God is so good! This past Saturday early evening we had our quarterly orientation meeting at The Church at Schilling Farms. This is my home church and I just love how supportive my pastor, Scott Payne and our members have been. Thank you church for letting us use our building to work from and serve our refugee friends. It was a beautiful day Saturday and a beautiful meeting. I am thankful to all of my friends and the supporters that showed up. God just keeps encouraging me through you! It is also so neat to watch how the Lord is bringing people together to help serve those in need.

I know that serving in this ministry will not be for everyone, but there are so many that may find their place with us. I put together some volunteer post cards so that the volunteer needs were laid out more clearly for those who may be interested in finding a way they can participate and serve refugees through Asha’s Refuge. Check out our the “Volunteer with Us” page on the main page of our menu bar (it runs across the top of your screen) on this website to review the many ways you or your small group could help. If you have any questions or thoughts, please let us know by contacting me at jamie@ashasrefuge.org.

I am so thankful for hearts to help. There are so many people out there that have been praying for this organization, praying for refugees, praying for our city, praying for me personally and the rest of our volunteers and volunteer staff. I just know in my heart that God has something so big planned for us all to be a part of and it excites me. Thank you all for your hearts to help. I pray a special blessing on you all in return. God is good! So good!

It’s been a very busy last couple of weeks. Early last week, a group of friends from Central Church that gather together each year to enjoy a soup lunch decided to surprise me by letting me know that the Asha’s Refuge organization had been chosen as their non-profit/ministry to assist during the year 2012. When they announced it, I was not really sure what it meant but I could tell it was an honor and I was very grateful to God for how He chose to work through the many ladies I met that day in behalf of my refugee friends. I was caught off guard with the sweetness of the soup friends who had gathered together to thank me for my heart to help others, pray with me, learn more about Asha’s Refuge, deliver an abundance of donations they had collected and just let me know I had their support. Their generosity was overwhelming and it caused me to immediately fall to my knees and praise God.

My coworker and dear friend, Deborah was with me. I think she was quite surprised as well. Deborah and I were truly thankful and we very much appreciated knowing we were being prayed for even when we may not know it. Everyone must know that without my supportive and true friend, Deborah, I and Asha’s Refuge would still be circling around trying to succeed. Deborah helps me make it happen and she is just as devoted to serving and loving refugees as I am!

The Soup Friends worked hard to gather many of the items we had a need for that were listed on our Needs Page on our website. They had one whole room full of donated items they had worked hard to collect. We’ve updated this page now since many of the needs from before we’re fulfilled. Thank you Soup Friends!

Our refugee friends have an ongoing list of needs but I think one of their biggest needs is just people who are willing to walk beside them and encourage them as they resettle in Memphis. Some days it may mean taking them to the doctor while other days it could mean sitting with them and having tea. I pray that God will show us the needs He wants us to help fulfill and design in us a heart to slow down and just be a friend. If I were brand new to a country, a friend I could trust from that country would be something I would really hope to gain. Even though I am not new to America, I am stretching myself into some very different areas doing complicated work and it’s great for me to know I’ve gained some new Asha’s Refuge supporters and friends with the Soup Friends Club. I am appreciative for their prayers and know that I’ve gained some true friends.

Asha’s Refuge volunteered today with Christ Community Health Services and several other organizations in the city to assist the Binghampton Development Corporation with their demolition project to revamp some apartments they recently acquired. Some of the apartments will be future homes of refugees. The clean up effort helps to reduce crime that seems to be drawn to vacant and abandoned buildings. It also makes the Binghampton area a much prettier place to live! The amount of people who showed up to help with the project was an overwhelming surprise! There were about 150-200 people who were all eager to work.

I’ve never experienced a demolition project, but found it interesting watching all the men and boys kick in doors, hammer out sheet rock, chop out tile, pull down ceilings and take apart cabinetry. While I was worried about being accidentally knocked on the head with a hammer or getting dust particles in my contacts, most of the men were enjoying all the physical labor. I pressed through always finding smaller things to carry down the stairs to the pod or sweeping out debris. It was rather amazing to see everyone scurrying around the apartment complex in effort to gut each apartment and get it ready for its next phase. Everyone worked together so well and a tough project that was going to take an entire weekend ended up being accomplished in just 2-1/2 hours.

Thank you, if you came to help today! You are so appreciated. It will be so exciting to one day meet a family living in these apartments. Here are a few pictures from today which you may enjoy (there is one picture of the apartments that are across the street that were revamped by the BDC in the past few years so you can see what their new apartments may look similar to):

Our previous post about needing help with the demolition project to revamp the apartments on Tillman with the Binghampton Development Corporation this Saturday, January 21st from 7am – 12pm is still a need. To go along with that help request, we need to borrow some handyman supplies such as hard hats, protective eyewear, crowbars, gloves, hammers, shovels, etc. We will be ripping out sheet rock and cabinets and tearing up the floors. If you can help with this supply need thank you and please let is know.

(Please remember to let me know also if you can help! We need 20 teams of five. An appreciation lunch will be provided for you afterwards.)

Finding quality and affordable housing for refugees is hard to come by within the inner-city areas of Memphis. Asha’s Refuge has been working with a team of organizations seeking to help refugees in many ways. One of these ways is working to find ways to provide better housing.

Our friends at Christ Community Health Services have been working with the Binghampton Development Corporation regarding the housing issues for refugees. They have just announced that they have closed a deal on some apartments at 218 Tillman. This apartment complex will be redeveloped and a portion of these apartments will provide housing for refugees.

In order to begin the processes of redeveloping the apartments at Tillman, there will be a demolation party Saturday, January 21 from 7am – 12pm. Can you help? If you would like to help please let us know!

Here is a copy of the note from the BDC that was forwarded to me by Steve Moses at Christ Comunity Health Services:

The Binghampton Development Corperation closed the acquisition of the apartments at 218 Tillman over the holidays. The severely blighted apartments are on Tillman, north of Walnut Grove and adjacent to the Shelby Farms Greenline trail on the east side of Tillman – in a very strategic location. We are starting the renovation process to restore the 20 units in a redevelopment plan which we estimate will cost approximately $500,000.

We can really use your help. With a great deal of cabinets, sheet rock and other debris to remove, we are planning a large volunteer demolition event from 7 AM to Noon on Saturday, January 21st. We would love to have 20 teams of 5 to each adopt a unit. We recommend you bring work gloves, safety glasses, and hats. Also, flat shovels, pry bars, hammers, wheel barrows and cordless drill / screw drivers will be helpful if you have them.

We’re planning to make this a fun celebration and will set up a grill and provide lunch at noon. As you know you’ll be able to join us, please let us know so we can make our food plans. And, we’ll make sure you’re hungry….

Please bring your family and friends and come help advance the revitalization of the historic Binghampton neighborhood and provide a visible sign of hope for those marginalized in our city.