Each year some 2,000 new refugees arrive in Minnesota and another 2,000 refugees move to our state. View some of their stories and see how their abilities and experiences enrich our lives as we befriend and support their journey to become our new neighbors.
View some great stories from fantastic volunteers who have found the joy of helping to resettle refugees in the Twin Cities through World Relief Minnesota. We are grateful for many churches and individuals who are touching the lives of our new neighbors and who in turn are finding their lives enriched and transformed through this experience.
Come and support Refugee Life Ministries with a night of laughter!
April 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Calvary Church – White Bear
4604 Greenhaven Drive, White Bear, MN 55127
Tickets are $10 and can be ordered through the secure link below or by contacting
Jessica Wills
612-746-5649
Christianity Today posted a great article highlighting the new video that was launched by the Evangelical Immigration Table, highlighting the need for immigration reform. This is the article and video, posted below:
The past 12 months have been at times a blur of activity. In the last three months of 2012 alone, World Relief Minnesota resettled more than twice as many refugees as the same period in 2011. Throughout 2012, our church-partners, staff team and volunteers welcomed 401 refugees from 12 countries: Belarus, Bhutan, Burma, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Laos, Moldova, Russia, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine. In addition, in 2012 World Relief Minnesota provided legal services to over 800 immigrants, served another 100 families and individuals through our Refugee Cash Assistance program, placed several dozen refugees in jobs, and saw 100+ Karen and Bhutanese refugees engaged in a community gardens program, to name a few highlights.
Moreover, because of generous friends and supporters we received over $100,000 worth of in-kind donations of beds, linens, blankets, pots and pans, welcome kits and winter coats as well as special gifts which enabled us to complete two special matching gift challenges of $20,000 and $15,000 to grow our impact by serving more churches and refugee families.
As we look at 2013, please pray with us about several new developments including the opening of a new Somali Adult Literacy Training (SALT) site in Hopkins, MN; the expansion of RAJO (Somali for ‘hope’) church programs to youth and women; the expansion of immigration and legal services to refugees and asylum seekers; and four new Refugee Life Ministries (RLM) teams which are getting ready to welcome new refugee families over the next 2-3 months.
Thank you for being part of this amazing ministry which is helping to transform the lives of both those in our local churches as well as the vulnerable who come to Minnesota looking for hope, new beginnings and a future. May you experience all the blessings of God in this NEW YEAR!!!
Thank you.
Robert J Oehrig
Executive Director
Many times people ask us why so many refugees come to Minnesota. Scripture gives us insight that goes deeper than the human causes that are apparent to us.
Certainly refugees come to Minnesota looking for hope and safety, to escape horrific persecution, fear and isolation. But, as Scripture brings to light, the reason they come to our communities is not only about their appalling situations but also about God’s sovereign movement in history.
The apostle Paul declared the following: “From 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. God 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” (Acts 17:26-27).
This articulates that it is God who is bringing the nations to the U.S. and illuminates the “why” behind this unprecedented movement of people. It’s not just that our new neighbors might experience peace and security and find God, but it’s that they are also God’s agents to bring you and me a new understanding of God, to help revitalize our churches and to bring the gospel into the lives of those unreached or un-churched in our own communities, who need to hear of God’s love and provision through passionate new voices.
Read more of Bob Oehrig’s op-ed piece on God’s purposes in immigration, recently published in the Minnesota Christian Examiner.
Come and support Refugee Life Ministries with a night of laughter!
April 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Calvary Church – White Bear
4604 Greenhaven Drive, White Bear, MN 55127
Tickets are $10 and can be ordered through the secure link below
Order tickets here
We are happy to welcome two new Directors to the World Relief Minnesota Team as we respond to the growing opportunities to serve the burgeoning refugee population in Minnesota and empower churches to reach out and welcome them in the name of Jesus.
Laura Svoboda, Director of Arrival Services. Laura will oversee our Reception and Placement (R&P) and Re
fugee Cash Assistance (RCA) programs and staff — the largest component of World Relief Minnesota’s ministry to refugees. Laura will work closely with our Refugee Life Ministry program through which congregations adopt a refugee family and surround them with help and support during their first year in America.
Laura joins World Relief from a background in both Occupational Therapy and Social Work. She has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota; was a Resettlement Case Manager MSW Intern at World Relief in 2008-2009; has volunteered in areas as diverse as food shelf administration and distribution to advocating for children in child protection services as a Guardian ad Litem; and comes to us from CommonBond Communities as a Service Coordinator to three senior affordable housing communities. Laura and her family attend the Upper Room congregation in St. Louis Park. Laura will be training in with Sarah Hesch, our current Director of Arrival Services, who will transitioning out of World Relief in advance of a cross-country move.
Mark Hinton, Director of Community Programs. Mark will oversee our Community and Church-based programs and staff, including
our friendship ESL Somali Adult Literacy Training (SALT)program; our church-based Somali RAJO Hope Ministries outreach program; our Refugee Life Ministry program where churches “adopted” new refugee families during their initial entry into Minnesota; and our Refugee Community Gardening program which matches refugee farmers with churches, community groups and community gardening plots.
Mark joins the World Relief team following decades of faithful missionary and cross-cultural service in Kenya and Sudan. Among his 30 years of ministry experience, he was formerly Field Director for World Relief-South Sudan; Deputy Country Director for Samaritan’s Purse in North Sudan; Executive Director of SOMSERV which ministered to the immigrant Somali Community in Minnesota; and developed and launched a B.A. program at Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya. Mark and his wife attend Central Mission Church, in St. Paul.
Please join us in welcoming Laura Svoboda and Mark Hinton to the to the leadership team at World Relief Minnesota.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for blessing the ministry of World Relief Minnesota and for helping us to bless the lives of refugees this Christmas and throughout the year. In this season of all seasons, where we celebrate God’s best gift, Jesus Christ, we are keenly reminded that part of the Christmas narrative is the story of Jesus and his parents fleeing to Egypt as refugees.
Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Matthew 2:13
Like our Savior, today’s refugees have been persecuted. They have witnessed horrific tragedies. They have lived through unimaginable upheaval, turmoil and loss. Yet, God has brought them “out of Egypt” to now be our neighbors, colleagues, friends and recipients with us of all of God’s promises.
This December we are resettling another two dozen new refugee arrivals. Throughout the year, some 2,000 refugees annually come to Minnesota looking to you and me for hope. They come pursuing safety. They come escaping hurt, war and persecution. They are the ones whose lives and futures are being transformed because you have joined hands with us to make a difference. Thank you!
Your gifts are helping us this Christmas to:
- purchase, collect and distribute hundreds of items of warm winter clothing and boots
- run ESL and citizenship classes in eight metro locations
- provide training and coordination to 17 area churches as they serve newly arrived families
- organize several hundred volunteers who tutor, run sewing projects, befriend and encourage our refugee neighbors
Finally, please rejoice with us as we have received 85 mattresses, box springs and bed frames from Slumberland as a Christmas blessing to new arrivals. So, whether it is donations from individuals, churches or businesses; whether it is thousands of volunteer hours; whether is our partner churches setting up community-based programs…these are all acts of worship to Jesus, the one who
we worship, adore and serve this Christmas.
The vision of World Relief Minnesota is to see the lives of refugees and the church holistically transformed through loving service to one another. In pursuit of this vision, WRM manages programs and ministries which provide a path for the church to live out our God’s call to welcome the stranger, love our neighbor, and share the Gospel through loving relationship. We also partner with local refugee communities to ensure we humbly welcome individuals and families at our doorstep with dignity and respect. To be effective in these efforts, we need your support.
World Relief Minnesota will be participating in “Give to the Max Day”—a statewide Minnesota “give” together. On November 16, participants get 24 hours to donate to specific non-profits, with the goal of raising millions of dollars to ‘change our world’. The whole event is online, and totals will be displayed in real-time throughout the day.
What makes donating on Give to the Max Day any different than donating on any other day? Every hour a donator is randomly chosen to win the “Golden Ticket”: $1,000 to the non-profit of their choice. The last Golden Ticket given (11:59pm) will be $10,000! If supporters divide a single donation to give on every hour throughout the entire day, they have a chance to win up to $33,000 for World Relief Minnesota, for refugees and the church! Additionally, organizations which receive the most participation from supporters are eligible for match grants of $1,000-15,000.
Together, we can achieve this vision of refugees and the church surviving and thriving in our local community. Spread the word to family, friends, and those who love the vulnerable whom our Father loves to support World Relief Minnesota on this day of solidarity in giving:
Follow the link below to give or get more information.
Karen Memorial Day and Wrist Tying Ceremony Events
Public Invited to 3-Day Karen Event Celebrated Worldwide
Saint Paul, MN – The Karen Celebration Days Committee (“KCDC”) and Karen Organization of Minnesota (“KOM”) invite the public to the Karen Memorial Day and Wrist Tying Ceremony events, on August 5, 2011 –August 7, 2011 at the Washington Technology Magnet School. This year the activities will include a three-day men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s kato tournaments, a Karen Memorial Day event on Saturday, August 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the Wrist Tying Ceremony events on Sunday, August 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Karen Memorial Day tells the history of the Karen struggle and honors the leaders who gave their lives in the name of freedom. The Wrist Tying Ceremony is an event celebrated by Karen all around the world and will include traditional Karen dancing and singing performances. All guests will be invited to participate in the non-religiously affiliated wrist tying by the Karen elders, which symbolizes unity and the Karen’s blessing of health and happiness for the next year.
These cultural events are an important part of Karen history and tradition. This is also an opportunity for the Karen to raise awareness about the story of the Karen people, and to facilitate goodwill and mutual respect with our new friends and neighbors. The Karen community in Minnesota has been celebrating the Karen events since 2002 and thousands of Karen and non-Karen have attended.
“These events, which symbolize Karen unity and are celebrated by Karen around the world, are even more important to our people now, because we are living in exile outside of our homeland” said Nay Htoo, Karen community leader and chair of the Karen Celebration Days Committee. “While we are working hard to adjust and integrate into our new community in Minnesota, we also want to invite all of our new friends and neighbors to come and learn about our history and heritage.”
The Washington Technology Magnet School is located at 1495 Rice Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota. All events will be free of charge, and Karen vendors will sell traditional Karen food throughout the event. Please contact KOM for more information.
###
The Karen (ka-REN) are an ethnic minority from the mountainous regions of Burma and Thailand. The Karen have been persecuted by the Burmese military junta for decades and today, many Karen families who have fled their homes have resettled in Minnesota, which has the largest population of Karen outside of Southeast Asia.
donate
Giving to Minnesota Refugees can come in a variety of forms. Learn about ways you can give or help financially.
volunteer
Learn more about the variety of volunteer opportunities available at WRM.
newsletter
World Relief Minnesota offers several different e-newsletters related to refugees and refugee ministry.
Connect and Share
