Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
As we end 2023 here at Refuge KC, we do so with this theme of “narrowing the gap”on our hearts and minds. We have said that this gap or breach should weigh heavily on us- namely the gap between a Holy God and the nations He is bringing to our city. We trust in God’s good purposes in bringing the nations here to Kansas City and we are working diligently to welcome them into the Kingdom of God through welcoming them into our city and into our neighborhoods. Why? Because we believe that God’s presence and the souls arriving here have been separated by sin and the best eternal investment we can make in this life is to connect people with the presence of God. This is the very reason we were created - to worship God through enjoying and obeying Him forever! Jesus reminds us in John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whome you have sent.” The cry of our heart remains the same: “give us souls, Lord, to give to thee.” We are so thankful for the growth God has given Refuge KC since we began in 2015. God has been good and gracious to allow us to grow to 3 full-time employees with one part-time employee outworking the rest of us (Patty B.) Our Saturday English classes have also been growing substantially as we regularly see over 40 students and close to 50 kids! Our strategy is to have a one to one ratio both to facilitate English conversation and friendships as well. Pastor Luis complimented our English Language Learners (ELL) program when he said “at Refuge KC, they don’t just teach English, they care for their students.” This type of individualized care and concern could not happen without a wonderful group of people who volunteer their time on Saturday mornings to love on our students. We are so thankful to God for such dedicated volunteers at Refuge KC who love and care for our students and other new-American neighbors. One of those students is Yusef. A single parent of 3 children who lost his wife (and their baby) in childbirth back in the camp in Thailand, Yusef is having some difficulty adjusting to life here in Kansas City and this has been especially evidenced in his transition to employment. It is hard for a single parent who has not known a consistent work schedule to jump into full-time employment. We are standing in the gap of transition with Yusef and have connected him to an Ambassador Team who is working to do stand with him as well. Would you consider joining an Ambassador Team in 2024? As we look forward to 2024, we are facing a record breaking year when it comes to refugee and immigrant arrivals. We are asking you to consider standing in the gap with all of us at Refuge KC to welcome these new arrivals into our community and into the Kingdom of God. We can’t do this without you, Church!
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