Volunteer Newsletter for LOAVES&Fishes, Inc.
January 2011
“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.” Matthew 25:34-35
“Loaves & Fishes has been busy delivering blankets to refugees who cannot afford to pay high electric bills” said Margie Randall “We were blessed with some very generous people who gave bountifully to our request for blankets. Over 50 blankets were handed out to Bhutanese and Burmese refugees during the week of January 16th.
New families arrive sporadically throughout the year from Bhutan and they need additional clothing plus extra plates, bowls, glasses and cups. Three new families arrived recently and needed our help for warm clothing, dishes, water glasses, cups and cutlery. One man said "how can I ever repay you?" I said, "it is not me, it is the generosity of God's people who give to me so I can give to you". Everything collected by Loaves & Fishes goes directly to help families. The staff are all volunteers and are not paid personnel. So you can be sure that your donation goes directly to help those in need. Our eternal reward awaits our arrival one day in Heaven.
The Good News club has been meeting in our apartment and last Sunday, we had children from Tanzania, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The children have fun learning Bible verses, and hearing Bible stories and playing games.
It was just a thought during the long holiday school break to bring some books to the apartment and see if the children would come to take them to their home and read them. Today (Saturday) about 15 children came from several countries to get "free books" and they were thrilled. I heard comments like "do we get to keep them?" and "I read a book every day when I get home from school". There were several requests for children's Bibles so if you have any extras to donate, let us know.
LOAVES&Fishes, Inc. will move out of Apartment 719 at St. Cloud
Please pray for Loaves & Fishes. We have enjoyed the free use of an apartment for about 4 months but the management (owners) company is wanting to use the apartment for other programs. We will not have the freedom we have had to run our Christian programs and are severely restricted. We praise God for the time we have been allowed to be there and know that God has a better door to open for us. So would you pray for us that we might be able to find a warehouse/office space close to where the refugees live or that we might be able to rent an apartment in a complex where the refugees live? Thank you so much for praying.”
Feature of the Week: ESL at St. Cloud
Watch the YouTube Video of our group at St. Cloud Apartments.
Trying to teach the basics of English to six ladies in long, flowing Saris who speak absolutely no English at all is a rewarding and sometimes funny experience. A couple of weeks ago the weather turned very cold and my six lady students were given matching red sweaters and caps to keep themselves warm but as is usual in Houston in the wintertime, the weather can be very unpredictable and the next day the temperature rose to nearly 70 but still the ladies showed up in their heavy sweaters and their fuzzy hats firmly pulled down on their heads.
I have one other Kathrine helping me teach and every Wednesday when we arrive at St. Cloud Apartments we can hear them outside the door, eager to come in and learn more about the names of fruits and vegetables, the days and months of the year or whatever happens to be on the agenda for that days lesson. They are very attentive, even though many of the women struggle to remember the letters of the English alphabet. They are learning , yet it makes me wonder to what degree these ladies have had individual instruction considering the fact that many Bhutanese girls marry at a very young age and education has probably held a low level of importance in their lives up to this point. It’s important to give them encouragement in this new endeavor because it may be the only encouragement to learn they’ve ever been given. We greet them each week with a hug and a “How are you?” to which they respond “Teacher, I am fine” and at the end of our hour’s lesson we hug again and say “See you next week”. We are blessed; next week they might bring a friend, or come late, or not show up at all but it doesn’t matter because we will still be standing at the door, waiting to welcome our six lady students and teach English to them while they sit wearing red fuzzy sweaters in weather much too warm for the month of January in Houston, Texas.
Catherine Gauldin and Kathrine Spena teach ESL on Wednesday each week. If you think you might like to become involved in the ESL program for LOAVES&Fishes, please contact Catherine at Catherine@4loavesfishes.com
Because we are vacating our teaching space, we will have to find another location for ESL but we also teach at Alief Square Apartments on the same day.
Volunteer opportunities:
- Visitations: Each week new families come into the city of Houston and are settled in Apartments. It is the mission of LOAVES&Fishes to visit these families as soon as possible after thier arrival and this gesture is an excellent opportunity for volunteers to welcome new arrivals and form relationships. This job may involve donations distributions, visitations or both. Margie Randall at mlrandall716@gmail.com or Melinda Ginter at mginter@sbcglobal.net can arrange to introduce new volunteers to this very rewarding and vital channel for Ministry to the Bhutanese in Houston.
- Spanish Lessons: In addition to ESL there is also a great need for Spanish-speaking teachers, so if you have skills that would enable you to help teach this language, please contact Margie Randall at mlrandall716@gmail.com
- Please refer to the LOAVES&Fishes website for information on how to donate new or gently-used items or make financial contributions to our Ministry. LOAVES&Fishes is not currently a 501 (c) 3 organization but we are working hard to obtain that status so all donations can be tax-deductible.
- Prayer is always needed.
Upcoming Events
- A monthly Job Orientation was being planned for February but since we will no longer be in the Apartment, please pray that another suitable place will be provided for this much needed service to the residents of St. Cloud.
- Las Americas Newcomer Center - In the meantime a new and exciting opportunity to serve children has been presented to LOAVES&Fishes. It is a possible partnership with the Las Americas Newcomer Centre, located in the temporary buildings behind Jane Long Elementary School at 6501 Bellaire Blvd. "Our students are such great kids and work very hard," writes the Director, Ellen Butler. "The more resources we can offer, whether it be tutoring, extra-curricular experiences, clothing or contact with caring adults, the better for them as they strive to 'fit into' life in Houston!" If you might be able to offer some Volunteer hours for the children involved in this program, please contact Margie Randall at mlrandall716@gmail.com
Please direct general inquiries to:
Margie Randall
LOAVES&Fishes, Inc., Christian Ministry to Refugees from Bhutan
Phone: 281-733-3921
Email: mlrandall716@gmail.com
