by Kelly Pearson
I want you to meet Kirk and Karen and their children, a refugee host family who were flat out disappointed when their long-awaited family stepped off the plane. They were disappointed because they had agreed to host a family of 14, and only four were able to come. Yet, this couple had only smiles and love to give, helping the family start a new life, complete with an eventual apartment.

But Kirk and Karen still had more to give, so a year later they said “yes” to taking in another refugee family from Sudan. For a second time, along with friends from their church, they helped this Sudanese family learn how to live “American style”-- how to shop for food, use the stove, run a washing machine. Kirk and Karen took their Sudanese family to church and involved them in every part of their day-to-day routine.

Bethany member and director of World Relief, Cal Uomoto, says “The God of the universe loves foreigners, refugees and immigrants.” Deut. 10:18-19 says,

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien.”

God expresses this love by giving practical aid—food and clothing. Most refugees, when they first arrive, need assistance -- housing, jobs, dental care, tutoring, furniture and friendships.

World Relief currently has families scheduled to arrive in Seattle from

• Sierra Leone,
• Somalia,
• Liberia,
• Burma and
• Sudan.

Several families are Somali Bantu. These refugee families have proven to the U.N. that they have been persecuted, so they are unable to return to their homeland. They have legal status to come to Seattle, find work and become citizens.

World Relief is looking for families who desire to open up their home, to welcoming a refugee family for a weekend to a week. Hosting involves:

• a visit from World Relief staff for orientation,
• meeting your refugee family at the airport,
• taking them home for 3-10 days,
• offering to bring them to church,
• teaching them how to use kitchen and household appliances,
• praying for them.

Collect household items for a family’s first apartment. Gently used furniture may be dropped off at Lori and Craig Garretson’s garage (1344 S. Dawson, 767-3199). Items needed are:

• single and double mattresses,
• microwaves,
• dressers,
• kitchen tables and
• chairs.

Call Lori for more information at 206-767-3199.

We at Bethany have enjoyed new and renewed relationships with Africans in recent years. For many years Kirk and Karen wanted to journey to Africa so their children could experience its culture. It didn’t happen the way they expected. By opening their home to refugees, Africa has come to them.

Culture Capsule: Somali Bantu
The newest refugees coming to Seattle are Somali Bantu. Here’s some information about them:

• Live in handmade mud homes
• Cook on open-pit fire
• Eat one meal a day
• Children work in fields
• Bantu tribe barred from education
• Generally speak several languages
• High work ethic
• Have lived in Kenyan refugee camps for over 10 years

More on Somali Bantu

• from World Relief
• from Seattle Times