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 Refugee Ministry Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | |
 Refugees in Middle TennesseeImagine….you are in a strange country, thousands of miles from your homeland. You cannot communicate because you cannot speak the language. You are there because you were driven from your home, by war and persecution. Your parents and other family members were killed, as you fled on foot, with little more than the clothes on your back. You have nowhere to live, nothing to eat, no water to drink, no transportation, and nowhere to go. You are a refugee. ref~u~gee n-somebody who is seeking or taking refuge, especially from war or persecution, by going to a foreign country. America is home to hundreds of thousands of African refugees, displaced by war and unrest in places like Rwanda, Somalia, and Sudan. They have gone to refugee camps in Tanzania or Kenya, or any number of places, fleeing decades of massacres, slavery, and exploitation practices. Conditions so poor that the United Nations has intervened on their behalf and asked the U.S. to receive some of them. Thousands of these refugees have been relocated by the U.S. Dept. of State, to Nashville TN, where our African Leadership home office is located.  One of these refugees was William Mwizerwa. William is now the Director of Refugee Ministries for African Leadership. William’s mother, father, and siblings were killed in Rwanda. William, his wife, and their children lost everything. He arrived in the U.S. May 1998, and began the long process of learning English, citizenship application, and cultural assimilation. His wife Ebralie and 5 children arrived in 2000. Through his struggle as a refugee, William began caring for fellow refugees, until it became his full time ministry.  His days and evenings are now spent providing cultural orientation and assistance for these young men and women, most of whom are Christians. Those who are not, find that the people who surround them and care for them are the Body of Christ, meeting physical needs and sharing the Gospel. These African refugees are truly strangers in a strange land. They depend on William for language interpretation during legal proceedings and interviews. They work hard to learn to speak English, and to find jobs and homes. And they hope to find new friends, who will love them and care about them, restoring their human dignity, modeling Christ’s Gospel in the midst of America’s modernistic society. These new friends can be so very comforting to the refugee who has no one to talk with, to be with, or to teach them about this strange new place. It is an extraordinary opportunity to respond to the call of the words of Jesus….”I was a stranger and you invited me in”. Jesus refers to these relationships in Matthew 25:34-36, when He says “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Visitation is a key aspect of William’s ministry in Nashville. And, while visiting the homes of refugee families, He often finds that relationships are strained because the family’s cultural and physical practices are so different due to the impact of a new environment and culture. So, William and his wife Ebralie organize couples retreats once or twice a year, to talk about the unique challenges facing refugee families, and to pray for God to strengthen their families and give them wisdom.  One of the biggest challenges facing refugees as they arrive and begin a new life in America is finding jobs. Often employment opportunities arise through business people networking within the Christian community. Or, members of congregations who know of African Leadership and their work with refugees, tell friends and send emails, hoping to match refugees with employers. Please pray for jobs for the displaced people of Africa who are in our community. There is such great need. If you know of opportunities, or wish to help, please contact William at: william@africanleadership.org.William’s many tasks include recruiting and organizing volunteers from all over Nashville. Volunteers provide training, transportation, and teaching classes such as ESL (English as Second Language) for refugees. These classes are so basic that no special training is required for the volunteer to teach them. Many are blessed in their volunteer work as they see grateful refugees grow in skills and confidence. William ministers not only to refugees in the U.S. but also in Africa. Because he speaks the language of the Burundians, he worked on the curriculum and cultural orientation of displaced Burundi refugees in Kibondo, Tanzania last summer 2007. William and African Leadership, together with World Relief, Catholic Charities, and Nations Ministry, are working to assist these Burundian refugees who began to arrive here in June 2007. As of September 1, 2007 there were 40 adult Burundian refugees in Nashville.  William also journeyed to Rumbek-Sudan, with some of the Sudanese Lost Boys refugees from Nashville. During their visit, William initiated a vegetable project, which will teach and assist people to grow their own gardens, supplying needed nutrition for returnee and displaced populations, who cannot afford to buy food, and live on wild seasonal vegetables, limited food aid, and milk. Rumbek Holy Catholic Church provides teaching of gardening skills, using seeds and tools provided by African Leadership, coordinated by William, and funded by gifts from our supporters. Additional seeds will be delivered on future visits as funds allow through donations. Many of these refugee friends who are former Lost Boys of Sudan have now graduated from high school and college. They are excited to be able to make a contribution to society and to the church, now that they have completed their education, and are nearing or completing citizenship. They have overcome the obstacles of language barriers, the grief and trauma of war, and many new cultural challenges, through the strengthening work of the Church. Their great achievements are a testimony to the support they received from their brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Nashville churches found African Leadership to be a lifeline in reaching out to these victims of war, starvation, and disease, by giving and volunteering through African Leadership.  The list is much too long to try and explain. William is, in short, father, to these African refugees, these Strangers. Think of all that a father does, and you begin to understand the demands facing William on any given day, sometimes multiplied by hundreds. Your prayer and support enables William to continue God’s vital work, providing African refugees in Middle Tennessee with hope and confidence, knowing that God is equipping them to be in His service, building His kingdom, day by day, one life at a time. Won’t you please pray about how you can partner with William in his tireless efforts, by supporting African Leadership’s Refugee Ministry, and serving these displaced brothers and sisters in Christ? Contact William at: william@africanleadership.org |
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| African Leadership • PO Box 682444 • Franklin, TN 37068-2444 • 615.595.8238 • info@africanleadership.org |