Irving Bible Chuch Angel Tree

Irving Bible Refugee Christmas 2008
The Lord gave Himself to us in the form of His Son, Jesus, and spoke the word love. IBC worshippers shared the same love by reaching out to one hundred refugee children here in Dallas this Christmas. Most of these refugees are muslims from Somalia. With so many generous and lavish GIVERS, it brought tears to my eyes to see the warmth of love poured onto these children. The Somali Bantu are a forgotten group that we are reaching with the gospel right here in Dallas. These children are trying to understand the meaning of Christmas; many of whom don’t have coats, shoes, or toys. Now, we know the gifts are not the true meaning of Christmas, but we do know it gives us the opportunity to share that Christmas is different-more importantly who the true gift is. It allows us to build relationships of love. We thank you for the opportunity to bless these children. I would like to share with you some of these stories of these children: Mohamed: Mohamed lives between three homes. He used to live with his grandmother who had 12 children. She is dying of cancer and kidney diseases, and now lives with her daughter. Mohamed is an orphan; both of his parents have died. Now he lives nomadically with his uncle who cannot cook, his grandmother's home, and another relative's home where they have six children. When I picked up Mohamed the other day, he grabbed the soccer ball that was given to him by one of the IBC GIVERS, and I knew that person would never really know how much Mohamed had been blessed. Mohamed’s family is Somali Bantu. Selme: We brought Selme her present along with a Christmas tree. She has an older brother that tends to be a little bossy. So as she was opening her present we had her brother, Mohamed, (yes, a common name) help with the tree. This was a good opportunity for him to be a helper. As Selme was opening her present, she said, “Hannah Montana! Yeah! I love Hannah Montana!” I was a little shocked as I didn’t expect quite this reaction from this little 9 year old. I asked her and she said, “Everyone knows about Hannah Montana!" They were delighted to have their very own Christmas tree, and it was wonderful to have Mohamed’s energy channeled for at least a few minutes. Selme’s family is Somali Bantu. Daniel: Recently, Daniel had a very stressful experience in his life where he had to go into treatment for abandonment and attachment issues. Daniel is 9 years old. He had been found as an infant in the forest where his current mother found him. So life for Daniel has been difficult since his arrival to the States, as well as his continual adjustment to his family. He recently moved, and when trying to track him down, the Lord had blessed him with a very generous IBC GIVER! Daniel received new clothes, a jacket, toys, a soccer ball, and a Christmas tree! Daniel said he never had a Christmas tree as he stood in front of the tree with his new soccer ball. I wished I could show the picture, but as life has it, I lost my camera. Please keep Daniel in your prayers. He is living with a sweet, loving, believing, couple that really wants to help him. Pray for healing and adjustment as he starts his new school. Daniel’s family is from Rwanda. May you be as blessed this year IBC GIVERS. May you continue to join us in reaching and praying for these refugee children and families as we reach out to them as His hands and feet through our ministry at Refugee Resources, Inc. Thank you for partnering with us. In His Love, Alysa Marx

Imagine the Impossible for every child

On November 1st, 2008, tryouts were held for the refugee children of Shiloh Village. In order to be chosen to dance we partnered with the non profit called, Imagine the Impossible for every child,based on Eph 3 and founded by Mary Johnson. The student needed to demonstrate attentiveness, focus, discipline and a willingness to learn. Little did the students realize that in three short weeks they would be dancing the weekend before Thanksgiving at Northpark Mall. Most of these children had never even been to a mall, let alone performing before scores of people in one of Texas most elegant and upscale malls! The dancers put hours each Sunday into perfecting their routines. Just weeks before they could hardly stand still and now they would listen, focus and spend up to 4 to 5 hours perfecting their dance routine.

When it came time to go over the details of preparing for the performance, it came to our attention that most of these dear children did not have soap and shampoo. Though I realize that the families struggle with the basic necessities, it never ceases to humble me with their continual needs and what they do not have. Of course we got what they needed for the performance, but if during this holiday season you would like to give in some way. We know some families just need help with the basics or you may want to sponsor one of the students towards the purchase of their dance attire. The total for their shoes, bag, tights, and leotard all totals $70. Please do not feel any pressure, this is only if the Lord lays this on your heart and you have seen the difference that dance has made in their lives. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may we all be thankful for the bounty in our lives.

Meet Our Newest Staff Member

Refugee Resources is proud to introduce you to our newest staff member. We are very excited to have Kaitlyn Mullens join us. Here is a little bio by her:

Hi, my name is Kaitlyn Mullens, and my husband Cameron and I live here in Dallas. I first started working with refugee families through my kindergarten teaching position with RISD. During my 3 years of teaching, I grew to love these kids and families and I began doing ministry with them outside of school. This ministry work started out small, and then grew to be an every day committment. That is when I was welcomed by Refugee Resources Inc. to work full time as an advocate for these refugee families. My desire is for every refugee family to see the love of Christ through meeting physical and practical needs, and through speaking with them about Christ. Praise the Lord who has compassion on his people, and whose name the nations will praise!!

Please be in prayer for her as she begins this new venture alongside of us.

Camp For Refugee Children Video

Going Glocal ariticle

Wanted to share this great story that talks about a personal story from someone who has partnered with our ministry.

I will include some here but plese click the link to read more.

Some people sit back in church and wonder, “how could I serve?” If you are like me, a stay-at-home mom with four small kids to take care of, missions is the furthest thing from your mind. Imagine leaving everyone for a two-week stint abroad. Trying to coordinate school pick-ups or babysitting for that long seems daunting. Still, the Bible tells us all we are to go into all the nations. Not just some of us, all of us. As I have continued to pray and ponder this idea, God has encouraged me and convicted me, two of His favorite things to do to me, through a dear friend here at Bent Tree, Elizabeth Smith. Smith is an extraordinary woman with an incredible passion to show what outreach means to her daughter Lauren.

Several years ago at a Bent Tree Missions Festival, Elizabeth visited the local ministry booths looking for kid-friendly outreach opportunities. She was pulled in by a sign that just said Refugees.

Click here to read more.

Drums Not Guns

Refugee Resources has partnered with Drums not Guns for some events for our refugee children. We have some great stories to share about how the children are enjoying this. To learn more about this organization you can read about them at drums.org

Faces of the World at Our Doorstep by Refugee Resources