Today I needed to pull together a list of all our volunteers and was truly in awe of God! I am thankful for the 36 committed volunteers that we have at Asha’s Refuge. This is a true blessing and I humbly recognize the value of your time. Thank you volunteers for your mature serving hearts. We know this can be a challenging ministry to consistently serve with as it deeply tugs on heart strings in many ways and has a definite need for your flexibility. Thank you God for our growing relationships that have turned into stronger friendships. God is good!

Asha’s Refuge is collecting school supplies and back packs for local refugees in need.  Each year refugee parents struggle to find the funds to cover the supplies for their children to start their new school year.   They also have a hard time understanding the list of items needed and finding transportation to a store.  By helping our refugee friends, we also help the many teachers who have hearts to spend their own money to provide for each of their inner city students.   Our help is truly an example of encouragement and love to many.  

Please begin bringing the typical school supplies plus girls and boys backpacks to our Asha’s Refuge table in the lobby at The Church at Schilling Farms, 1035 Winchester Blvd., Collierville, TN if you are able to help.  You may wish instead to donate money to help us fund this need and can do so by sending a tax deductible check to the above address (c/o Asha’s Refuge, Suite A216) or through PayPal through our website.  We plan to sort the supplies into the backpacks and deliver them the Sunday afternoon a week before the city school starts.  Let us know if you want to help.   Find out more or contact us through our contact page here on the website if you have additional questions.  And, THANK YOU!    

Come talk to us about Asha’s Refuge this morning!  Be a part of something pretty unique as we serve others from so many cultures and people groups loving them as unto Christ.  1035 Winchester Blvd., Collierville, TN,  The Church at Schilling Farms @ 9am!

Please join us Saturday, June 6 at 9 am to learn more about how you can get involved in serving refugees. The location is The Church at Schilling Farms, 1035 Winchester, Collierville. See you there! 

We’d love to tell you the story of Asha’s Refuge, answer your questions,  and share ways you can help, so please join us for orientation on Saturday June 6 at 9:00am.  The location is The Church at Schilling Farms, 1035 Winchester, Collierville. We will meet upstairs in the Youth Suite for about an hour and a half. That will leave plenty of time for you to enjoy other Saturday activities. If you need more information about orientation, please drop us a note here or call us at 901-218-3276. We hope to see you there. 

Today Deborah and I enjoyed a luncheon hosted by Rhodes College where they thanked “us” for our involvement with their Interns.  I can hardly believe how wonderful God works.  Asha’s Refuge has been truly blessed by the student participation and partnership we have from connecting to the Rhodes College Internship Program.  The students that we have been able to work with have exhibited such professionalism and care as they have given their time to serve our refugee clients, volunteers and staff.  

It was an honor to have lunch and dessert on the Rhodes College Campus and be able to meet more of their staff, students and the other businesses in our city that have also partnered with Rhodes.  I was reminded how Asha’s Refuge not only exists to help local refugees but also to encourage our volunteers and our community which therefore involves students.    We genuinely look forward to the time we get to spend with the Rhodes Interns. Our organization benefits by learning so much from each of them.  We need them and are blessed to know they need us!  We could only hope to also be making a true impact in each Interns lives with life and cultural lessons they will remember and use for years to come.  

We thank all of our past and current Interns from Rhodes and those teachers and staff members at Rhodes that have assisted us in getting great workers.  Deborah and I enjoyed our walk on your beautiful  campus and appreciate lunch very much.  Thank you. 

(Here we are at Rhodes.  Can’t really see their beautiful brick buildings.)

 

  Yesterday was a pretty exciting day at Asha’s Refuge because Sahro received her American citizenship in a Naturalization Ceremony at the Cannon Center. For the past three years, she has been studying hard to pass the citizenship test. It was a quest she pursued all the time, asking questions and studying the sample Q & As on the Immigration Services website to learn as much as she could. 

I remember about 3 years ago when Sahro was in my class, she was so interested in learning about the U.S. presidents, government and events in American history. Her attention was particularly captured when I took her to see the polling site in the church on Election Day. We talked about how the voting process works and it’s importance to American life, as well as how blessed we are to have the right to vote without fear or danger found in some countries. 

All of her studying paid off  as Sahro’s dream was realized and celebrated yesterday in a moving Naturalization Ceremony.  
The staff and volunteers of Asha’s Refuge are so blessed by our friendship with Sahro and her family, and delighted we could help her achieve her dream. We extend our congratulations to her on this milestone and pray God’s richest blessings on her and her family. 

So please join us in welcoming this new American and read more about Sahro’s journey, and the wonderful event that completed her dream of citizenship. 

226 people take citizenship oath in Memphis http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/memphis-ceremony-welcomes-countrys-newest-citizens_76205172

Please pray for the people of Nepal impacted by this powerful earthquake. We serve a community of people from Nepal and Bhutan, its neighbor, who may have family still there in this dangerous situation. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32461019

Today was another great day at Asha’s Refuge as we had a large group of 32 adult students and five adorable preschoolers. Don’t these little faces make your heart happy? 

We have the best team of volunteers. They always respond to any wrinkles in the plan by doing whatever is needed to make a really good experience for our students. This morning several of us got tied up in a long traffic jam, making us late for pickuping up students. Two of our volunteers started that process on their own and by the time I arrived, lots of people were on-board for school. Other volunteers moved in to fill rolls in preschool and adult classes that were short on teachers. This illustrates what a fabulous team of volunteers God has provided. With His provision, they make every class a great day. 

This dedicated team would love your help this summer to ensure enough volunteers to provide quality teaching to adults and preschoolers. Please let us know if you’d like to help. 

Please help us to raise funds for our Place of Hope!  We want to be bold as we press on towards making the vision we feel God gave us come true.  You can keep up with how we are doing and find out more by clicking here:  http://www.gofundme.com/ashasrefuge .  Thank you!!