TBC Refugee Adoption

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2009-09-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

I just discovered that AMC... www.amctheatres.com showcases movies from India from time to time. A new one is coming out on 9/18 "Dil Bole Hadippa". Times & Locations are not available yet. Movies before Noon are $5. It would an experience for most of our friends. Next week the description of the movie should be out. From the poster it looks like a comedy. I have to ask "D Daddy Das" for the translation.

The Gospel through 2 Coke cans, a calendar, PBS and Dr. Phil:
I spent 4 hrs w/the Das family yesterday. Took them to the clinic and then hung out with them while I waited for 1-17 traffic to disappear. They taught me to make another form of roti, which is like a tortilla. That was too funny. Mr. Das's("D Daddy Das" ) roti was perfect, mine looked more like a deformed frisbee! This Julia Child cooking class gave us time just to bond and chat in which Mr. Das shared his heart and concerns. I admire him for thinking of ways to at least look for new jobs. 2 months ago I would bring him my Sunday's classified ads, for him to look for better jobs. He "didn't have time to read" then, but that's when he was working 5 days and Kumar was working 5 days .... money was good. Yesterday, he asked if "I would bring back paper to him". Last Sunday, I shared Jeremiah 29:11 with him. Yesterday, Mr Das talked about moving back to Nepal by saving up a lots of money to move back. Then he talked of Texas..yes Texas. They hear where other families have moved there and found jobs. After listening to him yesterday, I had him write that scripture on a piece of paper and asked Mr Das to start memorizing it and substituting his name or "the Das family" when ever "you" is mentioned in the verse. We wrote it out yesterday so he could tape it on the bathroom mirror. We also read Matthew 6:25 "Do not worry passage" and we read the 23rd Psalms. He's worried...so that's how we got to Jeremiah and Matthew. He, like so many of us is looking at the storm and leaning on his own understanding . I shared the story of Moses and how God made a way by parting the sea. Mr. Das knew that story, but we talked about how Moses didn't know that the sea would open up for him. I then asked Mr Das if he knew when the way would open up for him, and he said "why of course not"... you silly lady (my interpretation), then I told him to keep praying until it does! I took 2 Coke cans that were on the table, one was Egypt, where the people of God where slaves to bad people, and the other one was "A better place". I shared how the people wanted to go back to Egypt because it was familiar and easier to go back to what they knew. And then I tied in the story of how they followed God, through Moses and made it safe to the other side of the sea...then we reread Jeremiah 29: 11 again.

Then we watched TV and Tulasa started singing the "We are family" chorus, because we all were sitting together and I wasn't running off in a hurry to get home for my next task at hand. I left them watching Dr Phil, which had a family who was going through financial hardship during tough economic times. How stress was killing the family and the husband was making wrong choices, like taking the equity out of the home to gamble to make more money....which he lost.

While watching TV, I noticed a 2009 India calendar from the temple on 28th Ave & Maryland. I read about each of the "gods" that was highlighted for each month. I asked what they thought about each of them. I gingerly noted that they were made by man and were abnormally made. I asked if they thought that the God in heaven made them. Tulasa didn't believe in them, Mr Das was sitting on the fence. Mrs Das honestly answered "no" when I asked her if she thought they truly had the power to do what each of them were said to have. We talked about reincarnation and how some Americans believe that too, but with Christianity there was none. I asked him why would anyone want to came back to a bad place again. We talked about spiritual forces that do operate in the world that we can not see, that there were good and bad spirits. I reinforced Sunday's sermon about God being the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The half hour before Dr Phil's show, I have surfed the stations and we ended up on Channel 8 (PBS) that just happened to have a documentary on the universe and the galaxy... I used that to tell them that is what our God created. There mouths dropped and then I gently said that stone figures of half elephant/half woman, with 6 arms didn't make the universe...which lead me to talk about how an fallen angel was given power over the earth. It was a blessing, when I left there prayed for seeds to stay planted in their minds and heart.

Iris

2009-09-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers. Kamala had the phone interview on Tuesday morning, but the manager did not call back to schedule an in-person interview. He was a very nice man. I think perhaps he was hesitant because of the language barrier. It’s a huge roadblock to securing a job. We MUST keep praying and keep eyes & ears open – the issue is SO critical, as we all know.
Thanks.
Carol L

From: Carol
'Subject: possible job for Kamala Acharya

Hi all,
I got a call just a moment ago about Kamala’s application for a job at the new Drury Inn – opening in September at Pinnacle Peak and I-17. I’m going to go & pick her up tomorrow morning and we will call the man (general manager) back – he wants a phone interview to determine if he wants to bring her in for an in-person interview. Please PRAY. (I helped her put in this application online last Thursday.) This was a quick response and I think that’s a good sign. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!!!!
Blessings,
Carol Langley

2009-09-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Kumar Das was laid off from GCA on Tuesday. He might be able to be assigned to a different GCA site, but not sure. He just moved his little family into their own apartment apart from his mom, dad and three siblings.

Dal Das, the father of the clan, is getting high pressure sales tactics from Anthem College to take a course in medical assisting for a mere $13,300, of course with the promise that he will be given loans to cover this. Dal has been very wise thus far in refusing to sign anything, but the salesman is relentless. He gave Dal the impression that it wouldn't cost him anything, but I called on his behalf to help him find the truth. His jaw dropped to the floor when we found out the cost.

Please pray for Kumar to be reassigned quickly and to have some gumption (an old Okie word) to get another job. Please pray for Dal to continue to be wise to resist the schemes of high pressure sales. Many of our friends are being enticed by the promises of loans to pay off school, cars, etc. We need to pray for their protection, as many of them don't understand credit, interest rates and the long term commitment they are making. One of our most educated friends approached me last week wanting to buy a car using his credit card, at 16% interest! He did not understand he would have to pay the interest. In all honesty, I actually did use a credit card to have a down payment on a car when I was in college but I had no other options and understood what I was doing!

Kudos to all of you for your service! Thank you for praying for these situations and so many others.
Carla

2009-09-02T09:48:00.001-07:00

Today I took Umesh and Suman Das to the county clinic for shots. The clinic is closed on Wednesdays, much to my dismay. However, Suman was elated and relieved, and told his dad that he had prayed to Jesus to save him from the shots, and he was so happy that Jesus saved him!

After that deadend, we went to Ranch Market, which I am positive exceeded the fire code limit for customers. I have never been in a grocery store that was as crowded as this one. The boys were so hungry so we checked out two taco stands. At the first stand, I said we wanted beef tacos. The clerk said she didn't know if the meat on the grill was beef, but her manager had said it was beef, but again, she didn't even know if it was meat. Second taco stand, inside the store, I asked what a particular bin of meat was and again the girl said she didn't know what it was. No tacos for us today!

Carla

2009-09-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

need some help with a problem of timing and signing kids in/out.

Except for Adhikari kids, please make sure all kids are signed in and out by their parents. Durga Adhikari can come in place of his dad. When Rati does not come, her oldest son can sign in/out the kids. ONLY ONE PERSON NEEDS TO COME FOR EACH FAMILY. It gets very congested at the sign in/out table and very confusing since the other childrens' workers don't know who is who.

Please, please, please release the parents to come get their kids at 11:45 or at the latest 11: 50 a.m. and then please remind them to go directly to get their kids.

Last Sunday I gave up after waiting for 20 minutes for the parents to come.

As of this Sunday, the other teachers will be waiting on the Bhutanese parents, so please let's respect their time as well by getting the kids out of there on time.

Thanks!

Carla

2009-08-31T10:18:00.002-07:00

This has been a big week.

Carol Brady created a great display for the prayer focus. She reminded us to pray for the protection of our Bhutanese friends from people who would take advantage of them.

I delivered furniture for some new arrivals at Los Compadres apartments. Tika helped identified who needed the couch and recliner.

I was invited to the Neopany's. They were celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Grandfather's death. The sons shaved their heads except for a little whisp of a pony tail. They showed me a video of Nepal. There some some scenes of the camp as they got ready for an outing. They took a bus to a tea plantation. As they walked through the plantation, they found strawberries (?) on a strawberry tree(?). Also they found caramon (sp?). It is a pod with seeds in it that taste something like spearmint. It is available here. They gave me one to try. It's a great after-dinner mint.

The youth kickoff was lots of fun for 40 of the Bhutanese youth. There was about the same number of American youth. There was a 30 foot inflateable water slide, an inflatable boxing ring, and an inflatable bungee/joust. Inside, there was an mechanical bull. The Bhutanese youth participated in everything. There were ready to go home by 4:00 even thought the event went until 5:30. Transportation took almost two hours. Some waited in the heat for a ride.

At the prayer service, Carla, Iris, and I led in prayer.

2009-08-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

The question has come up before about the government's timing in bringing refugees to the US in the midst of an ecomomic calamity. I think it's a good question and as Christians in America, we can have a good response. I have very limited knowledge of our country's immigration policy, but I have learned a few things:
1) Only 1% of those in the world who live in refugee camps, who number in the millions, have the opportunity to take part in "third country resettlement" (they left their own country, are in a camp in a second country, and we are their third country). ONE PERCENT.
2) The wheels of progress moving someone like Tika Acharya from Nepal to Phoenix have been turning for years. The resettlement efforts started well before American greed poked a giant hole in the world economy.
3) It is our both our heritage as Americans who for the most part come from immigrant families (the exception being Native Americans) and our legacy that we build for our own children to believe that we are a welcoming nation. The Statue of Liberty is for all of us, including newly arriving refugees and other immigrants.
4) Federal policy exists, which also was established well before the recession, that dictates how many immigrants from how many countries are welcomed into the US each year. Refugees are not immigrants, as refugees have no choice and their very lives are at risk.
5) The most important reason we can hold as part of our Christian world view is that our God is beyond politics, economics and boundaries of nations. God is not part of American protectionism, Bhutanese "one country, one people" policy, or any other man-centered policy. God acts to bring people where He wants them, when He wants, by whatever means He wants to use. God does not seek permission from Arizona politicians, US congressmen, or from us. If we can hold a Christian world view over and above an American world view, then that allows us to rejoice that God has designed it that we only have to drive a few miles to have the privilege of being missionaries and we don't have to raise support, or leave our homes and families. Most importantly, people are hearing the Gospel of Truth and Liberty and Light, and are being called out of bondage and darkness. I don't claim to know God's purposes or His mind, but scripture reveals that God moves as God desires, and we get the privilege of being a part of His far reaching love for people.

Acts 17:24-27 NIV
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."

I can see God's hand in our work at TBC, and see that eternity is being impacted here. It's a privilege to see it happening in all of you and your relationships and efforts with our Bhutanese friends. Thanks for being faithful.

Carla

2009-08-21T09:49:00.001-07:00

Tika Neopaney now lives in B2 at Thomas. She has a cleaning job now. Her parents and brothers live there with her, having arrived August 11. Her brothers should both attend Central High School.

Pratap Rai got a job at Goodwill.

Champa Rai discovered the incredible bureaucracy of the MVD, when a clerk lost her I-94, security card AND state ID. Champa was so upset, as was her family. And she was scared, not having any documentation to prove her status. They refused to give her a photocopy of the photocopy that they had of the documents and told her she should be patient and they would call her if they found them. They found them, never called her, but when I took her this afternoon they returned all her documents. They had no plausible explanation of how they disappeared or where they were for 3 days. Inexcusable. Then they had the audacity to tell her to take a number in order to retake the driver's test! No way. I politely insisted that since she had already spent hours in their lobby over the last couple of days, the very least they could do would be to put her in the front of the line. People grumbled, but they did it. Unfortunately, she failed by one question! I think she was so relieved to have her documents back that it rattled her concentration.

Champa then went with me to Thomas to finish up some school shoes deliveries, but of course every time I do that there are more kids who need shoes and socks. But we visited with Bishnu Bhattarai and her family. Her father and sister work at Ranch Market. Her brother worked at the airport but quit due to health reasons. They are in a real bind as they have no health insurance and their mother really needs some medical attention for some chronic problems. Any ideas?

We visited Khanal's briefly to give Bhola some shoes, but didn't have his size. I indiscriminately handed out kid's shoes to the World Vision kids who hang out in the parking lot. They provided a good lesson for some of "our" kids who have shoes but want more shoes, since these kids were running around in tatters. It seemed to finally sink in for Homa Khanal, who constantly begs me for shoes, when she has perfectly great shoes. I thought I saw a little light go on over her head, but we'll have to wait and see.

I'm assuming Tika and her family will want a ride from Thomas to church. Just a thought.....all the Central High students could ride the bus since they all have free bus cards. That would alleviate quite a bit of the crunch.

Carla

2009-08-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

) Sadikshya Nepal (age 22 months) took a swim today, unsupervised, and was rescued by Narayan (?), fully clothed, who went in after her. Thankfully, she's fine.

2) Champa Rai went to the ER with a racing heart beat, and is now wearing around a heart monitor. she was supposed to be resting today, but when I as there, there were at least 5 children in her care plus several adults in the house.

3) Yes, lost "soles"....four of our friends went job seeking, and ended up very lost with hot feet and no sense of direction, until they got off the bus at 35th and Peoria, and looked across the street to Trinity. But still they didn't know how to get home from there or more importantly, to the hotel they were trying to locate. I was returning Tara, Tika and Kamala home after visiting Cholla Middle School and we spotted them at the bus stop. So I dropped them off at the hotel, then came back for them after taking Tika to work, and after retrieving his bike for him.

4) That leads to the patient supevisor. Tika's supervisor came out of the building as I was locking up his bike for him, and I told him how much we appreciated him being a good supervisor for Tika. He said he was so sorry about Kamala, but that someone needs to explain to them that he, as the supervisor, has nothing to so with the decision. He said that on Sunday, Tika and family called him 20-30 times, asking for explanation. Wow. Some supervisors could consider that harrassment, and fire Tika. So, despite me telling Tika at least twice not to call Francis, someone else (MIKE?? EMERY??) needs to explain to Tika and family how inappropriate this was.

TBC folks outfitted over 40 kids with a variety of school supplies, shoes, backpacks and socks. WAY TO GO!!!

Carla

2009-08-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Whew...just got home from a day of delivering school supplies and back packs. Everyone was very excited to receive and everyone expressed gratitude. Kids being kids, it was hard for some to accept that everyone received different things, different amounts, etc. Just like my sisters and I when we were young! A few kids and teens have back packs/supplies "in the pipeline" , will likely be turned back in next Sunday from whomever was generous to take their name tag. So if there are any questions, feel free to check with me and I'll let you know if it's coming, or if possibly I missed a student. I did get some requests, from TBC attendees, for students not associated with TBC, so had to explain that if I have things left, I'll try but no promises. I had no success resisting the four year old Bhurmese girl in the parking lot at Thomas. She could have been in an ad for Worldvision or Christian Children's Fund.

Two funny stories:
1. I took Mondip Sanyashi for vaccinations on Friday. He handled it like a champ, but didn't want to move his arms. As we exited the building he came to the door, which opened with a push bar. So I told him to push the bar with his hands. He studied it a quick second, then bent over and pushed it with the top of his head, keeping his arms still perfectly straight. Hilarious!

2. This one is on me: after the Food Value Club yesterday there was a half a ton of pears left and some bread, so we loaded it up with some bonus boxes and I delivered to various familes. It was so hot by 11:30 am but I didnt' want these pears cooking in my van so I was determined to get rid of everything. I saw Nishan Yogi's mom, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, in the courtyard so thought she'd be a good candidate for the bonus box and lots of pears. I thought I did such a great job communicating if she wanted the box and then followed her a long ways to her apartment. I was so distressed about the condition of her apartment I actually had a dream about it last night. Everything was a mess, no decent furniture, all the couch cushions were missing. The kitchen was a shambles. But I found a small corner that was empty and left the box of food. I thought it was so sweet she pulled out one bag of chips and motioned that she was going to give them to Nishan, who wasn't home at the time, and off she went. Today I went back to the same apartment to deliver Nishan's school bag and supplies (and a cool cement mixer truck...he's only 4!) and found the apartment empty! Totally empty. So now I'm standing in the 111 degree heat wondering where on earth they moved and how could they have moved so fast??? As always, someone's radar was working and another Nepali came over and asked me who I was looking for. It took several minutes for me to understand.....that was NOT their apartment at all! That was Monorath's apartment and they had been in the process of moving out on Saturday!!! The Nepali man who was helping me also lives with Monorath and we had a good laugh when I explained that I had left the foodbox, and he told me he had wondered where the food had come from. He helped me to find Nishan's family and I delivered his bag of goodies, and they have a very nicely furnished apartment, by the way. Apparently some of the Sharma's live there, at least until they move to Oregon. So much for my nonverbal communication!!!

Carla

2009-08-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

The ultimate mis-dressed child arrived today, a boy wearing a girl's tank top (pink and yellow) with sports themed boxer shorts (alone), that went to his knees, knee high black socks, and I think soccer shoes. I gave him some pants to wear but lost track in the chaos so I hope he took them home.

2009-07-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

To our faith Bhutanese Ministry team:

Here is a plan in attempt to structure the need to have harmony during the 1st hour (9A-10:30A) Children's Ministry that is held downstairs in the Education Bldg. It is our goal not to have any one person repeat in any given 3 months if 12 of use would participate in the rotation so no one is deprived of 9AM Adult worship service. One way of increasing volunteers other than ourselves, is to remember if anyone asks you if we need help or is there something they can do....BINGO....tell them to see me if they could do one Sunday of 1st Hr Children Ministry "Group Monitor" A copy of this will also be given to the Bhutan volunteers and I will call Carol Brady to make her aware.

Below are dates in which we need 1 American adult to volunteer to serve as" Group Monitor" . There will be 1 Bhutan adult volunteering along side with you.

"Group Monitor's" responsibility:
1) the kids are free to go downstairs from 8:45 am on, and need to be signed in by an adult & by grade level.
2) Our helpers will sit among the kids, or walk among the kids, during the large group time, and give them lots of reminders to give the leader their attention, stop talking, make sure only one at a time goes to the bathroom.
3) Move kids who are continually disruptive so that they are not sitting by their friends. We basically just want them attending to the songs and stories, and some need a lot of verbal reminders coupled with a physical touch like a hand on the shoulder, a pat on the back, something that gently gets their attention back to the leader.
4) during the free play time, it is imperative that the "Group Monitor" supervise the play area and make sure kids are sharing, being kind, not putting toys in their pockets. This is an active time.
5) there are some down time while the kids go into small groups in which you will stay on hand to handle any disruptions or questions from the teachers.

My commitment in this process is to:
1. Send out at the end of every month, the next month's schedule of volunteers, with phone # and email address
2. I will continue to resend an updated email (if needed) until all dates for a 3 month period is taken.
3. I will monitor any "rubber band" effect = (Carla &Elvren are back to doing it every week)
4. To pray for you the day you serve that God may be glorified, even in all the small things. We are in essence a part of the process of training up a child in the way they should go.

Your commitment to this process is to:
1. When life arise and stuff happens and you need to change a date, it will be your responsibility to call another volunteer on that month's list and switch with someone. If for some reason you are not able to make a switch, then notify me.
2. Notify me of a switch

Continue to be strong in the power of HIS might!
Iris....see below

Please respond below.....by doing the following:
1. You can not type in your name first then send the email.
2.. Reply to "ALL"
3. Scroll down into the body of the email and TYPE your name by the Sunday to volunteer
4. Send the email..... this way ALL will be able to see what dates are be taken up... as it is a 1st taken, 1st to Serve.

****** VOLUNTEERS NEED for the next months (JULY - SEPT 2009) ******
1. July 5: Iris Hedrick
2. July 12:
3. July 19:
4. July 26:
5. Aug 2:
6. Aug 9:
7. Aug 16:
8. Aug 23:
9. Aug 30:
10 Sept 6:
11. Sept 13:
12. Sept 20:
13. Sept 27:

2009-06-23T11:54:00.001-07:00

Dear All,
We just wanted to share this news to you “World refugee day 2009 held at Washington DC ”. Thought you might be interested
Please find the link below,
http://www.bhutannewsservice.com/main-news/diaspora_exile_resettlement/resettled-bhutanese-join-gutterres-to-celebrate-refugee-day/

Thank you

Ganga and Khagendra Baral

2009-06-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

If you have a moment this week and are in the vicinity of church any morning, you should stop by and see the absolutely incredible VBS that is taking place. I can't imagine the hours that the team put in to making this such a great experience, from decorations to organization. Don Wilson built part of a pirate ship, mast and all!! And Carol Brady looks great as a pirate. I took six kids who had varying degrees of fun; they were a handful at times, but caught on to my rules before our day was over. some weeks ago I had heard there were only 17 kids signed up, but word must have spread because I bet there were close to 100!

Also, I took the Ghimerey family to the annex and had to tell them over and over to take more clothes. They didn't want to take more than their share and wanted to make sure there would be enough for other families. Wow...that was refreshing! By the end, they hadn't taken enough, in my opinion, but wouldn't take more, so they were happy with what they were given. David was really happy to get the coleman water bottle and an ice tray, so he can take cold water on his job search. And they were happy to get an umbrella for their mom....

Carla

2009-06-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Okay.....Chawan's did have a coffee table, so I took the table to Ghiimerey's at Thomas...and gave them a lamp. They are very discouraged about not having a job and having difficulty looking, as is par for the course. They need clothes, so I am taking them to the annex on Monday. Later in the week I am taking Baigai family from Willowsprings to the annex. They requested plates, cups, glasses so I took a box full to them today. took a large bag of clothes to Gurung family at Willowsprings and a bag of little boy clothes to Sanyashi families at Thomas with some little girl panties and a few clothes and toys. I'd already given them girl clothes in the past, fyi.

So although we are not picking up at Willowsprings, some families are finding their way to Camelback to be picked up. not a problem for me but just so you know.

Just fyi....
Carla

2009-06-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mon Dhujana with son and daughter were not picked up at Woodbridge.
Gave jhana Adhikari 10 bus tickets, only 3 were used.
Gave Tara Nepal 10 bus tickets, only 3 were used.
Received another request for family at Willow Springs to come to church.

kids in attendance: June 14
Preschool:
Nishan Jogi
Khem Kafley
Roshni Kafley
others?

Elementary: We had our own class for the 11-11;45 time frame.
Bimal Adhikari
Yamuna Adhikar
Seema Nepal
Khina Adhikari
Homa Kanal
Purmila ??? came without parents, friend of ???
Hari Jagjai friend of Bimal Adhikari, came without parents, lives at Willow Springs
Vishma Chuwan
Bhupendra Chuwan
Sumitra Gurung
Dipendra Gurung
Dependra Rizal
Umesh Das
Suman Das
Kalpana Ghimirey

Judy Gose and Romesh Sharma were great helpers in second hour with the class. Teachers in first hour were very pleased with how much better things were with fewer kids and Elvern and I staying. However, Nancy Van der Ark said if there are more kids, there must be one more adult.
On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 2:02 PM, <Elvernh@aol.com> wrote:
Attached is the roster of attendance today.
The N is 75 friends

Helen

2009-06-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Mike, Carla & Team,
I did not ask you last night to include me as a mentor since we were running late and never really discussed what that meant until briefly towards the end. However, I think I have a general grasp of the “job description”.
Therefore, I would like to be put down as a mentor to Shekhar and Januka Pokhral even though I will be out of state from June 14 to end of July or no later that Aug 14. I also include Bhola Shiwakoti and sons Achut and Yogya (12) as well as his wife Khina and mother Bishnu (or Khina’s mother?) who are not coming to Trinity. I will occasionally be in touch with them by phone and letter over the summer and am also committed to providing 2-3 monthly bus passes for June, July and August.
When Januka and Shekhar came to my house for dinner a week ago last Sunday some Ghimireys (Tek, Mina, Pabi & Kalpana) and some Khanals (Soma, Gita, Bhola & Kopila) also came. Bhola (16) was especially friendly and eager to help with all the loading, unloading and putting together of the bed for Bhola’s apt. What a neat young man! I’ll want to stay connected to them as well.
Just as a point of information: For the past 3 Thursdays I have been at the Shiwakoti’s & Pokhrals. First, we practice English for a couple of hours. (Thanks for the books, Carla.) The largest percentage of participants are the 19-20+ young men who are job hunting. Then we run errands. We’ve been to the Goodwill career center (Thanks for that info, Carla), the library for cards, the airport for testing, to pick up a small computer desk for a neighbor, and the Bead Museum and Cerreta’s with the “girls”. Don’t know what we’ll do this Thurs, my last until August. But we’ll have fun! Hope it will be productive.

Lynda Geames

2009-06-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

Team Meeting Notes
June 9, 2009

Where do we go from here?

We do deeper rather than wider

We invest in Bhutanese Leaders
We offer a few families a financial and emotional safety net
We encourage mentoring relationships

We go there more than they come "here"

Fine ESL partners who are already doing it
Plan small events at the complex
Small group Bible studies
Drive our friends where they need to go

We listen more

Listen to the felt needs of our Bhutanese leadership team
Listen for clues to their spiritual discovery
Respond to specific needs based on their priorities

We build infrastructure at Trinity

Finances - be generous
Encourage and pray for our leaders
Support ministries by sending or being helpers
Pray for the new pastor
Say thank you

Lean forward

Think about a vision for the future
Build partnerships with other churches and organizations
Be faithful to fulfill our God-given responsibility
Live within our resources

Next Steps

Bhutanese Exposition - July 26
Mentoring Training TBA
Bhutanese Teacher Training - start process
Abounding Services ESL at Restoration Church - Aug 1

2009-05-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Carla,
When Billy doesn't want to listen, call me I will listen. I had the pleasure of having the Das family over this afternoon. They were introduced to hot wings, and Tulasa took the lefts wings home...she's hooked now. Mrs Das is diabetic, which I was not aware of, so she couldn't join in on their 1ft Strawberry shortcake w/whipcream. It was the whipcream that blew them away. I didn't shake can first, then I shook it, and everyone one in the family (8) shook it, the you should have seen the look on their faces when I piled it up high!!

Mr & Mrs Das and I had a class on coupons. I showed how the Frys flyer works and how to reduce the cost w/coupon. Mr Das learned to turn the chicken on the grill. The Mrs Das, Kalpana, Kamala and Tulasa learned and saw the miracle of a dishwasher. Mrs Das was stun to see that the draw of dishes went in dirty and came out clean... "Where did it go?" she asked...

We had a great table discussion, about their transition from having their own seperate home to the camp. The kids watched Lion King. and Umesh had a birthday on the 16th, so we put 10 candles on the shortcake loaf before I cut it up for dessert. and sang happy birthday.

It was a great afternoon.

Iris

2009-05-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

I made several stops at the Pines after work today. My first stop was with Champa Rai. I learned that she had not returned the call to Melanie Smith her Workforce Counselor at 7th Stt and Mountain View back. I encouraged her that is her #1 task.

Next I went to the Das home and discussed Summer School for the boys with Dal and Kalpana. They thought that they may have received a paper in Suman's school bag but they lost it so the boys will not be going to summer school at Simpson. We discussed the 100 reasons why it was important. I told them I would go to Simpson on Wednesday after work and pick up multiple copies and we will discuss ELL Summer School during Sunday's class at the NNEX. I have a parallel pursuit with the AZELLA Division at the Arizona Department of Education about the under-served students at Simpson. Simpson will be monitored and investigated.

And last I went to the Basnet home. This was my first time in their home. If you recall the Basnets were one of the first families to arrive in Phx. Mr. Basnet has worked at Ranch Market for five months and actually had Sunday off from work so he was at Church for the first time on Sunday morning. They are the lucky parents of 4 wonderful teenage girls. Someone drove Mr. Basnet to Tucson today to attend the funeral of a grandfather (??). I went there to prep Chandrika Basnet and Dahn & Nandu Battarrai for their appoint with the Phoenix Workforce Connection Program for 16-24 year olds. At this point in time we have 3/32 students selected for interviews. They actually have a list of about 6 items to bring to the interview so we needed to discuss and make several phone calls about what document they should us for the birth certificate. They will use the I-94 card and the Permission to work in USA card. My biggest challenge was getting them to make the necessary phone calls. They have a great deal of fear and excitement about this new experience. Phx Summer Youth Employment is still making calls so let's continue to pray that a few more Bhutenese students have this opportunity..

I learned a lot about teaching our friends to fish this afternoon. Teaching them how to fish takes a long time. I had assumed that Champa would make the return call- she lost the phone number and was embarrassed to ask me for it. One can assume that all Bhutenese parents would be signing their children up for summer school - I was wrong. I assumed that the lucky teens who were contacted by Phx Summer Youth Employment had followed the directions and returned calls - they need a lot of encouragement to make those call. I only wish that we could have a mentor for each family.
Helen

2009-05-18T14:12:00.003-07:00

Some Great Questions from Lynda:

Hi Carla,
I have questions about what it is okay for me to do individually, and where I need to follow certain procedures.
1)–I assume that any donations should go through you (ie Trinity).
For example, I know that Januka and her husband have a tv but not dvd player. I assume it shouldn’t just buy them a dvd player.
We have a certain $ donation we want to make, especially since we will be gone for 2 ½ months this summer. Do I make out a check to Trinity re: Bhutanese, or do I just give you or Mike or someone cash?
At what, if any, point could donations and/or gifts be given directly to the Bhutanese. For example, Januka gave me a necklace from Nepal. I am a beader and plan to give her a necklace that I made, esp. since she’s NOT SINGLE! So, I’m assuming those kinds of gifts are okay.
. Well, I wish we had procedures, and we need procedures, but we're not there as yet. Most the team at various times have felt okay about buying an item or items for a family here and there. So you feel the freedom to do as the Lord leads, but just be aware that lots of requests will probably follow and it's also okay to say no. If you'd like them to have a dvd player but don't want that dynamic to come into play, I could deliver it since I deliver lots of the donations, and they won't have to know it's from you. Savers and Goodwill have dvd players sometimes. I think the beading gift would be really sweet and would be a great friendship gift directly from you. RE: giving, send it to the church and put on the memo line that it's for the refugee ministry.

2)I would like to make a commitment to Januka’s family, but I won’t be much help after June 10 until mid August. Are you formally or informally matching people up?

Until I leave, these are the things I assume I can do:
Take Januka and others grocery shopping, visit her home and answer questions about appliances, etc, work on English, invite the family to my home, take them on other outings.
That would be fantastic! We have seen God working out the connections as natural friendships arise, and it's a real encouragement to me personally when that happens! So you have the freedom to do as much or as little as your schedule allows, and then when you get back, God willing, we'll all be here and glad to see you। I bet they would get a big kick out of getting mail or postcards from you while you are away.

३3) I have no real feel at all on how to help people find jobs!
this is a tough area for sure. Shekkar might ask you to take him to GCA which is a cleaning company with its main office in Mesa. Lots of our friends work for them especially at the airport. He failed the english screening test but can take it again. GCA also has sites around the city which do not require passing the test. Those who are persistent tend to get jobs, though not always full time. GCA can take a few hours if he gets hired. Helen looks through the want ads. You could take them to a Goodwill service center and teach them to look for work themselves using the Goodwill resources. Also, I suggest taking them to the library to get a library card. Burton Barr branch has lots of ELL/ESL dvd programs they can check out. I have some ELL work books if you want to use any of them.
४)4Feel free to pass this on to someone else on your team if it is appropriate.
I will, because this encourages all of us to know that others are catching the vision and see a need and are ready and willing to step in!! I struggle every week with feeling like there's too much to do, and have to keep reminding myself it's not up to me in the first place! So .....God bless you for joining in the journey!!
Thx,
Lynda

2009-05-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just as a reminder, our Bhutanese friends seem to get enough kitchen supplies like glasses, plates, etc when they arrive and we have lots of sets that have already been donated sitting in my garage and the annex. Cooking pots in good condition do seem to be needed sporadically. We no longer provide rice cookers, since they need to learn that rice can be cooked on the stove top. They can request rice cookers from their respective agencies, as it is an expectation of their resettlement via the UN agreement. Mike did a brief lesson on this last week but maybe we need to ask them to teach their neighbors. Most homes I visit that don't have a rice cooker still use pressure cookers, which seem to make the whole house steamy hot. (Tika's house was 90 degrees and steamy again Saturday night, though the a/c was running when I checked).

So bottom line, if anyone asks how to help, IMHO we need to focus on hygiene, as this will severely impede their assimilation and job search if it's not up to standard, and the kids will suffer at school if they are dirty.

We have about exhausted our store of children's clothes for the under 10 year old crowd (which means sizes up to 8), and definitely the under 5 crowd, boys and girls.

We need underwear in missy/juniors/small; and mens underwear in boys medium/large and men's small, medium.

There are now several LARGE bags of donations and several large boxes of donations waiting to be sorted. Carol, perhaps Kamala A. and Kalpana and her daughter/daughter in law would like to help?

I am working on a system ......I got myself in a jam by taking notes on one family, then got surrounded by many more wanting more. Yesterday the new idea that circulated like wild fire was locking metal boxes for their documents. I wondered if this was because of the fear of the fires (the camps often had huge very destructive fires and folks lost their documents as a result) or just an idea someone had and everyone else liked? We want to be fair, above all, and not overlook people like the quiet Chuwans when other people are more vocal and assertive to get what they want or need.

I realize this is old news to some, but we have new team members (yea!).

Blessings,
Carla

2009-05-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you Stan for being available. Now our goal is to have each apt complex "car" captain call you when he and the last pick up is done, instead of calling Carla. You will then in turn call Carla when all complexes are complete, so she can STOP wondering if every one got picked up. I have already instructed Tara at the "Pines" and he has your cell # in his cell. All other drivers should have Stan's cell as their contact person to see where they are needed best. This should be one less item off of Carla, Helen & Elvern's plate.

I'm not sure what happened with the bus transportation today. Kamala & Kumar Das and at least onw group didn't get to Annex until 9:15A and a 3rd group arrived at 9:45A. I think Kamala Das said that one of the buses was late. Not sure what happened with the 9:45A group, nor which complex they came from. Stan it would be most helpful that you work with the Nepali transportation "bus" captain, the one that is designated to go on the bus, that they leave in one group and return in one group as much a possible.

Carla did a G R E A T job in explaining safety, 911 today....her flash card system was extremely helpful, she may not be an artist, but she got the message across very effectively.

Since this was my 1st visit in the annex class, I could see structure is (or has already been) starting to form. Anne and the Nepali women had the snack table set up and organized. Champa & Purna were on the job, by being at the snack table to help and assist.
The table for attendance and name tag was very helpful. Helen, that was the best idea for the day. To see the names was so helpful for so many of us that don't see the our friends on a regular basis like you and Carla. Awesome!!! Carol Brady and I kept a presence near the clothing distribution and never left it unattended, even when I was the only one in the Annex for 20 minutes, while Carla left to do the volunteer table, and Carol B hadn't come in from 1st hr worship. It is in the walking to the bathroom, or waiting in line for it that gets wandering eyes on the clothes. Carla helped with any distribution at the end of 2nd hr, which was working just great as they stood in line.

I left for my 2nd hr and missed Zach's worship and Barbara's teaching. How did that go?

I was truly blessed by a wonderful sight today. I had to go looking for Champa in 1st hr service, (not know she was in the nursery!) for her to return to the annex to interpret for Carla. The choir was singing, I sat own to scope the crowd. As I looked in the "normal" section of the church where our Nepali friends sit, I saw an elderly Nepali women, just gingerly clapping her hands to the music, with a sweet smile on her face. She was in a row by herself, with the exception of one American couple way at the other end. She was enjoying herself...she knew she wanted to be in that worship service instead of class. As we had discussed at our Wed night mtg, it should be their choice where to be during 1st hr, and that elder women spoke volumes to me today.

Iris

2009-05-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Teaching tools:

Judy asked for these websites, and I thought a few others might use them as well.

1) Many of our friends don't know how to write their names in english, especially quite a few of the women. This free worksheet maker allows you to type in anything and it will form it into a printable worksheet. One key is to have them start the lines on the yellow or bigger dots. That's important for future writing skills, I'm told.
www.handwritingworksheets.com

2) The Dolch word list gives us the most commonly used words; flash cards can be made easily for those with some basic skills. There are progressive levels of difficulty. I think this would be a good project for some of the parents to cut and paste the words to make flash cards for their kids....like the Ram family, Tika's girls, Nepal family.
www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm

Also, just as an FYI, I learned that Hari Rizal's sister gets ASL tutoring once a week. We shared a special moment at the art museum when she was really drawn to a painting of a young boy who looked very sad. Krishna signed "boy" and I mimicked tears coming down my face, and she smiled and nodded and we put together the sentence about the sad boy together! It was cool. It exhausted my ASL knowledge but it was cool! She later went up to Sandy Boettger to show her the picture and signed to her about the sad boy. I need to let that teacher know she's making an impact!

Carla

2009-05-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

2009-05-11T12:26:00.001-07:00

from Mike Duell:

I was just at the library, and picked up a flyer for Free English Classes. For May 2009, Classes will be held at Burton Barr Central Library Mondays & Wednesdaysr from 5:30-7pm (May 18 - August 7).

Registration is Wednesday May 13 @ 5:30.

I know that some of the Camelback Apt Dwellers use Burton Barr for the Computers, so it is not out of the question to go there for classes.

Burton Barr has both Beginning and Intermediate classes. Registration is required, and classes are limitted to 25.

For more information, call 602-262-4636.

Thery are also classes at Acacia Library (Registration May 18 @5;30).

2009-05-11T12:00:00.001-07:00

Family & Friends:

If you don't know already, here is a suggestion for a very good job search engine that searches all jobs posted on the internet, by national zip codes. www.indeed.com. searches all the other job engines You select the job alerts you would like to receive on a daily or weekly basis. They have preselected job catagories, or a specific company or industry you would like to work fo or you can make up a more specific one by typing in the words with your skills, or key words.

I was quite encourge to see what was really out there, that you don't see in the newspaper or hear about via word of mouth etc. You can establish as many as you need. I had 6: accounting, sales, interior design, senior care, and by a specific salary amount. You don't have to be laid off to start looking, it a good tool to understand what the current job markets are looking for and terminology of today's requirements, and it saves on gas.

Truly hope it can help someone
Iris

2009-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Delivered 20 tickets to Jhana Adhikari at Woodbridge.....actually to his wife. Hari Rizal was there, which was so helpful to have interpreter services on hand! Gave them Emery's cell number but only one family there has a cell phone so contact may not happen. Emery agreed to swing by and check on any stragglers, and then to call me to see if he needs to be included in the Cback pickup.

I learned something this week to soften my "harsh" tone about people contracting for the internet when they don't have money to pay their bills........Hari lets his neighboros use his internet, so they are able to be in touch with their family members around world. It's quite a community service that he provides and is so appreciated by his neighbors. He is employed and has sufficient income but it did help me see a different side to the choice.

2009-05-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

We bought swimming suits for all except Kamala Acharya. Swimming suits just do not cover all essential flesh. I did not push it. Instead she got a pretty new Sunday dress with short sleeves and a fashionable black floral summer blouse. This shopping trip took many more hours than I expected. I am not sure if they had been to a Super Target. Every rack was interesting! The girls all got cute and conservative swim suits.

When we arrived at our pool, we heard many stories about swimming in the big river just outside of the camp.This is the same river that they did their laundry and took bathes. Sometimes the water was very dirty. The river mostly had fish and an occasional turtle or snake. They do not know how to swim even though they are very comfortable in the water. They will be anxious to swim again!!

We also learned about the three months before they left Bhutan. Tika was tortured and beat on his back while the soldiers demanded money from Kamala with a gun. She had no money to give them. This was a painful story for them to share. We also learned again about the soldiers chasing them through the forest while they trying to get to Nepal. Kamala was carrying baby Purna and there was no time to rest or available food or Purna.

Tika's mother called from Nepal tonight during dinner. It was a very emotional phone call due to the current conditions in the camp including terrorists and shootings. Tika's mother is 60 and father 75??. They might come to USA within the next year.

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to share our lives with this caring family.

Elvern and Helen

2009-05-05T14:09:00.001-07:00

I made a list and checked it twice.
Seems like everyone likes to eat rice.
If you don't see a familiar face,
Let me know and I'll add a space.
Even though we are limited to twenty,
in the end I think there will be plenty.

Okay, seriously, I've included those we've asked for and those who have attended regularly. There will be those who won't be able to come due to kids,jobs, or just don't want to, so there are extras listed. I'll wait til the end of the week to give out tickets and confirm the list face to face with our friends. We are targeting adults, out of high school, but certainly will take high schoolers if there are enough tickets.

Frankie wants to pick up at Woodbridge.
I can pick up at Thomas.
I am going to drive my van to the museum, as I can't be without a car in case there's an emergency at home, and if someone becomes ill or such, I can run them home as well.

Camelback Ladies:
1. Dhan Bhattarai B149
2. Ganga Bhattarai B149
3. Bahador Das, B120
4. Tulasa Das, B120 (could be either/or Kamala Das, depending on who stays home with the kids)
5. Tika Neopaney, B217
6. Indra Rai B2__?
7. Chandra Nepal, B218 (can't attend church due to work, but hubbie Tara is consistent and a leader)
8. Pabitra Basnet, A134
9. Champa Rai, B217 will serve as interpreter
10. Ganga Baral, A?? will serve as interpreter
11. Nandu Adhikari, B104 is likely working, but we'll try
12. Beda Basnet, B252
13. Sabitra Mishra, A152
14. Thali Kafley, B242, is likely working
15. Meena Kafley, B133 likely with kids
16. Chali Chuwan, B128
17. Batuli Sharma B219

Thomas
18. Januka Pokhrei B50
19. Rati Gurung, B87
20. Indra Rizal, B17

Woodbridge
21. Chandra Adhikari 252
22. Manu Dhungna 28
23. Gita Sapkota 114
24. Menuka Subedi 113
25. Rita Subedi 113

26. If extra ticket, Laxmi Basnet at CB 252. She's a high school student.

2009-05-05T12:53:00.002-07:00

Does anyone have anymore contacts for furniture? We've met three families who have bare living rooms. All they have are card tables and folding chairs. also need toys, books, puzzles, etc.

Call me if you have a lead.....602-540-8456.

Had a GREAT visit with Rhaman Giri ? at Thomas. What a nice man and such incrediby good english skills. longer story but was great to meet him. Also met Yadu, young man who said he's a Christian, went to an apostolic church in Nepal, knows lots of Christians from around the US who went to Nepal on missions. Wants an english Bible and a Nepalese Bible and wants a picture of Jesus. I wish I could have recorded our conversations. It loses so much in translation but their desire to love God was evident. Rhaman talked about the Holy Spirit even! Rhaman has no living room furniture at all, bare tile floors, no tv. Have beds and card table, dishes, etc. His brother is in the same situation. gave him the changing table just to have a shelf in the house.

Carla

2009-04-22T15:08:00.002-07:00

This morning, I took Kamala to GCA as we had been told on Tuesday that they had a job at 25th ave. and Union Hills that was part time. We arrived at GCA at 8:30 to find that they had filled the job yesterday. The only other job was a part time job in northeast Scottsdale with no bus access.

This afternoon I found out that the Phoenician is hiring room attendants. The applications must be made online at WWW.luxurycollection.jobs/phoenician.

Does anyone have time to help Kamala do the app. at the library?

The people at GCA semi promised me that if there was another opening at Blue Cross she would have first chance.

Elvern

2009-04-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

2009-04-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

FYI for both Mike & Carla about the annex: I’ve done some more sorting (SORT OF sorting!!!) stuff (mostly clothes) in the annex. It’s hard to organize it with no shelves or anything. But at least it’s sorted by men/women/boys/girls/bedding/toys, etc. So you all are welcome to start distributing again if there are needs. There are some cold weather clothes there that won’t be useful for several months but I didn’t want to get rid of them as they’ll be needed in the winter months. There are several cooking pots & pans that could be useful to someone – especially for a large family – there are about 3 or 4 stock pot size.

…There’s been a lot of stuff that’s already gone the way of the garbage can or channeled to the thrift store and I won’t be insulted if you channel more in those directions!!!. It would be nice to somehow get the message across to those donating that this is not a garbage dump for stuff that’s unfit for human use. L L Grrr… But thankfully there are some nice things too. Thanks for all YOU do!!
Blessings,
Carol

2009-04-20T15:22:00.002-07:00

The attendance chart did not capture all attendees in Sunday school yesterday. It reflects our best effort--- 80++ names. Capturing names and attendance is becoming a overwhelming task for whomever volunteers to complete the task.
There were 35 14- 20 year olds working on the application.
How many were in Mike's class? 60???
How many in the Nursery/Sunday school for children? 10??

We all survived yesterdays picnic with various stages of exhaustion and exhilaration. I believe Carol Langley was close when she said there had to be close to 120 attendees at the picnic. Thank you to everyone on the team for assisting in so many wonderful helpful ways.

I was the last one to leave the park and I have two items that belong to someone:
Big orange jug - Is it from the church kitchen?
Handy pocket pliers. you will need to provide the brand name to claim it. It is not a Leatherman.

Review the roster and send your corrections. There are gaping holes!!!!!

Thanks
Elvern and Helen

Hi Helen! Thank you for always being so gracious toward me in my impatience and general peskiness when it strikes. I know I test you at times, but you always just smile and shrug and go on! I'm working on my perspective, which is overwhelmed right now.

the pliers are my dad's ...don't have a clue what brand but my niece bought them for him for Christmas, if that counts as anything. He did ask about them.

did anyone find $20 bill on the ground?

I have very mixed emotions about the overwhelming numbers, very sad emotions about the response I got from Zack in trying to engage him with our Bhutanese friends. I can not keep going at the level I've been going... Billy is having a significant set back and I've got to pull back. Today I was gone 7 hours to Mesa ending with two guys getting jobs, but I can't do that again. So as you talk to folks, if my name comes up as someone to help them get a job, take my name out of the loop. I am getting tired and not responding graciously when our friends complain to me that I am not helping enough. I need to build relationships with a few people, if that is even possible. I can't take people for jobs anymore, which is a sad thing since they all need them so desperately. I will follow up with any youth re: applications. I don't really know how to get Judy started on ESL .... not sure what her experience and/or expectations are. Ideas?

Again, you two did an amazing job and I heard good things today from some who enjoyed the picnic and hike a lot.

Carla

Ok the pliers belong to your Dad
I can understand about exhaustion. I was committed to this project from 7:30 a,m, until about 6:00 after I brought the kids home after applications at my house. Again today Elvern spent 3+ hours with the Acharya family on hotel applications and they will go for interview tomorrow. Elvern thinks one of them might get hired at the American Hotel just S of the Sheraton on Dunlap. Keep on praying.

Who got jobs today in Mesa?

Regarding the picnic, I sort of felt like a caterer who did not have a moment for person interaction with guests- the masses at the picnic.

You need to limit your time to xx (reasonable) hours per week to take care of yourself and your family.
Good night
Helen

Dilli and Lila Rizal, brothers, got jobs with GCA at the airport. Lila starts today, Dilli sometime soon. There is another opeining for a daytime shift if anyone wants to take Devi Bhattarai since he could possibly pass the test.

2009-04-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

City of Phoenix Workforce applications
They are due at 5:00 on April 24 at the YMCA at 17th Ave and Missouri.
Completing applications was more difficult than I expected! Thanks to Judy Gose, Ann Greybeal, and Barb Campbell for helping . The four additional teenagers, who helped Elvern set up the grill and tables for the picnic, worked on theirs at my house from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. That makes 35 Butanese high school age refugees have had one experience at completing a difficult application. I am positive it was the first time for some like Tika Neopany!

Next steps
All of you can help by checking on the status of the high school applications submission as you travel to the various apartment complexes this week.
I might buy ribbons or QT 1:00 soda cards for those who actually submit on Friday and recognize on 4-26-09
They will be informed the week on May 4 if they make it to an interview. More celebration on May 10!!
The immediate or following Sunday students who were contacted for interview will have a Sunday morning breakout session regarding the interview process and protocol. Perhaps some practice interviews. We will need a separate room for this activity.

What did I miss?
Helen

In a message dated 4/20/2009 8:38:48 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, ctruman6@gmail.com writes:
Amazing time yesterday! Wow...thanks for all your hard work!

Let me know how I can help with getting the apps completed and turned in.

2009-04-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

First Name Last Name Need Job Sick Other
Jhana Adhikari Need Job Pain in back, head, and hands
Kumar Sick
Kaplana Sick
Batuli Need Job Sick
Deepak Sick
Roshni Need Job Sick
Ranjana Sick
Himal Rai Soon recovery
Sabitra Mishra for sick back pain
Dana for good health
Shanker for good Job
Pabita Basnet for sick for body pain
Beda Basnet Sick
Deperna for good health
Rati for good job
Hari Sapkota for good health
Tika Acharya for good health
Rita Dahal pray for my sister in Nepal who is sick for months
Arjun Dahal Pray for the jobs. Let Jesus helps us to find the jobs
Bishnu Rai My sister is suffering from chest pain in Nepal. She is taking medication. Please pray for her. Champa
Narapa Tikhanal Asthma
Theli Kaflay
Roma Kaflay
Tara for good job
Hari good job
Om Subadi prayer for job
Gorjaman Khatiwada prayer for job
Laxmi Mishra for job
Tulasa for job
Kamala for job
Oh Almighty God, we want a nice job. My job is also not good. I want a nice job. I always pray you. Please help us God.
Kul Basnt for job
Ganga for job
Pralad Mishra job seeking
Manymaya Dhungnana need for job
Irishor Bhattrai my father has no job (Dani Bhattrai)
Thali Kafie need job
Indra for job
Sharma Bhuwan I want fo pray for job
Tara Bhattarai I want to pray the God for that I will get job ver soon.
Ram Dhuryana for job
Kamal I need job
Devi Bhattarai In need of job and everyone those who resides in Arizona
Chandra Adhikari for job
Bhola Shiwakoti I like job
Yadu no job
Cindrilla Basnet my sister has no job from Susma Basnet
Laxmi Basnet my sister has no job from Susma Basnet
Theli Kaflay in Nepali
Roma Kaflay in Nepali
Tilak Chand
Roshni Rajana

2009-04-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Gopel, Devi, Safala and Kubuidra Tiwari (NEW) to the Great Arizona Teach In at Westgate Renaissance Hotel. These individuals all have BA or BS++ in Education. We all learned a lot and then debriefed for about 1 hour reviewing and identifying the next steps. It was a wonderful morning. with many interesting conversations about education and their hopes for teaching in Az.

I downloaded 30 applications for 14- 24 year olds to apply for summer work through a city of Phoenix job training grant. When I spoke with a few of Camelback friends this afternoon they asked if we could do it during 10:45 Sunday School Class. Mike, we will start with the big class and then break out with information and instructions on the application which is due April 24th. Do you have any ideas on where we could take the "breakout" group? I expect I may need 15-20 chairs. Are there tables in a back room at the bike shop? We decided at Camelback this noon that this activity would not be effective to do at the park.

Please note I am calling this an opportunity and not an issue or challenge.

Judy, please plan to solidify plans with Camelback friends to meet them this week. I mentioned that you are anxious to assist with English skills and they are ready.

Thanks
Helen

2009-04-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

We will need all our regular drivers and the committee members to assist with driving to North Mountain Park at 7th St and Peoria after Sunday School on April 19th. The Havasupai ramada is the largest ramada in the park and will be on your left as you enter the park. The ramada has covered tables for 100 so we should have plenty of space if we plan for 70 attendees including committee members and drivers.

Action and Communication

1. Please inform the group if you are not driving/attending

Mike G, Duane A Stan P, Iris H, Carol, Vilma, Mark O Judy G, Carla (2), Greybeals (2)

Campbells (2) Darus (2) Brown (2) Bootsma (2).Giebinks (2?) Raybadas (2?) Simmons (2) Langley (2)

2. Invite Pastor Joel?

3. Inform our guests that we will eat first and then hike.

4. We will not need lawn chairs but if you have room in your trunk you may want to bring a few.

5. For this picnic you are encouraged to bring table games not lawn games

6' Bring sun screen as necessary.

Confirmed items are listed below:
1. Mike and Carol L- Volunteered to bring ice water bottles and Trinity water jugs/coolers for 70
2. Carol L- Volunteered to bring ice soda for 70

3. ??????Purchase and bring veggies-- chips etc for 70

4. Carla - Volunteered to bring fruit

5 Carla - Volunteer to run to nearby Frys to buy ice cream or ice cream bars after Sunday dinner.

6. Frankie - Volunteered to prepare Fruit Cobbler

7. Elvern - Marinate chicken to grill for 70 and bring lighter fluid and charcoal (did not volunteer)

8. Emery and Elvern will leave Trinity at 11:45 to start the grills at the park.

9. Helen - bring tablecloths, plastic forks, knives cups luncheon and dessert plates, & napkins

Submit receipts for Trinity reimbursement as necessary

What am I missing??

Take care

Elvern and Helen

2009-04-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a Nepali New Year greeting from one of the long time leaders in the Nepali community. Please read "Trinity Bible Saints in Service" where it says "Ms. Carla"...
.
Dear Friends,
This year has become old enough to book all our meaningful involvements to this day during the year 2065 in our memory lane. Many of us very new while others have celebrated their 1st anniversary of our coming to the US. There are those who have made history and can be called our legends. The catch phrase "economic depression" in our new homeland is grinding many of us. It is testing us all in our endurance to see our life change and bear fruits from the debries of hopes nurtured for over eighteen years. Let us believe in ourselves to usher in a new era of development,peace and prosperity. May the year 2066 bring us all the joys of living a defined and dignified life. Let us also contemplate the sincere and the hard works that Fr.Dann, Fr. Jeff, Ms.Carolyn Manning, Ms. Carla and Mr. Rameshwor Adhikari have been doing for many of us and pray almighty that their philanthropic zeal be recognized as their humble service to God and humanity. Let us also pray that the agencies helping us settle in the US receive the blessing of all concerned through which their mission will remain accomplished.
"Happy New Year 2066".

With prayers,
Tek Bir Chhetri
Saphala Chhetri
Bhuvan Chhetri
Viktshya Chhetri

from Carla

2009-04-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

2009-04-14T09:53:00.001-07:00

From HELEN:

Thanks Mike for clarification on some important questions.
I have some concerns and comments. I will try to incorporate them in italics iwithin each of your points.
Helen

In a message dated 4/13/2009 5:56:14 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, MikeD@joyonline.org writes:
Over a week ago Helen posed some questions. I delayed answering them
until we had our meeting with the elders. There will be another meeting
this Tuesday night the 21st. These are ongoing issues that will require
flexibility and creativity as our resources and situation changes.

Sunday Morning Class Space
Helen-- One of the solutions is to channel many of the teenagers into Zak's class at 9:00 and then they could worship at 10:33. Is Zak prepared to welcome 20 Nepal teenagers in his class? Perhaps Purna and Uma could describe the perceived barriers and that would help everyone including our need for space. It is important for them to be integrated into the youth group. This could have a significant impact on some of our space concerns.
We are still considering options. The Worship Center is open to us
second hour. There are more rooms available first hour than second
hour. This is complex. It may change weekly. As of today, we meet in
the same class Sunday.

Transportation
Helen--- Please talk again to the Woodbridge families again. Elvern did both pick up and return. They are very concerned/confused about the information that they received from you and Tika. They told Elvern that they could not attend Sunday services or the picnic at noon due to the fact they will need to take the bus. Perhaps one more visit. It was news to Elvern on Sunday so he could assist in the explanation.
We are doing great with personal vehicles but we need a better solution.
For most of our friends, it seems like a good solution is city buses. I
have tested the idea with a couple of them and received a positive
response. At first I was very hesitant, but I think it can work well.

Initially, we will have one person at each apartment complex. Those who
want to come to church will meet at a designated bus stop. The person
from Trinity will hand out one-day bus passes. If possible, we will
also have someone at the transfer point. If there are long layovers we
can offer water. This actually can greatly expand our capacity while
keeping it personal. The added benefit is bus training! We may still
car pool the return trip. They will have the added benefit to use the
bus passes the rest of the day.

This will take a couple of weeks to roll out. George Mann is working on
bus passes.

Snacks
Helen---Your recommendations are excellent. As you may recall I sent out the message yesterday regarding the family who provides the Starbucks snacks. They are currently very happy to continue bringing the day- old snacks. So we currently have sweet cakes and goodies covered.
Anne Graybeal has snacks lined up for us for the next month. The ideal
would be if Kamala and some of the women could take on the set up. If
they consider it their class, they would naturally take on the hostess
role. If we are the host, it will likely be more difficult for them to
be hostess. We gain a lot if they consider it their class.

Funds

Helen-- I will send a separate email about the picnic. I really need each of the committee members to assist by purchasing the items on the list I sent earlier. I have spent about $50 on chicken and still need to but some other items. I intend to submit the receipts and I hope others will as well.
Please continue to turn in receipts to the office. We don't want our
volunteers to bear too heavy of a burden.

We are transitioning from a class project to a church ministry. It is
an exciting time but full of challenges. Keep praying for our Nepali
friends and our continued effort to be Jesus in their lives.

Mike Darus
623-362-3255
good points....I'll add only a few...

From CARLA:

I tried to funnel the teen boys...they wouldn't go to the class. said they didn't like it. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen, it just didn't happen that day. Since their culture is not strongly parent centered authority, I don't expect any help from the parents with the kids. Same with the children...Sumitra, Keena, etc. That adds 5-7 to our space issue. Yes, I think the ladies should start hostessing and would enjoy it just like Tika likes being a part.

I can purchase and cool sodas but will need them transported in someone's vehicle so I have room for carseat storage in mine when I"m running adults. Mike or Emery can we use your truck? I have coolers.

I'll go to Fry's for ice cream.

A request was made for music and dancing. Any concerns/objections? Many of the songs I've heard are love songs, not Vishnu songs.

2009-04-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

I heard yesterday that Purna Rai, brother of Champa Rai, was baptized at Cross Cultural Outreach!! Praise God!

I also had a sad discussion on the way to church with Tilak Kafley who emphasized why they worship Jesus and they believe in Jesus: because they believe Jesus was one of the many reincarnations of "Lord Vishnu". There is a current reincarnation of Vishnu living in TEXAS, of all places. It was a good reminder to me that we need to ask questions as well as to teach, or we may miss what they are believing.

Please pray for Seema Nepal, age 5, the little girl who wears her hair pulled up onto her head. she was admitted to St. Joe's yesterday with serious infection coming from her rotten teeth. Her face was so swollen one eye was swollen shut and she could barely move her mouth. She may require more than oral surgery if the infection spread to her sinuses. She was supposed to have been taking antibiotic for the last three weeks but her parents thought it was only for pain so they only gave it when she complained of pain. This is a serious issue we need to address as a team re: how to help them navigate the medical system. Rati Gurung also did not follow directions for the same reason; and the Rai family at Glenrosa had a long stay in the hospital because of medication errors. Speaking of the Rai family, does anyone connect with them regularly? I feel like since they are believers we need to pay special attention to them, but I know I rarely see them. I realize language is a barrier.

thanks for all the hard work, lots of miles driven and lots of furniture moved that you all do!

Carla

2009-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all.....I am going to make a pickup at 8 am at Camelback and then will come back again at 8:30 am. I really need to be in church on time this Sunday for my own heart's encouragement. I will go down to C-=back today or tomorrow and ask several people to spread the word to be ready early. I will also tell folks at Thomas to be ready early, as much for their own experience as well as avoiding large interruptions of the service. So we'll just keep cell phones handy!

2009-04-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ganga's family journey was documented in this film by an ASU student. Today is the premier and then it will be shown on ASU TV in April. See attached for details.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20090327_nationless

2009-04-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi..........I have tortured Rati Gurung's children by taking them a dvd player and dvd's, but have not found an affordable adapter to fit from the coaxial cable input on their tv to the dvd red/yellow/white output. I found one at Radioshack for a mere $30, but figured it'd be cheaper to get a different TV. Any suggestions or spare adapters lying around?

Stopped in there this evening. Dipendra has a fever and is refusing to drink, so I'm assuming is dehydrated, thus the fever. he has been taking his antibiotic. I bought him some more ice pops and "read him the riot act", as the saying goes, about drinking lots of fluids, eating lots of ice pops and being obedient to his mom. Two fortunate things God designed: a really good interpreter who mimicked my exaggerated hand gestures and Billy was there to give testimony to more than 60 surgeries and how important it is to listen to mom. Rati replied that Dipendra runs all over the place, locks himself in the bedroom, won't listen. I was really direct with her and said NO tv, no toys, no running with friends, put him in the bedroom for five minutes and keep him there. Billy and I took the lock mechanism out of the door knob since we couldn't find a quick key for the button lock. I'm sure he'll just lock himself in the bathroom or other bedroom but at least he can't access his toys behind a locked door. I emphasized dramatically how this is for his safety and well being, that he has to learn to follow directions. I commiserated with her about being a single mom, but kept telling them she has to be in charge. I also told her that he desperately needed a bath as he hadn't had one in at least week. I think she feared making him sick by making him bathe. Even the Catholic Social services case manager gave her bad advice saying that Dipendra just needed to chew gum to exercise his jaw and he'd be okay. So I left them with children's tylenol, gatorade and popsicles and will hope things are better tomorrow. Pray for the little guy to stay out of the hospital and to start developing some obedience.

Also, just so you all know, Carol Brady is "Missionary of the Month" as she has been spending hours and hours with Bhattarais' this week on Easter, showing various Jesus films and narratives, talking late into the nights. Pray for her to have lots of energy and wisdom as she extends herself and gives such a clear testimony of Easter.
Carla

2009-04-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

In September of 2008, Trinity received a call from Donna Buckles from Lutheran Social Services challenging us to adopt a refugee family. This fit right in with our community outreach efforts. Mark Giebink challenged the Discovery and Joint Heirs Sunday School classes to take on the project. We received an instruction manual and signed a 3 to 6 month commitment dependant on the needs of the family. At this time we did not know anything about the family or what their needs would be. We committed to a short range goal of setting up an apartment with furniture and food for a week and a longer range focus of mentoring the family in American culture and learning English.

We recognized that we needed resources beyond just the two classes so we distributed a list of furniture and other items to the congregation on Sunday mornings. We also collected some monetary donations and were offered more financial assistance from the Harvest offering. This enabled us to furnish the apartment at Dunlap and 35th Ave. beautifully and do some nice extras.

In early November we learned that the members of our family were refugees from Bhutan who had been living in a refugee camp in Nepal for 17 years. For 17 years all they had was a bamboo hut and free food from the United Nations. They were not allowed to return to Bhutan to their homes. They were not allowed to work or be integrated into Nepal. Their children had no future. In seven refugee camps there were over 100,000 people without a country and with little hope. Before November, no one in our team had any idea about this situation.

We met the Acharya family on November 18. We also noticed that there were other Nepali families who were already here. Then we began to realize how much there was to do. There was so much to show them -- even how to turn lights on and off. Our team spent hours every week helping with trips to the doctor, showing them how to shop at our grocery stores, taking them to the zoo, applying for jobs, or just hanging out.

At Christmas, we again asked for help from the congregation to provide Christmas presents. By this time, we had also been introduced to the Bhattarai family and were able to include them in Christmas. We included the two families in our families’ Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and social activities here at Trinity. Our team even enabled four teens to go to Winter camp.

We soon discovered that Tika Acharya was a networker. He was telling all his friends that Trinity Bible Church was a place where Americans cared about Nepalese. Since Tika was coming to church, he asked for us to give his friends rides too. The Super Bowl party was a turning point. We had 50 Nepalese attend. We were able to show them a DVD presentation of the gospel in their language and God provided a Christian pastor from Nepal to speak to the group at half time.

Through January, more families started attending Trinity worship services and adult Sunday School. We wondered how much they understood. We also recognized that we needed to do more to help them with their English. On February 9 we held our first ESL/Sunday School class. We put together a transportation plan with cars and drivers. We are picking up families from 35th Ave & Dunlap, 19th Ave & Camelback, 23rd Ave & Glenrosa, and I-17 and Thomas. We increased to about fifteen teens in youth Sunday School, about the same in Children’s, and fifty adults. The Sunday before last the missions MLT helped us hand out Nepali Bibles. We also hand out copies of The Message. Women’s ministry has about twelve women signed up for their next event. We have over 100 on our contact list.

Currently, we are committed to fully adopt the Acharya family. Recently we made a limited commitment to the Bhattarai family. Seven new members of the Bhattarai family arrived two weeks ago. We were able to furnish an apartment for them. We are also distributing sundries collected by the Women’s Ministry. The Singles Ministry have shifted their outreach efforts from the Burundis to the Nepalis. This last Sunday the Singles helped distribute clothing they had collected. The Singles also helped put together a picnic at Cactus park last month. We are planning our next monthly social on April 19 at North Mountain Park.

In addition to the Nepali Bibles, the Missions MLT has also ordered the Jesus Film in Nepali. This week they approved an annual budget of $2000 for interpreters for adult and children’s classes.

What started as a class project has become a church ministry involving every ministry at Trinity. World missions is at our doorstep. We are introducing people to Christ who know almost nothing about Him. They have never heard of Adam & Eve, Moses, The Ten Commandments. They have never heard the Lord’s Prayer. They have never read the Bible in their own language. They had never prayed for the sick. They come from a country where the there is no Christian witness--where until recently missionaries and pastors were jailed or worse. They see some similarities between their Hindu beliefs and Christianity. They are only beginning to grasp the differences and the radical change that Jesus wants for them.

The word is that there will be over 10,000 Nepali refugees in Phoenix by the end of 2010. We have met families that do not have a church sponsor. They have no beds, they have no way to get the doctor; they are confused by our kitchen appliances; they think the bathtub is for doing laundry. We have no illusions that Trinity can handle this on our own. But we do believe that Trinity is being offered an opportunity to demonstrate and communicate Christ’s love to Nepali refugees. We can be a model for other churches. Part of our vision is to challenge other churches to join us.

I am amazed by our small team. We did not know what we were getting into but we have just the right mix of gifts and passions and availability. Some have time to give, others have organizational skills. So far, as we stumble into this, we seem to be doing things right. We are at the right place at the right time to meet a need. More than anything, we are doing the relationship thing right. We love our new friends. We enjoy being around them. I am pretty sure that they see Jesus.

It is hard to see where this is going. Everyone who becomes involved lights up emotionally and spiritually. But we are hearing a little push back. We are disrupting some things. Not everyone in the congregations understands what is at stake. Trinity is at a fragile moment as it makes a very difficult and complex transition. But everything about this experience feels right to me. We have not targeted Nepali refugees for conversion, yet they are being drawn to Christ. Our mission was to help them in tangible ways. It has become much more than that. They are our friends –maybe even our family. We believe many will become our bothers and sisters in Christ. We don’t know how long this opportunity will last.

2009-04-07T14:54:00.001-07:00

We have two friends in the hospital...Himal Rai (son with developmental disability, age 34, lives at Glenrosa with mom and dad who are believers), for complications with TB medication and Dipendra Gurung (age 6, lives at Thomas/Freeway) for tonsillectomy. I'll check on both tonight and tomorrow and let you know. if you know where Dipendra is would you give me a call? Thanks all.
Carla

2009-04-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Carol and Mike
I also have the same concerns about water bottles.Does Trinity have large insulated jugs for gallons of water? If yes, that would be good. I'll add plastic cups to my list. I am not sure about the environmental gain....As we move into summer, I have asked for a glass or cold water rather than the Coke or tea. This will take some training. I do think that we should offer water bottles to those who hike up the hill.
Thanks Mike for taking care of water and Carol for the Soda.

Mike, I'll call Carla tonight about the application training and transportation for family at Woodbridge.
Helen

In a message dated 4/5/2009 11:29:39 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, MikeD@joyonline.org writes:
Helen,
Great report. Today was a great day.

Please include Dil and Kunti Sunuwar at Woodbridge apartment 95 in the opportunity at the new hotel. Their phone number is 602-350-3631. The are strong Christians and seriously considering coming to Trinity. They have a son named Surya who is about 10.

Mike Darus
Jai Moosei

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Elvernh@aol.com [mailto:Elvernh@aol.com]
Sent: Sun 4/5/2009 5:01 PM
To: markg@tbcphoenix.org; Mike Darus; ebfab@cox.net; Colsonlangley@cox.net; mikerab@cox.net; lilanna@juno.com; Elvernh@aol.com; cactusstan2007@yahoo.com; deafmuseum@yahoo.com; ihdzine@yahoo.com; bcamp_gig@yahoo.com; anne.graybeal@yahoo.com; ctruman6@gmail.com; judygose@aol.com
Subject: Reflections on a Sunday afternoon

We are so blessed on this Palm Sunday to have the opportunity to celebrate with our dear friends from Nepal. Even though it was frustrating and as Krishna said "congested", what a blessing to outgrow our existing Sunday School classroom this morning. I think we should continue to plan for Sunday School next Sunday morning. We should have access to both sides for the room since the other class may have canceled for Easter. Thanks to our captain Mike for communicating our chair and space needs with the church office. Many friends have said that the class is most helpful in developing community for them and also learning the Easter story. My passengers said they believe in God and Jesus but had never heard the Easter story in Nepal church.

I am concerned about the # of drivers required each Sunday morning. I was hoping that all 12 drivers would drive without a weekly call. I didn't even see Bill or Stan today. Elvern finally delivered his second load from Thomas at 9:30 which is really too late to be walking into church. Any ideas????

Thanks to Ann for organizing the Sunday snacks. You might want to contact the folks who bring the Starbucks snacks. Are they going to do it regularly? If yes, Ann could just focus on obtaining volunteers for setting up plates, forks and possibly additional fruit. I hope I didn't offend you Ann when I said no this morning to your request to bring snacks. I believe setting and serving snacks to Nepal Sunday School could easily be project for another Sunday school class looking to serve. Any ideas??

Praise God for Judy Gose who is our newest volunteer. She will assist this week in transportation to the hotel for interviews on Wednesday, Details are listed below:

Tuesday a.m. Carla will pick up applications and make multiple copies
Tuesday Carla will pick up Acharya women and Helen will pick up Thomas women to meet at 4:30 p.m. at Camelback. We will work on accurate applications and interviews fro several hours.
Wednesday 9:30 a.m. Carla and Judy will meet at Camelback to transport to Nepal friends hotel.

Judy has also agreed to spend a morning/afternoon helping our regular church attenders with English at the Camelback appartments. She will work out details with Nepal women on Wednesday. She will also accompany me to the Arizona Teach In on April 18th to provide assistance to our six Nepal teachers who would like to begin the process to begin certified as a paraprofessionals or teachers in AZ.

I promised I would write about March 28th with Rati. As some of you may remember Elvern and my brother-in-law,Keith, were just appalled with her sparse apartment when they dropped off her family after church on March 24th. On Saturday we began our day by delivering the entertainment center unit from Carla's garage and a large TV from Elvern. We still need an antenna....Next we headed out to Shanti at 16th St and Indian School Road. Their speciality is used furniture donated from AIDS families. We started with lamps and tables and then let her pick the pictures for the walls. We also bought other items. The gentlemen were so compassionate that they allowed Rati to pick out the clothes she wanted and gave the children toys for free. The large train is fun but those darn batteries....And then they took Rosy in the back room and gave her two additional large tubs of kitchen items. They also gave us coupons for free loaves of bread at the bread store next door. It was tough decision to determine what flavor of jelly to buy for the bread.

When we got home it was just like Christmas with three new lamps etc. We discovered a nice toaster in on of the kitchen tubs. They raved about the toast and jelly and practically invited the entire north complex in to taste toast and jelly. Unpacking the treasures got more exciting when we found a hand mixer. We learned about plugging it and pushing the on switch as well as inserting and removing the beaters. The Nepal women were just amazed as turned it off and on many times. They all took turns! I am so anxious to stop in after work, invite all available Nepal women and bake Rati's first cake. It was a wonderful day and the best part was that Rosy and I got celebrate all this fun on our parent's anniversary. If they were living they would have loved to have been there as we were doing exactly what our mother had taught us about giving to those in need!

About the picnic on April 19th. We will need all our regular drivers and the committee to assist with driving to North Mountain Park at 7th St and Peoria. I have reserved a large ramada right next to the new playground.
Decisions and Communication
1. Accurate list of committee and drivers planning to attend.
2. We do not want to leave anyone out so please forward to all not on list so we have accurate count.
3. Invite Pastor Joe and Mark?
4. Invite Singles group?
Volunteer needs are as follows. Do we have funds? If yes, save receipts for reimbursement
1. Purchase and bring ice water bottles for 70
2. Purchase and bring ice soda for 70
3. Purchase and bring serving containers for chips etc for 70
4. Purchase and bring fruit for 35 in large serving bowls
5 Volunteer to run to nearby Frys to buy ice cream or ice cream bars after Sunday dinner. OR?????
6. Elvern and I will purchase and marinate chicken to grill for 70 and bring lighter fluid and charcoal. Emery we are counting on you helping at the grill!!
7. Elvern and I will also bring tablecloths,plastic forks, knives and plates

What am I missing??
Take care
Elvern and Helen

2009-04-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Carla,
please share this to our friends at Trinity church.I just got this from Khagen.
rest every thing is fine.
miss u
Ganga

--- On Wed, 4/1/09, Baral, Khagendra wrote:

From: Baral, Khagendra
Subject: FW: Documentary showing of Baral Family
To: neupaneg@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 8:41 AM

Budi see our carly documentary.

Khagendra Baral

Adjustment Case Manager

Catholic Charities

Refugee Services

Phoenix Region

1825 W. Northern Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85021

Phone: (602) 749-4451

Fax: (602) 870-3891

Email: kbaral@cc-az.org

www.catholiccharitiesaz.org

_____________________________________________
From: Morales, Joanne
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 8:28 AM
To: P Refugee
Cc: Mascaro, Carrie; Egan, Tom
Subject: Documentary showing of Baral Family

. Hi Everyone,

I have provided below a link regarding the showing of the documentary of ASU student Carly Campo.

Carly has been following Khagendra Baral for the past few months and her documentary will be shown on April 10th.

I would like to thank Khagendra for his willingness to share his experience in order to educate others. Information about the documentary showing is listed below.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20090327_nationless

Thanks,

Joanne

2009-03-24T13:01:00.001-07:00

Champa Rai and I visited for a long time with Rati Gurung, who is a widow with four children. Very sad situation as she has no english skills, no understanding of her appliances, hygiene, cleaning supplies, dangers of leaving food out to spoil, and on and on. Champa did some intense interpreting for me as we instructed on how to clean the bathroom, kitchen, floors, fridge...everything. Tried to explain the fridge/freezer concepts. They have no meat at all, don't really know how to shop. Had meat upon arrival, but it was in the freezer and they didn't know why it got hard and didn't know what to do with it when it was hard. I guess they threw it out. Sink was full of dirty dishes with lots of food mixed in, bucket of black water and a mop was stashed in a closet. They have two towels between them and two washrags. Tried to explain food poisoning in our hot climate. Gave her lots of soaps and cleansers, five washcloths, Helen B. is delivering towels on Tuesday. Rati has not been food shopping....she sends eldest son. She agreed to learn on Sunday after church with Champa and me. Like many others, they had trashed computer parts the boys had found in the "dust bin"/ dumpster. A lot of our friends regularly dumpster dive. So sad.

The Thomas apartments are the worst I've seen for our friends. Pray that Catholic Social Services will move this sweet family to a better location. This mom needs a mentor with lots of time. Any ideas?

Carla

2009-03-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Just a quick run down of Tika's household supplies.....so we all know where to spend our resources, if we choose:

Bath soap bars: 12-15 (girls didn't know these were for bathing)
body wash: 1 bottle
shampoo: 4-6 bottles
toothpaste: 10 tubes
toothbrushes: 10
dishsoap: 1 gallon
laundry soap: 3-4 gallons
toilet paper: 24 rolls
men's deodorant: 3
women's deodorant: 4
men's razors: 6
womens' razors: 6 (though the girls don't shave...yet)
rice: 100 pounds

Much of this was from the initial set-up that oversupplied them but they'll use it eventually.

UNKNOWN: housecleaning supplies (Carol Langley said a gallon container that I previously thought was laundry soap was actually cleaning liquid, so they should be okay)

Will routinely need feminine hygiene items, monthly bus pass for Tika, single day use passes for Kamala for doctor appointments, DES appointments, etc. Could use a better clothes drying rack.......all the families need these actually. Girls would like swim suits.

Still not convinced Kamala NEEDS a black pair of pants, as she has two, though one is casual. Gave her a donated pair of khaki tan pants yesterday. I am concerned with the push to find jobs in the hotel industry since we are entering the off-season and there will be lay-offs.

Gave the family a computer desk that was donated. Set up the computer in the master bedroom, but they need a desk lamp.

Begged them to turn on the AC, as it was 95 degrees nad 90% humidity in their apartment last night. I think they were afraid I was going to pass out, so they finally opened the doors and let me get the AC running. Kamala was convinced that hot air was coming out of the intake register, so I showed them how it actually works. If you all visit any families who have ceiling fans, make sure the fan is circulating air downwards; the little switch on the side of the housing changes the direction of the blades and thus the flow of the air. Well, we all probably know that, but they don't. They have a very nice circulating fan they rescued from the dumpster. Kamala used some ingenuity to make two fans into one nice one!

The bed in the front room might often be used by guests, like the young Rizal boy from Thomas who roams the streets every day he can. he sleeps there every Saturday night.

Tika was actually BEAMING last night because Dr. Purna had come to "sit" with them in his house! He was very proud to have had several guests, but especially the doctor.

Other families: gave most all the families who attended yesterday some combination of hygiene items, toilet paper, soap, etc. Am going to the Gurung family today with substantial amount. She is a widow with 5 kids, poor english skills, with Catholic Social Services, very sparce supplies. All of the items yesterday came from the Trinity Women's Bible Study collection; all the items I"m delivering today as well. When it's gone it's gone, but it is sure filling a tremendous need.

I have a donated computer..........was thinking Bhattarai family since Krisna is such a huge help with translation and Carol Brady seems to have an ongoing relationship. What do you all think and could someone set it up and check it out before it's delivered?

Tika needs a ride on March 31 to an appointment on 57th Ave and Thunderbird....to be there by 7:45. I can't do it.........any takers?

Uma needs two teeth "thrown out" but ran into an insurance snag. Purna also needs work but insurance approved. I told them about the tooth fairy; in Nepal, they cover the tooth in mud and throw it on top of the hut to insure the incoming teeth grow straight. I like the tooth fairy better! But it makes sense now to "throw out" a tooth!

Thank you all for every little or big bit you play in this great unfolding drama!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!! Please continue to pray for other Trinity folks to catch the vision, have patience, extend grace and come alongside individual families. We really need a "family to family" mentoring program!!

Thanks to Stan, Iris, Vilma and Duane for jumping in and helping with transportation with no fanfare, just flexibility!!!
Carla

2009-03-12T11:09:00.001-07:00

Please forward this after reading, to as many Trinity folks as possible..

We need your help! Trinity has a thriving refugee outreach ministry, so much so that there are more people who want to attend church than there are cars to transport them to TBC and home again. If you have an extra 30 minutes before or after church, or both, then please consider helping us pick up refugee families and/or take them home after church. Even if you can only do one trip, it would be a huge help. These sweet people are willing and eager to come to church....the only barrier is transportation. We have three main complexes where we have friends who need rides:
1) 19th Ave and Camelback
2) 23rd Ave north of Indian School
3) 19th Ave and Glendale

We have several children who love attending as well, and need to make sure we honor them by getting them in car seats. We have some car seats/boosters, but we need more cars so there is room for all.

Please pray about how God might have you sacrifice some time to reach this mission field by driving one way or the other on Sundays. It will be so appreciated!! Please call me if you can help us bring the mission field to Trinity's front door...........
Carla Truman

2009-03-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

We had an extra couch so it was delivered to the family at the Pines in b219...don't know their name, but since their living room was empty figured it was needed! Also gave them soap, toilet paper, toothpaste and toothbrushes. They said they didn't know how to use the food EBT card so I told them to ask other families. Thanks to Emery and Frankie Brown for finding that freebie!

Will deliver to the Bhattarai's at Glenrosa a small coffee table, thanks to craigslist....tomorrow. I will continue to fill out donation forms.

Today was a great success and a lot of fun for all of the women involved!! I think we'll do it again sometime! 20 Trinity women and 30 or so refugee women and children, with some men looking on from the outside, gathered for manicures, pedicures and food at the Pines.

I committed to going to the library on Montebello with anyone who is interested...on Friday March 20 at 10 am. I didn't offer rides, just offered to meet anyone there and get library cards and learn how to use the library. Several ladies said they would come.

FYI: the Bhattarai apartment B149 was unlocked when we arrived today. Apparently maintenance didn't lock it. Nothing was taken so God apparently posted an angel there!

Carla

2009-03-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Quick update on the apartment for Bhattarai family.....
1. Kitchen is something Martha Stewart (Stuart?) would be proud of ....
2. Bath necessities are all terrific and fully stocked. Just need directions attached to each hygiene item!
3. Have one double bed for parents, one double sleeper sofa for adult brothers, one bunk bed with twin on top and full on bottom for kids and/or adult sister, and one other twin for ??? The families are going to reorganize once they are all here so they'll figure out who sleeps where but for now, upon arrival, they all have a clean bed and pillow.
4. Have couch and two easy chairs, full dinette set for four, though pray that I can find the one missing chair wheel. Beautiful coffee table that will be the envy of the neighborhood, one side table, one lamp that is yet to be tested and needs a shade.
5. I furnished the closet with an assortment of clean clothes for both genders, variety of sizes. All free........out of the storage treasure.
6. Lawn chairs for their back "yard".....4.
7. Wondering if someone could rig a clothes line in the back...???
8. Got a 16 cup rice cooker but wondering if they come bigger?? Can a crock pot cook rice okay?
9. Other Nepali ladies are helping me today to clean floors and finish making beds.

10. Praise God for HIS remarkable provisions....I've never seen an apartment furnished on so few dollars!!!

Carla

2009-03-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

Had a scary hour last night....Chandra Nepal called me and said that Champa had gone missing. She'd gone to Scottsdale on a job lead and no one had seen her since 10 am and her phone was not responding. I called Pastor Jeff Jackson to alert him since he knows them well, then went down to C-back. Champa arrived about two minutes before I did..at 9:30 pm. I heard her whole story but still don't know exactly what happened other than she got lost and/or the job lead (a private nanny job) took advantage of her and had her work all day. Not sure. But was so relieved she was safe. Her parents were crying, everyone was understandably distressed. I was about to call you to put our team on prayer alert but wanted to see in person what was going on....whew.

2009-03-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Carla, My name is Stan Petree, I am a member of Single Minded at Trinity Bible Church. An email was sent out by Carol Langley and Iris Hedrick. I would be able to help transport some of the Bhutan/Nepal immigrants at any of the locations. Only problem, I have a very small car, room for one adult and two small people for the back seat. I know that most of these people are short and small, so maybe my car would be fine. Anyway, You line it up and let me know what you need me to do and what time on Sunday. I do not have child seats, and they would not fit in my back seat, so no small children in car seats for me. Thank you for your service to aid these people of God. Also, I am in charge of Special Ministries in Single Minded, we would be interested in getting involved in supporting these immigrants with food stuffs, and clothing, etc. We have been involved with First Southern Baptist Church with there Berundi immigrants for the past year. We would love to work something out, so that our donations could go to help our Bhutan/Nepal Refugees. Let me know, if you need reference to who I am, just call Carol L. or Iris H. Thank you, and God is in Control, Stan Petree 480-203-2237

2009-03-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Camelback:
I visited Kafley family at the Pines. They have plenty of furniture...fully loaded house and huge tv. Not sure what she meant, Helen, that she said they have no furniture. Maybe they have no furnishings, like towels, soaps, etc.??? I have soap to take to them tomorrow, as well as toilet paper. I took clothes for the kids and some used toys...all of which came out of the storage unit that Billie Scott ( Amanda Dalton's mother) gave us to use for refugees. The two kids were there with three cousins, and they got sooooo excited with the few toys....Thanks be to God I took numerous toys, not just two. whew....could'a been ugly! I also put in a few used handtowels/kitchen towels. She was very disappointed you were not with me, Helen, and had difficulty understanding that you work more than full time.

This was a good example of the importance of checking out a family's status before planning on gifting them with anything, not that we had planned but we were definitely concerned.

I also gave a small bag of used boys clothes to the Das grandparents for the 8 year old.
Woodbridge (19th and Glendale):
Visited with the Christian family at Woodbridge...I struggle to remember their names! Gave them the table I'd promised them last week and a lamp. Then visited the NEW Adhikari famiy at Woodbridge M252....all want to come to church ..family of 5. These are some relative of Kamala's. not related to Glenrosa Adhikari. Gave them a lamp and a few bars of soap I happened to have in the car and some bath and hand towels. They have a couch and dining table and beds. I have 2 tv's, for both Woodbridge families, IF the tv's work...I haven't had time to check them out. Tika said they have only a change of clothes each so I will deliver some used clothes to them tomorrow.

Most of this "stuff" has come out of the storage units, run through the Truman Laundry, and out the door!!! FREE!!!!

I have NOT given away the third DVD player since I figured we need to be very intentional with where these DVD players go. My personal opinion is for those families who share their resources and will share the DVD as a resource. Maybe something to talk about at our next meeting.

Tika went with me and is such an outreach pro not to mention how he handles so well putting off tea at every household!!! He talked to Mr. Adhikari about coming to church so we can pray for him....Mr. A. has many injuries from the torture he suffered in Bhutan. I thought that was so touching, Mike, that your practical yet deep lesson was already being shared to others and taken to heart!!

Also, something Mike...you might want to alert the planning committee to.....everyone is excited to come to the "picnic" on the 15th. We need to be sensitve to the real purpose of that event and figure out how to fit in our new friends appropriately. To continue to win over Trinity family members to join in our ministry, we need to think ahead about how to prevent (I don't know the right word...) the chaos and noise that often accompanies our friends, when/if the Trinity family has the presentation time for the Benadoms. I don't mean to offend anyone with my suggestion, but just to be direct and think ahead so please forgive me if I am mis-stating something.

Glen Rosa: I talked to Donna Buckles at LSS, and she agreed the remaining Bhattrai family should go to the Pines,with the hope that Gopal's household could move up there eventually. Gopal is considering that his parents should live at Camelback so they are happier having friends and more support. I told Donna about Mr. B's anxiety condition, lack of sleep, ER visit, etc. Gopal will be encouraged by some support from his other siblings. Mon needs to start job search. ...not sure where she stands on that.

Carol Brady has a folding wheelchair that she is giving to Mr. Adhikar!!!! Wooo hoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was very relieved because he feels so bad about how hard it is (isn't really) to deal with the other chairs. Yea God!!

Last but not least, the ladies' Wednesday morning Bible study has taken interest on helping us and our friends. They are collecting soaps, etc. AND they are arranging to do simple manicures on Wed. March 11 at the Pines, for primarily our Nepali community friends. They hope to give away a manicure kit to lots of women.....but will need lots of stuff so if you know anyone who could help let me know....

Congratulations again, Mike and Julie and now counting the days to the wedding!! Hang in there!!

FYI: I took Shadikshya to the nursery and stayed with her.......she was fine, after she cried all the way over there and gave me every dirty look she could summon (seriously!). I know how to say "I'm sorry" in Nepalese, so that helped a bit but not much. I've talked to Chandra about doing this but she won't let her cry and leave her. So I had told her that I'd be willing to stay with Shadikshya to get used to the nursery. It's GOOD for her so she can be around other children and be exposed to some toys, and get used to being OK while mom is gone. She was enthralled with the other kids...she needs to be there so if I kidnap her again you'll know why! Chandra may be working every Sunday, like she was yesterday.

Seema, Roma, and Kehm all seemed very happy in Miss Carol's class. Now Miss Carol is going to have to recruit more helpers! What a great problem to have!!!!!

Carla

2009-02-09T13:33:00.002-07:00

Sunday mornings a quite an operation now. We are shuttling over 20 people in personal cars and vans on Sunday mornings.

This week we started a dedicated Sunday School class to combine the study of the Gospel of Mark and English. There was a dramtaic response when we explained that we were doing this class because sometimes we talk too fast. Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

This week wee studied Mark 1:1-11. We introduced the concepts of prophet, forgiveness, baptism, heart preparation, and the Trinity. English lesson included the "th" sound in "the" and the "z" sound of "s" in words like Jesus.

To make this class more effective, we will need help.

1) Treats coordinator.
2) Secretary to track attendance, document skill levels, manage resources.
3) Mentors at each table to help with assignments and give individual attention.
4) Designated translator
5) Curriclum aid to prepare work sheets

Next week's lesson is Mark 1:9-20. The themes will be Satan, temptation, the gospel of the kingdom, repentance, faith, and becoming a fisher of men.

2009-02-04T15:20:00.001-07:00

Mike spoke incorrectly in a email I read today. I counted 37 Nepal friends in the room speaking to Pastor Harka. Elvern has already left with five members of the Battarai family. That makes a minimum of 42 Nepal Friends in attendance.

Carol Brady is so excited about helping Mon. She spent most of yesterday on the phone exploring all available resources she could connect with. This afternoon she took Mon all by herself out to explore some thirft stores. When Elvern saw Mon yesterday morning while patiently (??) waiting for Mom, Dad and Gopel he said that he noticed a definite change in Mon's spirit. I am taking Mom, Mon and Dawn to Metro Center Thursday after work. We will meet Carol there. I may told you this earlier but they only have been to Frys and Chinese Market (?), I will bring them home about 6:00 and return to the meeting at church.

Some of you may have noticed that I spent about an hour with Mon during the Super Bowl sharing information about the following:
ESL classes at Rio Salado near Carol's house
Arizona Women's Education and Employment AWEE resources - again located near Carol's house
Adult Education GED - benefit of learning English and speaking English in academic environment
AZ Paraprofessional Teacher certification requirements - she previously taught 6th grade
Great Arizona Teach In scheduled for April 16th- I am taking Gopel. Mon, Sophella and her husband

In addition the Sophella and husband and the nurses needed information about transcripted college credit. The women who want to be nurses live at Camelback and 19th Ave

Mike please place transportation on the agenda. We need to develop a plan for Sunday transportation. Elvern and I made the southern pickup and return home at least six times on Sunday and I know Carla made at least two trips. In addition there is a carload of friends from 19th and Camelback who will be needing rides on Sunday. There will be 12 B and A family members needed rides at 23rd ave and Glenrosa.

Elvern just bought the laundromat at 51st Ave and Thunderbird. He is currently working 16 hour days so he will not be available to transport during the week for 4-6 weeks.

This ministry could become full time job. Praise God for all these opportunities to witness the love of Jesus!
Helen

2009-02-02T13:18:00.003-07:00

A lot of last week's energy went into the Super Bowl Party. I expected about 20 Nepalis to attend. We ended up with about 40! Carla, Helen, Elvern, and I provided bus service to make this happen. Ganga helped to round up a crowd from her neighborhood.

Pastor Harka from Jesus Ministries International - Nepal was a tremendous blessing. This is his website: http://jminepal.org/index.html He was a great host and provided a gospel presentation DVD in Nepali. When people were bored with the game, he invited them to hear updates from Nepal and counseled them in how to adjust to life in the U.S.

I went home very tired but also very satisfied (except for the final score).

2009-01-26T21:26:00.003-07:00

Thank you all for such a great meeting yesterday, though we missed a few people. Today I went down to the Bhattaria's and delivered to them the things we rescued out of storage on Saturday....clothes, bedding........all washed and clean. There were some really nice things in the bags that they really needed! Plus I had been given lots of young men's clothing so passed that on for Krishna and Gopal. I also delivered some hygiene and housecleaning supplies and some new pillows I got for pennies on a clearance rack. I asked them to store them for their coming family members if they didn't need them immediately. I visited with Gopal and Mon for about 20 minutes. Their mother was present but didn't talk. Living next door to them is an Iraqi family, and coincidentally, a visitor of theirs was a man I met through my Iraqi friends on Indian School and 28th Street. We visited briefly. Gopal later told me that his impression of the Iraqi's is that they were/are rich and only came here to be safe, and that they have many complaints. He contrasted them against the Nepalis who have suffered for 18-20 years with nothing, little opportunities, little education. I took a risk of challenging him a little bit, while agreeing with him somewhat since my Iraqi friend Thaer has also said some of the Iraqi's are "spoiled", but said that all of us have a story, and many people suffer in many different ways. I told him how Thaer lost everything he ever owned and that his friends were assassinated in Iraq. I told him a bit about Billy and how he has suffered all of his life with physical disabilities and how his mother abandoned and neglected him. But I also said that all of us can be grateful to God for everything He has provided and really emphasized how it may be very hard to be grateful at times, we must all look to God for providing for us and helping us through the suffering. I don't know what the Lord had in mind for the conversation really, but it flowed naturally and was a good sharing time. On a different topic, Gopal said his mother has some serious health issues, apparently had had an intestinal obstruction at some point in the past, and has severe consequences of that. Since intestinal health is my second major (due to Billy's story) I offered to go with him to her doctor appointment to help them understand more of what can be done to help her. He said they are having a difficult time adjusting but he feels like his brother and sisters are doing okay. Mon looked sad and didn't take part though I think she understood some. Gopal started his job at the airport tonight at 9:30 pm. It will take him about an hour to get to/from work. Tika told me that Gopal and family would like to move more centrally because it is hard for them to go to the store or to work, since they are not on a bus line directly. They have asked LSS to place them together with their family members who are coming in 2 months. The two high schoolers go to Central High.

Later today I stopped by the A. family to have Tika sign the camp forms (he signed one side, not the other) again and to get the medical info required since Uma will need to take her medication with her. I also gave them the list of what to take/not take to the youth retreat. Apparently this is NOT a rustic camp setting, so I think they'll be fine with the layers of clothes they have, in addition to Carol's gloves and stuff. I found some sweatshirts for Durga, Krishna and Dhan. Tika and I agreed he needs to get that cash deposited ASAP so we will do that tomorrow. I hope this is okay with the team, but I did put on Tika the expectation that he would send $10 with each girl. Zack, the youth pastor, told me that they will stop for dinner on the way there and back and each kid needs money for that meal. They have the money and it's important that they have some ownership/investment in the trip. Tika agreed without hesitation. They also agreed to take the girls shopping for snacks for the trip. Tika asked me again if it's dangerous for them to go to camp in the mountains. I asked the girls if they've ever in their lives been separated from their mom for even one night.....they never have! So this is a big deal for all of them that they spend a weekend away!

2009-01-20T16:27:00.001-07:00

Hi all,
I heard the chicken dinner lunch yesterday was great, and everyone had a good time. What awesome gracious hospitality, Helen and Elvern, that you could accomodate such a large group on such short notice. I think Mr. Bhattaria thought he was going to stay with me in the van instead of getting dropped off....when he couldn't get his door open he resorted to climbing over the seat to the middle row so he could exit the sliding door!

I checked with Tika re: his employee handbook, and he had read it over. I covered a few key items like dress code, time cards, lunch breaks, etc. He seemed to understand. His plan is to leave the apartment at 4 pm and catch the bus eastbound on Dunlap, get off on 23rd and walk south. I told him that the handbook discourages loitering around the job site so encouraged him to wait across the street until 4:50 pm. He continues to be concerned with paying taxes. It just occurred to me that he may think he has to pay taxes himself, not realizing it comes right out.

Carol, both Tika and Kamala are very eager to start working with you....well, for Kamala to start working with you. They both want her to have the 1:1 time....Tika said "I am very happy for Kamala to learn with Carol".

Ganga said she has more families arriving this week and they can use the few pieces of furniture that are awaiting us in the storage facility. Does anyone have access to a truck and some strong backs? There are some Nepali men who are willing to help but we still need a truck.

We have a meeting this Sunday, 1/25/09 at 12:15 in room 203.

Tika took home the flyers re: Super Bowl party on Feb. 1 but I think we'll need to do some contacting with the other families as well.

Take care all!

Carla

2009-01-13T21:08:00.002-07:00

I want to share some experiences I've had with the Iraqi families on the east side of town. Theirs is a very different experience and adjustment than what we see with our wonderful Acharya family. There are 7 or 8 families, all but two are Muslim, and there is one household of two single ladies I have yet to meet. The main family I am in contact with uses the last name Rahman, though his given name is Hussein. The wife's last name is different also. They have a 12 year old son who just started 7th grade. Since every district in Arizona does things differently, I wasn't surprised but I am disappointed to learn that their son doesn't have much ESL time during the school day. Last weekend I helped him with his homework, two pages, all in english, totally meaningless to him about a topic that really doesn't matter at this point. I'm afraid the father might have put on his registration forms that their primary language at home is english, which would really mess up getting ESL help. I've been told that happens frequently because families want their households to become english-speaking but don't realize then they cut themselves out of ESL services. Something I'll look into later. This family and the others are very hospitable and gracious toward me and Billy, and always offering food and/or drink. I just read in WORLD magazine about how critical it is to slow down and "take tea" as this is a significant relationship building time, and especially if there is ever to be any evangelism which could take years for the Muslim families. The families do not network like a few of our Nepali families do. The Acharya house is grand central station most days, but these families really keep to themselves more. I've been reminded that there is a big difference between coming out of a war zone and coming out of a refugee camp like Nepal.

Interestingly, there are two "Christian" households, and I still have not figured out what sect of Christianity one is. The other is a household of a mom and her 10 year old rascally son (he proudly told me all of his spanish words.....all cuss words....on our very first meeting!). She is a devout Christian she said and said she prays to Jesus every day, all day. She attends a Catholic church nearby. She is completely ostracized by the Iraqis there, ALL of them, even my friends the Rahmans. None of them will speak to her or have anything to do with her, including the other Christian family. I am trying to figure out the complex Arab/Muslim/tribal relationships, and now wondering if it goes back to the old "Scarlet Letter"! Since she is here with her son, and her husband/his father is alive and well, maybe they have made her an outcast because she separated from her husband? She is very distraught over the dynamics but she seems like a strong woman and she has other friends from her church and a "mentor" from LSS to help. She speaks english very well. Unfortunately, she is also very sick with some kind of liver disease. She nearly lost her son to wonderful Az CPS before CPS was convinced she wasn't a derelict mother but actually just had arrived in America and was truly ill. So her first few months here have been extremely distressing for her. She can't work due to health issues and doesn't know who will pay her rent month to month.

Some of the other families are receiving financial support from relatives who are already established within the US, most in Michigan. Some of these people had houses, cars, computers, lots of luxuries.....so for some it has been difficult to move here and have nothing. They do remind themselves of the fact that they are safer here. My friends have described in much more detail than I wanted to hear about the assassinations, bombings, fighting that they witnessed or saw after the fact. This Christian lady lost her first husband and all her brothers in the Iran/Iraq war, and Mr. Rahman served a long time in the same war. He and his wife both have Bachelors degrees in Economics and Accounting but are losing sleep every night over whether or not they'll be allowed to stay in the US without good jobs. These families don't have any church sponsors; I think the case managers are probably doing their best, but this family of three arrived to an empty apartment with just two beds. Now through TBC families (and the craigslist FREE postings!) they have at least enough beds, a few pieces of furniture and something to sit on! They received the food card in December, but received only enough for two weeks. It was supposed to be recharged on 1/5, still hasn't so this family had run out of food. Last week George Mann gave me a Fry's card for them to get through the week. By the weekend all they had to eat was bread and oranges. Yesterday I took them some canned food and meat and cash for milk and veggies, after trying to take them shopping on Saturday but the father wouldn't go. His pride got in the way of his stomach. Even as of today their food card is not recharged. My mother's church has provided a food box that I"ll be delivering tomorrow. They have been promised food boxes since last week but no one has delivered. Both parents have lost weight since arriving. She rarely leaves the apartment, and immediately puts on her head covering if a man visits. They have so many appointments, just like our family has had, but they don't have a team around them to help them get around, and often he doesn't have bus tickets, and no one else to take them. You can imagine the stress. He has a great background in warehousing, supply lines, computer inventory, etc. so we were able to assemble a good resume and I told him about Costco, Sams Club and some other similar businesses. I've told him the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" at LSS, so I hope he calls the job developer every single day. On my visits to LSS there are so many immigrants just millling around. I assume they are waiting on something, maybe a training, a ride or something. I am very curious what their job placement rate is. I am hoping it's astounding. If anyone has any church contacts on the east side, perhaps we could recruit a team for LSS for this Iraqi community? If you know of anyone, let me know. They are at 28th Street and Indian School.

2009-01-13T17:10:00.005-07:00

Tika and I worked on a "template" application, one that he will keep to refer to for other applications. He has an orange expandable file folder with this in it, if you take him to any jobs. He filled out a real app. for janitorial work with the company that contracts at Metrocenter. He dropped it off at the mall office today. The company does a once/week pickup of their mail, so it may be a while before he hears from them. I asked him to work on the same application for Kamala tonight. I rehearsed with him what to say when he is called for an interview, and explained that he can't be picky about times, shifts, etc. He understood. Telephone skills would be another skill set to add to the long list, just so at least he can receive an employer's phone call and be able to make an appointment. He is planning on going to DES tomorrow morning for bus passes. He called his LSS job developer and left a message, and said he will call him every day. Ganga has written scripts for him to use on phone calls, which is very wise. Kamala and I cleaned out their fridge a bit and I showed her how to use the cleaning spray on the bottom shelf which was pretty dirty. I spied in on the bathroom; it seemed okay. She showed resourcefulness in using an empty shower soap bottle for her dishsoap so the large jug doesn't have to be on the counter. Tika said they finally got the phone card to work and Kamala was able to talk to family for an hour.....she cried and cried, he said. But they were both happy to finally get through!

2009-01-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

From: ganga neupane

Dear Kathy,
I have asked Tika to go to the school and inform Purnaʼs and Umaʼs teacher,
girls have their appointment for 1.15.09 at 2pm.
Or
May be we can also call their teacher (Im sure girls have the phone no for
school)

Job developer for Tika and Kamala is Abraham Reech, he can be contacted at
602-248-4400 ext 205
Today we went to job office to pick up monthly bus passes for Tika and Kamla ,
but no better luck they have to go again tomorrow or the following day, by that
time bus passes will be ready. Each month until they are with the job program
they will get monthly bus passes (Tika and Kamala). We then went to MVD but
office is closed Sunday and Monday
Good thing is they were able to ride valley metro bus.

Sincerely
Ganga

2009-01-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Acharya Family is now on ACCCHS (Mercy Care Health Insurance). I will be working with Tika and Ganga to find a PCP and new dentist close to the apartment.

Ganga writes that the cash assistance they receive will go on their EBT card (Food Card) not into their account with LSS. The financial workout is as follows:
Rent $772.00
LSS pays 513.00
Tika pays 259.00 from EBT card (cash)
The apartment complex may not accept cash so he may need to get a money order or open up a bank account in order to write a check.

This is probably something we should discuss at the meeting on Thursday.

Thanks, Kathy

2009-01-13T12:31:00.002-07:00

Carla wrote:

Primary Care Physician has already been assigned and is on 43rd Ave, south of Northern. AHCCCS assigned them to Dr. Kevin Cleary. Tika and Kamala both have appointments on 1/22/09 at 2:40 pm. The girls don't have to have "new patient appointments" but can wait until there is a specific need. Tika has some personal health issues he is anxious to get help with so this is good there is no more of a delay.

Kamala and Uma are now on long term treatment through Maricopa Health Center. They each received two prescriptions. We discussed the meds, the side effects to be aware of and when the best time to take would be (per dr. order's). Will provide one of our extra pill splitters tomorrow as Uma's supposed to take half of a small pill. It was tough to split. They received the pills two days ago but had not started taking any because they weren't sure of the directions.

Tara received another shot today. Next one due Feb. 13. Tika is taking shot record to the school tomorrow to keep them updated, as they requested. Tara starts an after school program tomorrow so she'll be busy most days until 4 pm then she rides home with the other kids who are also in the program.

Tomorrow I am taking Tika to turn in apps for possible jobs. Already picked up applications.
Keep in mind that the Indian School/51st Ave. DMV is closed on Mondays, as Tika found out today.

Carla

2009-01-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Team:
There are several items of news:
1. Not sure if all of you are aware that Frankie Brown broke her wrist over the weekend. It is in a cast. I spoke with Emery on Sun. and she was resting comfortably.
2. Carol will be picking up Tika and Uma and Purna for their eye Dr. appt. on Thursday at 2:00 pm.
3. Tika gave me the phone number for the Bhattrai family on Sunday and asked that I contact them. When I called Bhophal, the elder son, this morning he said that his mother and father are feeling somewhat isolated and wondered if we could bring them to church. I said of course and asked if the rest of the family would like to come and he said yes. There is a need for transportation for 6 on Sunday. If we need to split this between 2 cars I'm willing to do that. They live on 23rd Ave. and Glenrosa. I told him I would call him back on Friday to let him know what arrangements have been made. Please let me know if you want to volunteer for this.
4. I will take Tika to MVD when I go and we can take care of business together. It will most likely be one day next week. I will follow up on the exact day later.
Thanks, Kathy

2009-01-08T14:49:00.001-07:00

Ann Wrote:

This morning I took Tika and Kamala to Penney's to exchange the pants and shirt she got for Christmas. It went well, she was able to get the same thing in a smaller, and petite size. It looked like the pant legs were still a little long but the next size was too small. I asked if she would be able to hem them and she said "yes" but I'm not sure she understood. I don't know if they had ever been in a department store before. Tika said that it was a "Big" store!
Ann

2009-01-07T12:01:00.002-07:00

Helen wrote:

Our goal is to teach this family how to fish so that they will be fully functional in their new country There are activities that many of us are doing each week that are essential for their orientation to life in Phx.
Recent activities that that are essential to their success include:
-providing them transportation to learn how to return/exchange an item with a receipt
-school lunch routine
-interpreting the dress code at Cortez
-providing assistance in customer complaint with telephone provider
-encouraging Tika to buy a bike lock at Frys
-job coaching and related activities since these are not being provided to our expectation by LSS
-celebrating the new year with family fun without alcohol
-identifying and using tools
-learning the names of the city streets

Additional/continued help is needed in these areas
-Kamala's English
-one-on-one time with Kamala
-job search for Tika perhaps a record keeping system with business cards from contacts
-budgeting and money management
-letter writing. I am not sure if they have written a letter using the stamps we bought them
-file management--Tika has important papers in several different places need little file cabinet

I guess I could make this a huge list. In summary, I believe our work with this family is a work in progress and we would be remiss if we thought we had accomplished our mission of teaching them to fish,
Helen
P.S. Kathy, missed you in Sunday school class this weekend.

Carla wrote:

Amen.

Re: records management...I provided file folders and purple file box when they arrived. I think the file box has been used for laundry. I have shown them how to use the file folders, wrote the topic on the top of the folder. This apparently needs to be revisited. Perhaps the drawer under the TV would suffice as "data central"?

okay with everyone if I address this with them this weekend and set up more organization? Helen, if you get a business card holder we should ask him to keep it in the same drawer, right? I'll also give him a binder to keep job info in....if at all possible, he should copy (xerox) every application before he submits them. This will help tremendously to avoid recalling the same info for each application and in case he needs to follow up with a company he'll have the app. handy. We could easily access TBC office.....I am sure the office staff would copy for him. He could easily get there on his own as long as we lay the groundwork with the office staff.

Carol has graciously offered to get more shirts for Tara for school. I hit a sale at Kmart this morning and found some blouses for the girls. Now they actually will have enough for five days of acceptable clothing. Such a bummer the rules are so tight, but I can understand the school's need to draw a line.

2009-01-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Carla wrote:

Hi all!!
Helen and Elvern....I heard so many great stories of the parade! Tika thought the Sun City Twirlers were especially funny. What a treat you gave them in taking them to such a big event!

Monday the girls were up at 5:30 am, Tika said. A bit anxious! Tara was placed in the same class as the boy Tunka, who lives upstairs. Her teacher is Mrs. Murphy, and she has a room full! At least 5 languages represented. Pray for her! Mrs. Murphy was very thrilled to know that there is a support team around Tara and her family. Backpacks are not allowed at Cactus Wren, but there was a binder in the closet at home so she is set for school supplies. I reminded him that she needs a bike lock and told him that Fry's sells them. He wanted me to take his cash and go buy one but I said no, he needed to do it.

Then we hit Cortez High School, and met some confusion, but worked it all out. The girls have 4 classes together, and lunch. We walked through their schedule so they could find their classes easily. Cortez has 1300 students. My high school had 700. I felt anxious more than they did probably!! Their classes are very close together so it should be easy today. Lunch presented a brief problem as they had not been given the free lunch application on their visit in December, so they would have had to pay $3 each for lunch...that would have been $30 a week, until their application was processed. I pushed for a quick answer so the cafeteria manager said they could have free lunch this week and she would push their application through faster. They only have one textbook, Algebra I. They had to buy gym clothes so I'll submit the receipt for reimbursement. Cortez has very strict dress codes, including NO clothes with any writing on it. So upon our return to their apartment we went through their closet and had to eliminate about half of their few clothes, including that cute Roxy t-shirt that Uma got for Christmas.

Tika went with Billy and me to meet the Iraqi family and to deliver some clothes for one of the families. We also went by the LSS office to meet Ganga who had the paperwork for DES financial assistance for Tika to sign. He is to go over to Ganga's today, on his own, to get the application for the janitorial service company that has hired several Nepali's. Ganga said those applicants who go down there with an LSS worker generally do not get hired but those who go down wtih an American friend and who don't mention LSS generally get hired. To my knowledge, Tika has had no contact with any jobs placement staff from LSS. Neither have the Iraqi families. Thaer told me the jobs placement person told him to find a job on his own. Who really knows what is true, but it's obvious Tika has not had any assistance from the job developer. Tika and Thaer were commiserating about how little help they are getting. Tika was supposed to help Billy and me move some donated furniture but we ran out of time. Billy and I checked out the stuff....there is a dining table and chairs, though I don't know how large because we didn't get to see it. We did see a hutch and a very large entertainment center that will take a truck to move. But it's all free! So if you know who could use it, let me know.

Ann, thanks for taking Kamala to exchange the pants.

I continue to be impressed with how well supported and encouraged this family is and how much they appreciate our friendship.

Have a good week.
Carla

2009-01-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning I am accompanying Tara and Tika to Cactus Wren Elementary. Tara has three days' worth of school uniforms. If anyone frequents Savers or Goodwill and wouldn't mind spending a few bucks, please check for navy blue, light blue or forest green collared "polo" shirts. She has three but one just barely fits her.

After getting her situated we'll return to take Uma and Purna to Cortez to register for their classes, which start on Tuesday.

Tika and Kamala can both apply for the janitorial jobs mentioned by Helen....Mike, I'm wondering if you worked up a resume for Tika? I don't recall.....I know you mentioned something about wording his work experience at the camp. It'd be helpful to have that info for whomever takes them to apply. I can do it on Tuesday if no one else can. Also, he should go back to Goodwill and apply for that janitor job.

They are REALLY getting into those ESL DVDs we got at Burton Barr Library! Uma was watching them again today when I stopped by to drop off Tara's uniforms. Cactus Wren Elem. may also have ESL classes. Glendale Community College (all MCC colleges, I think) have more structured ESL classes that get into writing, grammar, professional english, etc. Tika and his friend Chate are interested in taking a class there. Chate was a high school teacher in Nepal. It'd be an easy bus ride. Any concerns/objections? I realize it may conflict with a future job, but it's something to think about.

Have a great Sunday......

Carla

2009-01-03T11:52:00.001-07:00

January 2 and 3

Friday
We picked up Tika and Kamala and proceded to pick up Ghanga to go to 15th St and Thomas to DES Office for cash assistance. When we arrived we were told that the case manager assigned to them was taking appointments for next week. Ghanga politely said that the directions in the letter did not say that. The receptionist seemed to blow it off. I was offended and said that as a taxpayer I expected that the refugee families needed to be treated with respect. Ghanga thanked me as we returned to the car and re-read the letter. Elvern will take them to the appointment on January 8th at 10:00 a.m.

Next we went to optometrist to see if their glasses were ready and they were closed on Friday. Then we went to the dentist and he also was closed on Friday! After I returned home I reflected on the three strikeouts and determined that they need to begin to keep business cards from each of their professional appointments and use their telephone to make and confirm appointments. I will look for a business card folder next week.

Ghanga hopes to provide us with additional information about GSI (?) Janitorial Service. She has heard that they are hiring. She also said that Nepali people tend to get hired when they show up with American friend rather that LSS case manager. Details to follow on this job prospect.

Saturday
We picked up the Acharya family at 8:30. They were not quite ready. We learned that Uma is still taking a prescription given to her on December 21. ???? It seems like Purna is the pokey one!

The neighborhood children are frequently in their apartment, Wednesday night Elvern learned that Tonga loves basketball so we gave Tonga a Phx Suns basketball to play in the park. He may have well been the happiest boy in the complex!

We arrived at the parade route at 9:00 a.m which was two hours before the parade began. They loved hot air balloons --this may been the first time they saw them up close. Elvern and Tika walked to the staging area for an hour, so I got out the dominoes. They new how to play since Frankie and Emory had taught them. The girls are very good but it has difficult for Kamala. She really needs one on one time without the help of her children covering for her. Next we played Jacks, learned to play with the YoYo, and strategized very well with Connect Four game. I don't believe they had ever seen a parade in Nepal. The girls loved the flag twirlers in each of the marching bands. Tika and kamala siad the best part of the parade was the horses. We were exhausted after we got to their house around 3:00 p.m.

Tika is still having trouble with the $30.00 phone card. The line is always busy to Nepal. He was able to call Nepal when he used the 2:00 phone card which was good for 15 minutes. We don't know how to help. Will someone please take on this challenge? It is extremely frustrating for Tika. He wants to call his parents.

2008-12-31T09:17:00.001-07:00

Took the girls, Tika and Ganga to the County Health Department .......the three gals needed two more shots. Poor kiddos!

Went to DMV but the line was out the door, down the sidewalk so we agreed to go back another time to get Tika's AZ ID.

Ganga said it would be best if Tika applied for any jobs, even part time. The job at Goodwill is 25 hours per week. She said he should apply and take it if he gets the chance. I'm taking him with me tomorrow to move some furniture for the Iraqi family so I will discuss it with him then, after I talk to Emory to get the full picture of the info Goodwill gave them.

Also will ask him to do some work for me in exchange for the bike for Tara. In my humble opinion, I would hold off on giving him a computer.

FYI for future refugee ministry.....the main library has scores of ESL and ELL resources....dvd's, cd's, audio tapes, books on tape, even some language specific, i.e. arabic/english ELL. Alas, no Nepali/English ELL, but did find a couple Nepali/Enlgish dictionaries. The same one Paul and Ann gave them in fact!

They were quite impressed with the Burton Barr library. Anything from there can be borrowed to other branch libraries through interlibrary loan to save a trip downtown.

Ganga always states how much she appreciates our team and all the work we've done with the A. family. She case manages all the Nepali families (30 or so!) and is only paid part time though she may be full time soon. That is a huge case load. If anyone knows a mechanic, their family car has a broken power steering system and the estimate they received is $750, which they don't have. Anyone know someone who could help out???Carla

2008-12-29T10:41:00.012-07:00

Carla wrote:

Funny moment: last week I had to stop Kamala from putting the eggs in the freezer....she ran out of room in the fridge, so that was the next logical place, I guess.

I think our team has done an incredible job of embracing this family and getting their feet on the ground and walking. The great number of hours that have been spent with them has helped them tremendously, and Lutheran Social Services likely wishes every refugee family could have this kind of support and intense introduction to America as we've given to this family. The ultimate task is NOT to get them employed and off the public welfare system...our ultimate task is to show them the love of Christ, to show them that there is a God who loves them and ultimately has their lives in His hands. Along the way, we get the privilege of helping them become independent of the welfare system. Any secular team can do the latter, but we get the incredible privilege of doing both. And I say "KUDOS!" to all of you for taking the time to make a difference in one family....just wait and see the incredible ripple effect that will have!

2008-12-26T09:37:00.002-07:00

Helen wrote:

We ate Christmas dinner early. Elvern picked them up a little before 11:00 and Komula was preparing a huge batch of rice. Elvern thought maybe they had planned to eat rice prior to our dinner in case our Christmas foods were too strange. When they came in the house
Elvern and Tara lit the dozens of candles which she enjoyed imensely. Purna and Uma poured the water glasses and the goblets with sparkling cider. We teased about working for their dinner!

Tika and Komula took seconds of most of the foods. Everyone especially liked the creamy fruit which was yogurt and Cool Whip mixed with a variety of fresh fruits. I showed them the Cool Whip package so I think they will be buying some. The girls chose peppermint ice cream rather than apple pie. All were very observant at the table as to use of utensils etc. We noticed that the girls each drank 3-4 glasses of water which seemed unusual for teenagers. And Carol I was complimented in that Komula licked her plate! We had a lot of fun at the table. We are concerned that Komula needs one on one conversation or she does not get involved. We usually play games on Christmas afternoon but due to the fact that we wanted to see Larry, we brought them home at 3:00.

Friday
Elvern took Tika to Wireless Toys to discuss the "malfunction" of his new Cricket phone. After considerable experimentation and ice it was determined that Tika was shouting to the long distance family menbers creating a problem echo. All is well and Tika said I am happy now.

Saturday
Tika and Komala are taking the bus all by themselves to the B family. They are excited to be doing this alone without assistance. They are to call Elvern if they have a problem.

2008-12-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve

2008-12-23T10:15:00.002-07:00

Mike D wrote:

Delivering the Christmas gifts to the Acharya family was great. The caroling was pretty poor and we lacked two of the girls when we got there, but things got better. We were almost out-hosted when Kamala served us Cokes, pinapple, and grapes. Tara was the most ecstatic opening gifts but everyone in the family loved it. Pretty funny when Kamala and Tika opened the wrong stockings! The girls were instantly in their new clothes. I talked a little about the tradition of opening gifts. Ganga offered to translate. Then, later Ganga translated the Christmas story from Luke 2. I accused her at one point of preaching instead of translating. She loved doing it and celebrated her success at the end. We spent a lot of time there so only part of the group went to the other family. Someone else will need to write about that since I was one that had to live for family obligations.

What a great Christmas!

2008-12-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Carla wrote:

Hi all,
I visited our family's friends, Bhula and her husband and two sons just briefly tonight. Gave her some learning games for her kids that my little friends have outgrown and told her Savers and Goodwill often have great used teaching tools. Bhula taught kindergarten in Nepal and loves to engage her kids in games and learning. I invited her and her family to church, but she said that First Christian Church's team takes them to church. Then she pulled out a Nepali-English New Testament!! Wow. There is a Nepali Bible Society that publishes Bibles, so perhaps we can find one online? I think what Bhula was saying also is that there is a missionary couple at First Christian that is going to Nepal for two years, or actually going BACK to Nepal to continue serving there in the mission field. Those missionaries are here for now and are the ones who gave her the New Testament. She said she would share it with the Achyara's since they read Nepali pretty well. So another option would be to contact this couple and get their help in getting our family a NT. What an amazing thing to find right down the "hallway"....the scripture in Nepali! Perhaps we could get this couple to meet with our team and give us some insights?

Also, Ganga said that for now the Achyara family did not get picked for the matching grant program so they will not have that extra money or their rent paid in full for three months. Soon their DES general assistance should arrive, with which they will pay their rent but have not much at all left over.

Also followed up with the Iraqi family that is in need of some furnishings. I took over the loveseat and a cabinet from Paul and Beth Dreshel. Emery, he may need some help re-building the cabinet if you would have time....all the parts and hardware are there, but no instructions. The Dreschel's have a couch also, but this family has a very small apartment and there are only three in the family so they are okay with just the love seat. They also have a nice sofa chair. I am sure I can find another family within a few days who is in need of the couch. My mother had a roll-away bed stuck back in a closet so I took that as well, since they live in a one bedroom and one of them has been sleeping on the floor in the living room. Took a sheet set and two comforters, and a pillow. I asked them what they would like or need and they were very reluctant to ask for anything, but finally got out of them that they would like an iron, ironing board, vacuum and a blender. So if anyone has any contacts for those items please let me know. I will keep their case manager apprised of everything that is donated.

This family also has an amazing story. They are from Baghdad originally. She worked for the government for many years doing data entry until she had her son 12 years ago. He ran a restaurant at Baghdad airport, called Ishtar's. Once our military arrived and took over the airport, he returned to his restaurant and kept it open by feeding our guys great food. He made a lot of friends among the US troops. He said it was extremely dangerous to keep his restaurant open, and every day he told his wife goodbye as he left for work, and would think that it could be goodbye forever because the threat of death was all around. She got misty eyed as he was talking about those days of saying goodbye like that. Some days the military would not let him go home as it was too dangerous, so he would spend several days at the airport. His son was not in school very much during these months since it was so dangerous, and later when he rode the bus to school he would hear machine gun fire and bombs going off. He and his family were also in extreme danger for helping the US military. He showed me his airport ID card, and said if the extremists had ever found that in his possession, they would have killed him on the spot. Three of his friends who ran the business with him were killed because of their associations with American military. Soon after he was able to escape with his family to Jordan where he lived with his brother. His brother may be able to immigrate here within the year. In Iraq, he had a nice house with a garden, two cars, computers, tv's, etc., but he said that he is happy to be here "starting from zero" so that his son and wife can be safe and his son can have a better life. In Jordan he was able to work in a multi-national business, so he seems to be very skilled.

Again, this family, like our family, was so gracious and insisted that I stay to eat even though they had already eaten dinner. And when I say insisted, I mean insisted....I think he actually would have been mad had I left, so I stayed but then I insisted they eat with me. So she served up beef kebab, something like a little egg roll, some flat bread, salad and really great tea. I wasn't the least bit hungry but tasted a bit of all but the salad...it was pretty good. I figured if I didn't touch the salad they could put it back into their supplies! He said he was given $75 upon arrival, but he didn't know how long it was supposed to last him. I didn't have the heart to tell him how long things take to get going because just like Tika, this man wants a job TODAY!!! I am going to put out a broader email to hopefully get him some "payback" from patriotic Americans who feel like I do, that he helped our troops, and now we should help him!! Maybe some veteran will give him a job!

This family lives on 28th Street and Indian School. There are four other Iraqi families in the complex, one of whom is Christian. He asked me again if we'll help anyone or only the Nepalis. I told them a bit about the conditions that the A. family came out of and they were quite impressed with what the Achyara's have been through. Isn't that amazing, considering what they've lived through??? But they realized and we talked about how far "ahead" of the Nepalis the Iraqi's are, since at least these folks had so much technology, work experience, literacy. The wife even drove, which surprised me, given all we heard on the news about the strict rules there in Saddam's day. Their last name is Hussein, but I get the idea that they are changing it, for obvious reasons! But that might change after Barack Hussein Obama is inaugurated....then it will have a better connotation, maybe. I saw a news piece not long ago that Iraqi school children in Phoenix are the target of bullying more than other ethnic groups, especially in areas with higher numbers of military families. So I would change my name too, if it were Hussein.

So what an adventure this all is.....fascinating how God is bringing the world to our very doorstep. Carla

2008-12-22T09:39:00.003-07:00

I missed posting a few days so we will need to double up on some posts:

Carla wrote:

I followed up on contact I made earlier this week at the LSS office....with Mr. Rahmad who just last week moved to the US with his wife and son. I visited their apartment to get an idea of what they need....they live on 28th Street just south of Indian School. There are four other Iraqi families there. Mr. Rahmad is Muslim but one of their friends said he is Christian. I took them so basic necessities and a few games for his son. They have a nice dining table and two nice oak chairs, and a very large comfy chair and ottoman in the living room. I think they need a bed, but I am not sure. A roll away bed would be perfect as they live in a one bedroom so that way their son would be able to put his bed away out of the living room. I took them a folding camp chair so that at least they could all three sit at the table for meals. They were so gracious and so extremely appreciative. I intentionally took along the two boys I babysit, to broaden their world views. The 8 year old was a little scared of them when he realized they were from the war zone, thinking they were the enemy in Iraq, so it was good for him to get a better understanding of the situation and to see the friendly smiles and gracious attitudes towards us. . Kathy, just let me know what you have leads on.....I"d like to know how big the stuff is as their place is very small. The end tables and lamps would be a sure bet. I have time this weekend to make a trip and can fit a lot in my van. Anyone have plans with the Achyara family this weekend? I'd like to do something with them but don't want to interfere with anyone else's plans......Movie review: we saw "Bolt" today......very funny, good family movie!Carla

Mike wrote:

I spend Saturday with the Acharya family. Tika showed me the materials he had from the Sheraton Crescent. I decided to bring everyone to my house so Tika could complete the online application. The rest of the family watched "Polar Express" while Tika completed the application with some help from me and Uma. Uma is their family computer geek. Her English is also quite good. She acts as translator in spots. It was challenging to complete a very long application. We tried to make the work experience fit. Tika was part of a team of four that distributed food and other items to about 700 people. We made some attempt to describe distribution of bamboo, thatch roofs, and food in HR terms with strong skill terms like "supervise, organize, submit reports, etc." There was also a quiz of 54 questions asking about work ethic, honesty, punctuality, and response to specific scenarios.

Next I decided to give them more driving experience. We all piled into my truck and went to CCOJ. Tika's driving improved from last time. We decided to give Kamala a try. It was very funny. Since Purna was 17, she got a turn too. Purna was almost as good as Tika. When we were done, Kamala learned to say, "Today, I drove for the first time." I also prepped her for Sunday when I explained she would say, "Yesterday, I drove for the first time." She was able to tell this to Frankie on Sunday.

After driving, we went to a very busy Arrowhead Mall. Tika and I were walking in front of the rest of the family around the mall. He told me that one day he wants to take me to Nepal to show me around!

We then went back to my house. I invited them to stay for dinner. We played dominoes for a while. It seemed really good for Kamala. Uma, Perna, and Terra caught on very quickly. Tika was on the phone a lot all day. I understand why he might need unlimited minutes. We made them chicken enchiladas and a cottage cheese/jello salad. They ate a lot and had seconds on the salad.

The girls got on the computer together. They were checking email and sending instant messages to friends in Nepal even though it was very early in the morning. I asked how they got computer access in Nepal. They told me you could get 20 minutes for 30 rupees at an Internet Cafe.

By then it was almost 8:00 PM. We took three cars back to CCOJ to go through the lights. Then we crammed ten people into the bed of my pickup with lots of blankets. Tika, my daughter Naomi, and I were in the cab. At the end we all crowded into a photo with Santa. Kamala and the girls really like our young grandchildren! It was after 10 when I got them home. It was a great day!

2008-12-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday

2008-12-17T09:14:00.003-07:00

Carla writes:

Had some extended time with Ganga (case manager) today. She explained that she has requested grant money to cover expenses for the A. family and will know within a week if they are accepted. If they are accepted, their rent will be paid for three months, in full, and they will receive cash monthly for other expenses. Tika and Kamala will EACH receive $200 and each child will receive $40 per month. If they are not accepted to the grant program, they will get DES cash assistance of which nearly all will go to the rent, and they will have very little left over for non-food items. Instead of cash gifts, cash would best be directed to buying non-food items in the future such as soap, paper goods, hygiene items, etc.

We attempted once again to enroll Tara in school but she is short one shot, believe it or not. So I'll work around Elvern's schedule tomorrow (Thurs) and get the girls and one of the parents back down to the county to finish the shots. The school office is closed after Thursday until the morning of Jan. 5 when school resumes.

Kamala got a good report from the dentist, but Tika will need some fillings. Have to wait on pre-approval before those appointments can be made. The girls actually missed their optometrist appointment due to a miscommunication between the doctor's office and Ganga, so that will have to be rescheduled.

I met a family from Iraq, who have been here just 6 days. They escaped Iraq and lived in Jordan for three years. He seemed to have been a very accomplished businessman in Jordan, so I could sense a great deal of shock over leaving all of that and coming to a basically empty apartment, with no job, etc. He said three of his friends were killed before he left Iraq and they had a lot of sadness in their lives at that time. If there were any chairs, a tv or other living room furniture available, this family could use any available. He said they each have a bed, they have two chairs and a table. There are three of them in the family.

Tara learned a very important lesson today......do not, repeat DO NOT, open the door of the vehicle while we are going 35 mph. I guess she just wanted to see if it would open if she pulled the handle any other time besides when the vehicle is stopped. Guess I need to engage the child safety locks when Tara is in the car!!

Carla

From Helen:
Elvern is picking the family around 12:30 tomorrow. They will be going to the scheduled interview at the Sheraton. Elvern is intrigued with the HR director. She clearly stated that they do have not openings but still wants to interview them... Could it be that she has a plan? Does she just want the three for occasional banquet servers? After that the are going to the Marriott just a little further North to inquire/apply.

After that Elvern is taking Tika and Kumalo to the Phoenix Workforce Connection at 7th Street and Mountain View. Carla, this would be in our strange little neighborhood! We received some positive information about their services and negative information about their case load. We are going to be like secret shoppers of their services and my friend, the Phx One Stop Director, is anxious to help us through the system.
Pray and stay tuned for the report.
Helen and Elvern

2008-12-16T10:32:00.001-07:00

Carla writes about Monday night:

Last night the Achyara family attended our small group Bible study Christmas party. We had a nice meal together then played a game that was really fun and that they really got in to, especially the girls. Ultimately they didn't win the gift prize, but the winner of the prize graciously gave it to them anyway (a gift card to Starbucks).
Today took Tika, Kamala and Tara to the optometrist....all three need glasses which were ordered and will be available in three weeks. Tomorrow Uma and Purna will be examined.

Tomorrow Tika and Kamala go to the dentist; Tika has cold sensitive teeth. The girls will not go to the dentist until they are covered by AHCCCS which provides comprehensive covereage. If Tika and/or Kamala need any extensive dental work, we will need to know if the Refugee Medical Assistance Program will cover it as AHCCCS does not cover restorative work in adults, only extractions.

Also today Uma and Purna had evaluative testing at Cortez High School. I picked them up there afterwards due to the rain, and met their academic counselors and the school social worker. Cortez HS hosts 48 language groups! The girls will be in classes together; four ELL classes, PE, and math (with non-ELL kids). On Jan. 5th they go to school only to register, then begin in earnest on Jan. 6.

Tara was nearly derailed by being referred to Cholla Middle School, but long story short tomorrow she will be un-enrolled from Cholla and I will go with Ganga, Kamala, Tika and Tara back to Cactus Wren and meet with whomever we need to meet with to ensure she is enrolled in 6th grade there. She was in 6th grade in Nepal and is in NO way ready for middle school so that was a big and unnecessary detour to Cholla. Tika and Kamala learned today that they have the right to question decisions made by "authorities" (in this case likely just the secretary at the front desk at Cactus Wren), and they learned that their opinion carries a lot of weight in the educational process. They did not want Tara to go to Cholla, but did not know they could question the decision either. Tara did not want to go to Cholla either! I haven't mentioned the option of Tara having a bike.....is that coming into reality or something we need to work on? Tara will need school uniforms, available at Target, Savers, Sears. Blue pants/shorts/skirts and white or blue or dark green shirts. Please let me know directly if anyone is interested in providing these so we can avoid duplicating. They have six backpacks and a year's worth of notebook paper, a calculator, plenty of pens/pencils, glue, folders, dictionaries.....they are set for now.

Tomorrow am picking Ganga up first then the family, then we'll go to Cactus Wren, then to their dental app'ts. Frankie emailed that she can take them later to the optometrist, which is at 6701 N. 19th Ave, just a bit south of Glendale on the east side of 19th Ave. It's a one story building, Frankie.....Tika will recognize it. I am hopeful the appointments will not overlap. Tika is careful to bring the RMAP cards but make sure he has them.

All but Purna had positive TB skin tests, which means they had contact with someone who had TB, which is very common in countries and living conditions like theirs in Nepal. They will all need to take medication for several months. They all had chest x-rays to clear them regarding actually having TB....they just had contact with someone else who had it.

I asked today if they wanted any help cleaning the bathrooms....Tika and Kamala said no. Tika said Kamala is "excellent" at cleaning.....a very nice compliment. Tika said that Sunday they will walk to church; he said they miss walking.

Take care, all.

2008-12-15T09:25:00.003-07:00

Frankie writes about Saturday:

We picked up the Family Sat. morning . They had fun helping us with our tree. We made cookies and snicker doodles. They took home a container of them. Emery took them to Frys to shop for groceries, then took them home.

PS: We were irrigating that morning and it was time to turn it off so I took off my shoes and waded out in the water. I got to the valve to turn it off and looked back. Kamala had done the same as I did, but she was saying, "Cold!, Cold!" When I was finished I put my arms around her, and we walked out together. What fun! I forgot to say we had lunch also.

2008-12-14T23:24:00.002-07:00

Saturday night Billy and I took the bus to the family's apartment, gathered them and four neighbors up, and took the bus back to our house. We had a blessing in that the fare box on the bus was broken, so we didn't have to pay! The little five year old neighbor, Robin, was so excited to go on the bus ...it was his first time and his eyes were so big! They are all so used to walking it was not a big deal to walk from the bus stop to our house. Then we had taco soup, queso and chips (which they all loved), played Wii (which was very hard but they loved it), roasted marshmallows, tried s'mores (which were just too sweet) and best of all, played UNO. They LOVED Uno. Card games are a big part of their culture and they caught on very fast and have quite a flare for throwing cards on the table. Robin even caught on right away and was quite a good player. I gave them the Uno cards as they left, then later realized the cards weren't mine, but were a little boy's I babysit. oops. Looks like I'll be runninng to Target today. I'll send pictures out when I get a chance. They went nuts over my camera........since you can immediately see the picture you just took....it was hilarous. Sunday night, Uma and Tara went with the junior high group on the Christmas lights tour and caroling. They seemed to enjoy it and actually did try very hard to sing along with the carols. Tika did not feel well Sunday, but by Sunday night looked and felt a lot better. Make a note for the next refugee family to make sure they have hot packs and Tylenol available after those immunizations.....and not much to do the next day in case they feel sick.

Carla

2008-12-13T21:22:00.002-07:00

Carla writes about Friday:

What a long afternoon....picked up the family at 12:30, 5.5 hours and lots of immunizations later, dropped them off, with instructions for warm compresses for their sore arms from all the shots. All five had TB test started, and then the girls had to have 5 shots in their arms. Tika and Kamala had two shots. They squirmed a bit and yelped but no tears. All had chest x-rays and lots of blood drawn, so add another poke to the count! The pediatrician spoke Hindi, so they conducted the girls' screening in Hindi. The girls understand Hindi to a degree. The girls will have to have more shots in 2 and 6 months for the series, but for now they are good to go. On Monday a health worker will come by their house to check their TB tests and complete the paperwork. He knows that they are going to school to enroll on Monday so he'll work out the time around that.

The clinic is a cross section of the globe. All refugees have to have these screenings. We sat by a family from Thailand, and I taught our girls and their boys how to play tic-tac-toe. Then we had the world's first ever Nepal vs. Thailand International TTT competition, with Nepal the victor in the end! Someone at TBC had given me an Operation Christmas Child shoebox for a 7-10 year old boy, but had given me the box a week late with instructions to find a boy for it. So it absolutely met the need as the little Thai boys were having to wait so long and I was able to give them a gift wrapped box full of surprises. They were so happy!! It also had a gospel booklet in it, so who knows how that might plant a seed.

Our girls passed the time giggling and playing another paper game, and picking on Tara. She gets picked on a bit, mostly from Purna apparently. They had a scratch fight sometime in the last week. Being the youngest of three sisters in my family, I empathize with Tara.

I talked with Tika again about the phone card/cell phone issue. He is really desiring to call his parents in Nepal, which is so understandable. He has $50 so I told him if he wants to buy a phone card he can use my house phone tomorrow to call his parents. I don't have long distance on my house phone and feel that it's good for him to pay for the call. He agreed that he would like to do this. They need to gain a better understanding of contracts and unscrupulous cell phone sales people before they head down that path.

See you all Sunday........

2008-12-10T22:02:00.004-07:00

From Carla:

Stopped by around noon to confirm a few task appointments. Found Uma and Tika just leaving to walk to Cholla library to look for Uma's lost library card. Uma was and is very upset that she lost her card. They had already backtracked by foot most of the way and couldn't find it, so I drove the three girls and a friend to the library and we cancelled her card so that no one else could use it. In order to get another card Tika has to take her with his passport ID and $2.

Late this afternoon we returned to pick Tika up so that Billy could teach him how to use lawn equipment. He mowed and mowed and mowed.....and mowed and mowed and mowed....and we don't have that big of a yard, but he didn't want to stop even after re-mowing the same grass. I had to actually grab the mower and stop him to explain that if we wanted to get the front yard done, he had to stop mowing the back yard! Then he mowed and mowed and mowed the front yard, which is just dormant bermuda grass. At least the back yard was lush winter grass, but this was just mowing the same dead grass over and over......it was so funny. I guess he was practicing which was perfectly fine with me. He used the weed-eater/trimmer a little bit and was very thorough, and then used big pruning shears to trim back the rose bushes. I explained a few times how big hotels (like the Sheraton that Mike had taken him to) have groundskeepers, and that if he knows how to use these tools it might help him get a job. Billy and I tried to keep busy working alongside him without overtly keeping an eye on him, but I wanted to be careful that he was safely learning.

Once back at their apartment, Kamala was at language class and Tika said he didn't want to go since we had just got back and it had already started. He said he was frustrated about getting a cell phone. I was very confused because Mike had already added minutes to the go-phone. Tika said he has $50 cash and wants to buy a cell phone that can call Nepal. Mike had explained to him earlier that the contracts are very expensive and are not a good idea, but apparently Tika needs some more explanation along those lines. Tika was not happy with the go-phone because it can't be used to call Nepal, so I clearly explained that calling NEpal is a luxury that he can't afford now and likely won't be able to afford later. I explained the difference between necessities and luxuries, used examples and reminded him that he will have to pay rent very soon and will have bills to pay. I emphasized that the go-phone is for calling Ganga, for job hunting and applying, and for calling his TBC team members....necessities only. The girls and I reminded him that Helen had taken them to the PO and that it is much cheaper to write letters, or he can email. I also reminded him that he will need money for the bus to get to work and back and that is going to be a lot of money over time. He looked very dejected after this conversation, but it could be he was just tired since he'd been on the go all day and hadn't even had dinner yet. Between Tara's money, Purna's American Express gift card and his cash, they have $90. I know the girls don't want to part with their money, but eventually they will all have to pitch in in order to make ends meet.

Ganga said the girls will start attending school this Monday. I'm pretty sure it won't be a full week of school and the high schoolers will be on a different schedule for final exams so it will be an awkward time to start but at least they'll have somewhere to go!

Kamala attended a training class for child care providers and found it to be more frustrating and confusing than helpful. Her friend Bhula interpreted for her and also wants to work in child care and also found it very frustrating and confusing. They are going to talk with the job support staff at LSS to know what to do next.

Th-th-th-th-thats' all for now!
Carla

From Mike Darus:

Elvern asked me to check on Tika's phone. I went over today and put $25.00 on it. I also let Tika use my phone to call his friend in Florida -- eight minutes I never would have used on my own. Tika showed me his certificates. He also showed me his notes from his class in Nepal about the Hospitality Industry. His notes described everything from the different types of hotels, the names for sizes of beds, the organizational structure of the staff of a resort hotel... I was impressed by how hard the teachers tried to get him prepared for employment in the U.S. So we (Tika, Kamala, and Tera) took a field trip.

Our first stop was the Sheraton Crescent. We walked confidently through the conference center and into the lobby. I was hoping we could see a variety of employees in different work situations. However, we mostly saw subcontractors taking care of the landscape or doing construction. The concierge explained that human resources was at the rear of the hotel at the loading dock. I asked to talk to human resources. To my surprise, we were invited in without an appointment. She was busy but encouraging. I explained that Tika was a refugee. She asked if he had hotel experience. I offered the course. She suggested we call back to set an appointment late next week. Very exciting? A larger resort hotel like the Sheraton could have a good variety of entry level positions. It was clear that Tika's opportunities will parallel his language skills. We toured past some of the business traveler hotels.

We discovered that Marriott does all its hiring on line. So I decided to take Tika, Kamala, and Tera to my house to do some web browsing. We printed out some job descriptions for Marriott and the Sheraton. Then I had an idea. I knew how to get Tika safely behind the wheel to practice his driving.

The four of us piled back into my truck to go to the Community Church of Joy. There, Tika was able to drive our electric golf cart. As I guessed, he had never done anything like that. Every aspect was a new skill. I insisted that he use only his right foot for accelerator and brake. Just like any beginner he sometimes forgot to brake. One of the harder skills was learning to drive straight without over correcting each way. It was also important to learn to push the accelerator softly to go slow. Poor Tera was yelling "Stop!" and "Slower!" and "Turn!" No one fell out. We hit nothing. Tika is best at turning left so NASCAR may be in his future. It was a great day. I got them back home by 4:30 for Carla and Billie's lawn care lesson.

2008-12-09T20:45:00.002-07:00

From: Kathleen Petty

Team: I picked up Kamala and Bula (spelling?) at 7:45am to take them to LSS for a child care training class. There were a dozen or more children waiting for a school bus. I wonder if Tara can take a bus?? It was so cute, about 7:48 Tika came down to see if the "girls" got picked up. He looked like a regular American with a coffee mug in hand, sweat pants and slippers. Kamala looked so nice in a black pant suit, very American, I told her.
The girls talked in Nepali but Bula speaks very good English. She taught kinder garden. She saw south mountain and said she missed the mountains of Nepal so much.
The traffic, rush hour, was terrible and I think they were nervous we were going to be late. I assured them we had plenty of time. We got to the office and around 8:40 am the waiting room was packed. There were probably 8-10 people in the class. I waited until they went back with the instructor and then I left.
After LSS I stopped by Trinity and spoke with Mark G about the Christmas gift program for the refugees. He will discuss at the staff meeting today and let me know if it is approved or not. Most likely it would not be called an angel tree, maybe an ornament tree. We would have to carry the tree over to the education center between services so will probably use a small tree that Trinity has. We also discussed the possibility of Trinity co-sponsoring another refugee family after the 1st of the year. He will bring this up in staff today as well.
On my way home I made a turn at Target and purchased the rice cooker. It was $29.99 and will cook anywhere from 4 to 16 cups of rice. I don't think they will have a problem with this one being too small.
I'll let you know more information as soon as Mark G. calls me.
Kathy.

2008-12-08T16:49:00.002-07:00

Monday December 8, 2008. Dateline north Phoenix residence of the Bootsma's.

I picked up Tika at 1:00 PM. We went to visit some C-stores that I had been told were employment possibilities. None of them worked out and I got the impression that they would not be good places to be employed. It would be OK if you were an owner. The "girls" all have something going for Tuesday and Tika is free, so I am taking him to The Cresent Hotel in the afternoon to make an application just for practice. I read the note about LSS job placement services and the need to keep on their radar screen, so I will tell him that tomorrow.

Tika wanted to purchase a cell phone, so we stopped at Wireless Toyz and checked out various plans. Cricket is the best plan for him as he doesn't have a credit record. However, he had some incomplete information from other people and when he found out the amount of money he had to put up front he was not as interested. He thought it would just be the monthly charge and had not counted on the fact that he would have to purchase a phone.

I know they had some kind of a phone when they first arrived, could minutes be added to that?

Elvern

2008-12-03T17:29:00.001-07:00

Wednesday

2008-12-02T14:24:00.002-07:00

Picked up Tika and girls for trip to Cholla branch library. Kamala wanted to stay at home. Before we left the apartment Tika told me the vacuum was not working again. I got it out, and it started right up. Uma said I am magic! The look on Tika's and Kamala's face was so funny. We used it a while to see if the problem would show itself, but it worked like a charm. I then showed them the upholstery brush and showed them how to use the hose. Much to my surprise, but no surprise to whomever hauled that couch in, it's a sleeper sofa! Wow. That thing is huge. So I surprised them with pullling a big bed out of their couch!! It was like magic again!! They thought it was very funny!

Tika has an ID card issued by LSS (I think) but with "State of Arizona" on it. I thought this would be sufficient ID since "government issued ID" is one of the acceptable forms of ID for a library card. Apparently the library system is on "level orange alert" from Homeland Security because it took a bit for the librarian to be convinced this ID was okay. He said it's easy to fake ID's in order to get library cards. I had no idea library cards were in such high demand. Anyway, they were all issued library cards, and we did a brief tour of the library and figured out how to reserve time on the computers on the second floor. Since I'd never done this, it was a learning experience for all of us. Tika signed on to his yahoo mail account and emailed two of his friends with help from the girls. He apparently had never emailed anyone so I don't have any idea when/how he got his email address. I don't know how the girls knew how to use it as they said they didn't have computers at school in Nepal. Tika, Uma and Purna all had a beginner's understanding of the keyboard and typing, so that's positive! Uma and Purna already knew how to check out books, but I insisted that Tara and Tika also learn (the older girls were ready to go, in that funny teenage way). So they scanned the books out and off we went. (I also made absolutely sure they understood that they will be fined if the books are overdue). We met up with my son, Billy, at Chik-fil-A in Metrocenter and introduced them to Hindu-friendly fast food. Then we walked the mall and talked a bit about cost, sales, etc. Then the highlight was meeting the mall Santa Claus, and trying to explain a 1700 year old story in light of a kind of strange mall Santa Claus.

We then drove to Piestewa Peak and to some funky hill top apartments off of Northern and 12th street. The most amazing 360 degree view ....they really enjoyed it. We could see that Chase "the ball" Field had the roof open, they spotted the Sheraton Hotel at Dunlap and I-17, and saw planes coming and going. We could even see the Phx First Assembly off of Cave Creek. This is the weirdest piece of property in central Phoenix but I like the view.

Throughout the day we had a lot of conversation and vocabulary practice. I also learned that they had waited 8 months for their visas and had ONE DAY notice to pack and leave. Tika said the girls cried all night when they received notice. They had so much to do in one day...he said it was very difficult. They gave away most of their belongings, had to get the girls' school certificates and many, many other tasks. I asked if this was customary to get only a day notice and they said yes. I asked how they chose Phoenix and Uma said they did not choose. Tika said no one gets to choose where they go. Amazing.

A few details: they have not as yet received their cash assistance which will help with nonfood purchases, but I don't know if they have to pay rent out of that. They receive $950-ish/month on their food card. They are excited to buy goat meat. Does anyone know if Lee Lee's accepts food debit cards?

Oh yes, another bit of progress........when I arrived they were NOT watching the Nepali dvds but were watching a dvd on mountain gorillas, in ENGLISH!

Any questions or concerns just give me a call....
Carla

2008-12-01T10:10:00.006-07:00

Frankie and Emery picked the family up sun. at 3 and took them to our house for dinner and after dinner we took them to Glendale to see the lights ,they seemed to enjoy it ,after the lights we brought them back for dessert ,took them home around 8 pm we picked them up on sun. morning and brought them to church .they even stayed for Sunday school.
Frankie

Tika and Kamala are upset with the quality of the produce, as Elvern mentioned, and were disappointed with the shelf life. Kamala showed me brown grapes and droopy green ?? I don't even know what it was! Whomever takes them shopping next should talk to them about taking small amounts, or only what they'll eat in a day or two of fresh produce. They can cut back on the size of the prepackaged grapes just by taking some out of the bag. I think their fridge is very humid right now because the apartment is, so the herbs and grapes were spoiling quickly. Tika and Kamala thought it wasn't cold enough but I checked everything and all the contents are cold. They could be introduced to Sprouts, as Carol suggested, to get better produce. There is one on Northern and 19th Ave. I explained that "fresh produce" isn't really all that fresh since it travels a long way to Fry's. Tika seemed to understand.

Has anyone ever used those "green bags" that supposedly keep produce longer? They'd be worth the money if they work.

Please add to the potential tasks that I will take them to the library for library cards now that they have proof of residency. The older girls and their friends routinely walk to the Cholla branch for books and DVDs. Can you imagine an American kid walking from 35th/Dunlap to the Cholla branch on the other side of Metrocenter?

Tika has significant leadership skills, and could be a great asset to reaching the larger Nepali community for Christ. We can pray for the Truth to become real to him and to his family and then to the many friends and neighbors they have!

Carla

From: carla truman [mailto:king_believer@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 10:00 PMTo: Colsonlangley@cox.net; ebfab@cox.net; Elvernh@aol.com; Mark Giebink; janemoore@gmail.com; keithn@winvnet.com; kpetty11@yahoo.com; lilanna@juno.com; Mike Darus; mikerab@cox.netSubject: MONDAY

Picked up Tika and girls for trip to Cholla branch library. Kamala wanted to stay at home. Before we left the apartment Tika told me the vacuum was not working again. I got it out, and it started right up. Uma said I am magic! The look on Tika's and Kamala's face was so funny. We used it a while to see if the problem would show itself, but it worked like a charm. I then showed them the upholstery brush and showed them how to use the hose. Much to my surprise, but no surprise to whomever hauled that couch in, it's a sleeper sofa! Wow. That thing is huge. So I surprised them with pullling a big bed out of their couch!! It was like magic again!! They thought it was very funny!

2008-11-28T08:39:00.002-07:00

Black Friday

Carla and I helped the family do laundry. They apparently, had never used a machine for laundry before. I am not sure how they did laundry before they were deported from Bhutan. Kamala was surprised at how the machine worked and Tika was curious as to how it worked. The laundry room is very dirty and not kept up. The drywall has holes in it. We discussed the possibility of taking them to a regular coin laundry next time. They could see machines that would wash bigger items such as their comforters and see what a nice clean laundry is like. We were not sure if they will continue to use the laundry machines. One other family, who some of us have met, has been there two months and hasn't yet used the laundry. We had some good laughs about Tara's clothing as they had a lot of stains on them, mostly food. Tika said that Tara is a dirty girl.

Tika showed us a three ring binder with a lot of certificates in it. There were certificates for all the family members showing their achievements in schooling. Tika had several certificates from trade schools. He had a plumbing certificate and a house keeping certificate. Carla learned that he had traveled to other countries selling goods from Bhutan. He speaks "Hindi" which he said is the language of India. After I had that information, I took him to meet some people I know who are from India and have convenience markets. They had a good time talking and reminiscing. They gave him some phone numbers to contact for jobs. Later in the day I spoke with the men from India again and they said he will "get a job no problem". I hope he is right. He said that Tika is bright, personable and aggressive which they like. I told Tika to keep his eyes open to see what is good and what is bad as all people are not as friendly and honest as they appear to be. He said yes yes same same as in Bhutan and The camp.

Tika asked about learning to ride the bus. He is very anxious to be able to get around. He would like to visit more of the people I introduced him to and see more of their markets. We need to have someone take them on the bus next week. We purchased a map of the Phoenix area so he could study it.

He showed me his food stamp card. They had walked to Frys on Wednesday, I think. He asked if someone could go with them a time or two as they do not know what is "good to buy and what is not god to buy." They had some apples and tangerines, which he did not like. The apples were too hard to suit him and he thought the tangerines were damaged. I liked both but I guess tastes are different as well.
ELvern

Thanks to Mike for moving all activities to the calendar on the right side of his blog page. Let's all help him by providing him with the date, time, and responsible party and activity. This also helps the committee member of the day to inform the family about about upcoming activity for the next day.and even write it on their calendar. It is is also an important tool for the committee to use as a reflection/evaluation piece.
November 28 Friday 11:00 a.m. Carla and Elvern machine laundry
November 29 Saturday ??? p.m. Emory and Frankie Chicken dinner at their home
November 30 Sunday ???? ???? TBC worship service

One of my goals for today is to create a list of activities for the family that they should experience in December. As Kathy indicated in an email we need to review and focus on the extended learning activities in the LSS booklet prior to our meeting on Sunday.

We have so much to be thankful for this season. God has given each of us an eye-opening experience to appreciate his gifts to us. Elvern and I chose to participate in the refugee resettlement team to divert our energies and focus from our son Larry to something positive. Larry is seriously mentally ill and medicates himself with crystal meth. God is good all the time and we can personally witness to His blessing!
Have a great weekend.
Helen

2008-11-27T22:40:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving

Hi all,

Our time with the family yesterday was wonderful. We shared with them the story of the first Thanksgiving and why we celebrate it. Lest they think that we eat like pigs all the time I also tried to explain that we only make this much food once a year!!! They ate some of almost every single dish I had made and plates were all clean (“clean plate club”) when the meal was over. I was amazed – so many new foods and they liked everything, and of course were very grateful. After dinner we walked to the park across the street from my house and the girls hit a racquet ball around for a few minutes until it got too dark to see it any longer. We’ll DEFINITELY have to do that again – they loved it. Then we came home and had pie. Either they didn’t care for pie or they were just too full to eat it but those plates weren’t clean like the dinner plates were! No problem though! I took some pictures but haven’t had time to download them yet. It was a really precious time. Tom played his guitar for them and they had never heard of Jingle Bells!! He seemed quite surprised by that!!!

According to what Tika told me yesterday, the family is definitely planning to attend the 9 am service on Sunday. So I HOPE that a couple minutes can be inserted into the schedule to introduce them.

Sorry this is a day late. The last few days have been challenging. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my son Jonathan, age 26. I think we are just learning that he is mentally ill. If it isn’t that, then pray that it gets figured out. He is in St. Luke’s psych ward right now. Please pray that he will be accurately diagnosed and that a proper treatment plan will be formulated and followed. Thank you.

Carol

2008-11-26T11:02:00.003-07:00

Day Before Thanksgiving

Had a good day of skill building in light of moving the family towards independence. Brought Tika the Az. Republic which he devoured page by page while the girls and I cleaned the bathrooms. Typical! Actually, it was a good morning and it was very encouraging to see Tika really putting effort into the paper. The 3 girls were very industrious in cleaning. It was a timely activity. They had not yet used the shower spray function so were quite surprised when I used it to rinse down the shower. Their tub doesn't have a plug so I"m guessing they were using a lot of running water with their bathing. They were intrigued with feeling how the shower sprayed and seemed to think it would be too hot. They appear unaccustomed to hot water, as they wash their dishes with cold water also. Kamala jumped into cleaning when we moved into cleaning her bathroom, and again they were very energetic about it once they got direction. I had them gather up some of the dirty clothes and such and explained what the clothes hamper was for. Funny moment in married lives, as Kamala had to pick up after Tika and kind of "tsk-tsked" over his clothes. Some things span cultures, I guess. There were a lot of mini-lessons within the lesson of cleaning a bathroom, and they did well. We also checked on their grocery stock....they are out of food except rice and the canned/boxed goods that they don't eat as yet. I made a grocery list, but Tika said it was not necessary to go shopping since their food card would be available soon. I respect that immensely. When I arrived at 10 am they were just sitting down to a meal of about a cup of rice each and a few ounces of steamed veggies, with a spicy broth. They graciously served me a bowl and gave me a spoon, since they eat with their fingers. I tried to graciously refuse but that didn't work. They still have bread and crackers as well. They hadn't opened up the apple juice that was in the fridge from last week, so we opened that and they all had a taste. I also checked all the preserves and such from Frankie just to make sure that they'd be refrigerated once opened, and the store- bought sauces. Did find one item that needed to go into the fridge. They popped open a jar of Frankie's peppers. I think they'll like them. They didn't know how to open some of the containers that have seals under the lids or around the lids, so we opened up those and put them in the fridge. They asked about the dishwasher but we didn't do much with it since dishwasher soap is a luxury and they wash each dish as soon as they are through eating. Health alert.....if you have concern over catching any contagions, which they'll be exposed to in great amounts once they start school, be very careful about eating/drinking. I let the water run for several minutes on full hot and couldn't get anything but lukewarm water. They use cold to quickly wash off each dish then use a used towel to dry then put them back in the cabinet, still wet. The dishwasher could be a great help in this area eventually but they use the same few dishes over and over. I also emphasized a LOT about hand-washing and showed them a full 20 second scrub. They hadn't made much of a dent in the handsoap, and had run out of TP but didn't know how to replace the roll or even where it was in the closet.

Tika and Kamala had an appointment at noon with the case manager so I took the girls and got extra copies of their house key made for them. We went by Cortez and I picked up two student handbooks which also contain a full academic "day timer" so that was cool. Per the resettlement handbook, the kids needed winter clothes and appropriate school clothes so we made a trip to Payless and Target. I will not need to be reimbursed. They might have enough clothes to go 4 days without wearing the same thing. They have adequate shoes and socks as well. We talked about finding clearance marked items to save money.

From my stock of used flash cards and educational resources, they now have two boxes of basic word flash cards, one pack of multiplication flash cards, a dry-erase kit with handwriting/manuscript and flash cards for money. Tika seems like a good teacher toward Kamala. These would be good resources to use if you have time just to hang out with them or to take the girls out for a soda or such. Kamala kind of gets run over by the girls doing the cards first, so needs some extra encouragement. A friend of theirs walked them to the library and they have a table full of books and dvd's.

Helen, Tika made a point of telling me he was going to check the mail, and sure enough came back with a notice of some importance! Good job!

RE: the envelope with money and receipts. I asked Tika if he had it and that I needed it, he said yes but didn't go get it. Their baggie that started out with a few dollars in quarters has lots more coinage so he's gotten change at some point for something.

Well, this was a very detailed email so hope you found it interesting. I hope everyone understands our shopping trip, with the weather turning and all. Carol, they are looking forward to your dinner tomorrow and to Saturday with Frankie and Emery.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Carla

Team:
This is to remind you that we will be meeting on Sunday Nov. 30 at 5:00 pm at Trinity in room 203. This will be a brief meeting 15 to 20 minutes.
There is not a formal agenda for this meeting. The purpose is to check in and let each other know how the mentoring is progressing with our family. What areas are lacking, what needs to be reinforced, how can self-sufficiency be encouraged? What can be planned for the next week or next 2 weeks?
Please have these in mind when you come.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
Kathy

2008-11-25T11:12:00.003-07:00

New Family, Laundry Day

Trinity Team,
Yesterday we took Tara and Tika on a walk to show them where our house was and how to walk to Cactus Wren. At Cactus Wren we showed them the office where the Principal and Nurse was, showed them where the cafeteria were the playground was. I have a suggestion that I would like to pose to the team. Would it be possible to buy a bike/helmet/bike lock for Tara with the $485? A lot of kids from the apartment complex where they live ride bikes to school. I asked Tara and she said she knew how to ride a bike. If we can't buy one maybe we could ask around and see if anyone has a spare bike they can give? I think a bike would be great for Tara since she has to be at school 20 minutes earlier than her sisters. It would also allow her to ride bikes with the other kids from the apartments to school?

We can discuss this further at our meeting on Nov 30th.

Amy

We have a nearly new girl's bike helmet and a bike lock. She does know how to ride and to use hand brakes....one of the girls in the complex lets the girls take turns and they all showed me their skills. I'm sure she'd need some safety lessons, but great idea, Amy.
And congratulations to Nick for being chosen as outstanding performance artist of the month!! (I can't remember what it was actually titled, but congratulations!)

Carla

I have actually had an offer of two bikes – one guy’s & one girl’s. I believe they both may need some work on tires however.
The offer came from one of the gals in our singles class – Patty Watts. She lives in an apartment on 28th Drive between Cactus & Peoria I believe. Not too far.
Carol

2008-11-24T10:54:00.001-07:00

Trip to the Post Office

We arrived about 10:00 and we were invited to watch the videos which they love. They love the music! I told the girls that I thought the sensual video was too sexy and I really did not like it much! In my mind it would be a good DVD to lose!

Elvern and Tika practiced using the iron using the distilled water and the steam feature. He was very committed to professional standards in ironing both his slacks and dress shirt.

They seemed interested in the fact that Carol teaches college students and I have taught high school students for many years. We discussed school schedule - start time end time, periods per day, available courses, ESL classes, girls wear jeans and t shirts. This was a concern for mom since they had worn skirts in Nepal. Amy, when we drove on Dunlap past the high school, they indicated that they are so anxious to learn more about Cortez high school. Perhaps a student handbook, yearbook or even textbooks would satisfy their curiosity

Then we headed for the post office which I was dreading since I remembered how I felt 25 years ago waiting in line at the Northern and I 17 post office. The line was just as long as it was 25 years ago! We picked up an address card which will be placed in the apartment complex lobby mailbox this afternoon at 4:00 when the key is available, bought stamps with our debit card from the machine, examined mailing resources available to purchase and learned that it will take three stamps to send mail to family in Nepal. They have telephone numbers but do not have mailing addresses for their family in NH, Ill or WA.

Using car doors, window buttons and following the GPS all made the trip to the post office more exciting. I carry chewing gum in my car so they each tried it. We did not discuss chewing quietly with our mouths closed!

I learned that Komula married Tika when she was 11 and he was 18 years old. I understand that they lived with his parents for some time. I told the girls that most American girls wait to marry until 20 - 30 years. I'm not sure how to interpret their giggle.

Take care
Helen and Elvern

Tika said he is very interested in learning about Christianity