Hamline Church is excited to announce that we will be co-sponsoring a new refugee family\u00a0with the Minnesota Council of Churches. Last year, we helped to resettle a Karen family. This year, we are helping an Ethiopian family of 11 resettle here in Minnesota. Please see the below message from John Bailey, co-leader of the Refugee Ministry, about how you can help support this effort.<\/p>\n
Hello Friends! We are privileged to welcome a new refugee family to a life in Minnesota.\u00a0They are a family of 11 from Ethiopia – by way of several years in a\u00a0Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya. They arrived here a couple\u00a0of weeks ago. The family are Oromo, which is the largest ethnic group\u00a0in Ethiopia. I met six of them today \u00a0and they are a\u00a0lovely, warm family with a spitfire of a Mom!<\/p>\n
We are going to need assistance in working with this family over the\u00a0summer. First, there are some key differences between our work with\u00a0this family as compared to last year’s family. While this family is\u00a0larger, most are adults. The biggest difference, and one that should\u00a0make our communication easier, is that there is English ability with\u00a0some in the family. The oldest daughter (Naima, 23) is the best\u00a0communicator, and she is the unofficial “spokesperson” for the family.
\nThey also have a furnished home,\u00a0that is located\u00a0in a nearby neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Please let me know if you can volunteer to assist our refugee ministry\u00a0this summer. What does that mean?<\/strong> Our commitment is to meet with the\u00a0family, at least, once a week.\u00a0That meeting could be taking them on an outing such as the grocery\u00a0store, a park, or the zoo. It can also just mean going over there and\u00a0spending time with them. I’d also note that the outings probably won’t We’re looking for a group of regular helpers who can participate in activities with the family once every couple of weeks.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n How do I get involved?<\/em><\/p>\n Contact:<\/strong> John Bailey at johnbaileyinmn@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n
\ninclude each and every family members so don’t be scared off by the\u00a0logistics of 11 people! We also will probably plan 2-3 larger outings\u00a0such as a picnic.<\/p>\n