be challenging.  There is a movie called Hotel Rwanda that was released in 2004 that is a good one to watch and helps to better understand the terrible details of this civil war. 

JeneRose (which is her last name by the way; her first name is about 20 letters put together that are almost impossible for most of us Americans to say), has been a client of ours since about 2010.  I wrote about my experience getting to know her very very early in my work with refugees in a blog post giving her an alias name which is an interesting read:  https://ashasrefuge.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/i-refuse-to-be-another-picture-on-the-wall-jenna-rose/.  JeneRose and her family of eleven have become a friend to me and also a friend to several other American families.  She and her husband struggled for years to move their large family out of a very small and shabby 3 bedroom apartment and just last year, they finally found a home.  Her children speak good English and are all doing so well in school.  Two are now in college.  JeneRose and her husband have done well raising their children to be respectful and kind to others. They are truly wonderful helpful children.

JeneRose loves to sew and has made blankets, dresses, aprons, bags and now purses.  She enjoys sewing and encourages us to help her sell what she makes so that she can help to financially provide for her family.  She takes donations of anything reasonable for anyone interested in purchasing her handmade vintage looking purses.  If you would like to purchase one of her purses and donate to help this sweet family please contact me at jamie@ashasrefuge.org.  Every bit of your donation goes directly back to JeneRose.  Check out our Asha’s Refuge Facebook page for more pictures of her purses.   

Just in time for Christmas, and because you requested, we have created a long sleeve, Memphis blue T-shirt to help support our cause for local refugees.  We are excited about our T-shirts and enjoy designing them for you.  They sure help us to fundraise and raise awareness for Asha’s Refuge as you wear them.  

The verse that sparked our heart to create this shirt was John 13:35 “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  These shirts will remind us that it is by our actions of love that others will come to know Christ.  It also reminds me that even though I cannot speak the language of our refugee friends, I have a unique “love language” that comes from the Spirit within me which will help me to better connect and understand my refugee friends without a need for a spoken mutual language.  I can trust Him that if I first put on love everything else will follow according to His will.  It’s truly a miracle how we are able to affectively communicate about so much in this sweet quiet way.
Please click on the link below to place your T-shirt order today!! 

 https://www.booster.com/ashasrefuge-by-our-love

Please mark your calendar and join us! 

December 5 from 9am to 10:30am we will have an Asha’s Refuge Orientation at 1035 Winchester Blvd., Suite A216. If you’ve been considering volunteering with us and want to know more about how the organization started and how you can help, this is a meeting you won’t want to miss. Come to this meeting also if you have questions regarding our local refugee situation and how Asha’s Refuge plans to be a vital participant in helping them to achieve a successful resettlement. We look forward to seeing you there and are excited to see how your gifts could be used to serve those in need. Contact us if you need additional details.  

Our preschoolers in their turkey headbands! Too much cuteness here. ❤️ 

Today was a busy and exciting day at Asha’s Refuge. Our classes were pretty full as we had 47 adults and 5 preschoolers. We had wonderful opportunities to share the reason for Thanksgiving and how we thank God for all things. That includes our freedom to worship God, our families, homes, and friends, including those from many countries. We talked about the fact that all of our teachers and drivers are Christians, and that we love and teach refugees because we love Jesus and He gives us a love for all people, because He loves us and each of our students. We also read Psalm 145 to our classes. It’s about praising and thanking God every day. The story of the first Thanksgiving was told in each class with colorful illustrations, and special foods were sampled. Our darling preschoolers made turkey headbands and a special “blessing mix” at snack time. Our preschoolers also received a wonderful new coat hook rack and learned to hang their coats at their classroom door. After passing a picture of deer to make clear what kind of meat we offered, frozen packs of ground venison were also distributed to students who wanted it, which was almost everyone. Those who accepted were happy to have it and many said “this is good meat.” Thanks to all our volunteers and supporters who made this day possible.   I hope you enjoy these pictures of highlights of our day.

Our friend David is an avid hunter and for the second year he is using those God-given talents to bless the clients of Asha’s Refuge.  Right now my freezer is full and so is my heart because he has donated the meat of two deer to Asha’s Refuge.  That’s a lot of ground meat.  This is a big help to the families we serve because it becomes more difficult to feed their families when their growing kids are home all day during school breaks. If you have ravinous teenagers at home, you know exactly what I mean. 

 
This Thursday we will distribute the frozen meat during our American Life and Language classes to those who will use it. While some of our students don’t eat it for religious reasons, the many who do will be delighted to receive it. I will show everyone a picture of some deer so they know exactly what it is and they will choose to accept this gift or not. Watch for more pictures of smiling faces later this week. 

Many thanks to David for his generous gift and his heart to show the love of Jesus to others by feeding them. 

December 5 from 9am to 10:30am we will have an Asha’s Refuge Orientation at 1035 Winchester Blvd., Suite A216. If you’ve been considering volunteering with us and want to know more about how the organization started and how you can help, this is a meeting you won’t want to miss. Come to this meeting also if you have many questions regarding our local refugee situation and how Asha’s Refuge plans to be a vital participant in helping them to achieve a successful resettlement. We look forward to seeing you there and are excited to see how your gifts could be used to serve those in need. Contact us if you need additional details.  

We are thankful for the opportunity to be part of the Combined Federal Campaign again this year. 

Last week several of our volunteers participated in the CFC Agency Fair at the IRS campus. It was a great opportunity to share the story of Asha’s Refuge and our mission to love and serve refugees in our community. We really appreciate the financial support and encouragement we receive from these events. Federal employees are very generous folks who care about those in need in our community. Big thanks to Sara, Jil and Laure for representing Asha’s Refuge so well at IRS and to Laure and Debbie for their recent presentation to the Collierville Post Office. We have the best volunteers! 

If you are a civilian federal, military or postal employee, you can give to Asha’s Refuge through CFC by designating your contribution to agency number 42063. 

Other ways to give to Asha’s Refuge include PayPal, check, writing in Asha’s Refuge on your United Way pledge card, or through your company’s matching donation plan. Thanks so much for your support. 

Gaetan is a really nice gentleman from Rwanda who participates in our advanced American Life and Language classes. He has started a business venture selling African decor and accessories and would love for you to browse and buy some gifts or new items for your home. Here’s his website: http://www.africanbusinessexpertsolutions.com