Bit Thirteen

Phew!
The AMFA newsletter is finally finished! I spent at least 10 hours working on it this week, and I now despise newsletters! Well, not really because it shouldn't be this hard in the future since all the grunt work for the template is done. If anyone is interested in receiving our newsletter and learning more about the team of people I am working with in Atlanta, and what we are doing, please let me know!

I want to take a minute and thank everyone for their prayers. It really means so much to me that I am not alone in what I'm doing and there are people who are lifting me up in prayer. There is a word in Arabic that means "All praises be to God" - "Ahamdulillah" (A-'hom-doo-lee-lah)! We use it quite often in our Signs Study, and I have felt like saying it quite often recently. Please allow me to share some praises with you:

• A Muslim friend of mine has received the support of her parents to spend two months in Cjad, in a refugee camp, with an organization that is trying to resolve the situation of Darfur. Because of her own experience in Darfur, she has an amazing opportunity to help those in the same situation she was once in. Ahamdulillah!
  
• We have successfully launched a prayer group at the Conyers church with the sole mission to lift up fellow church members in prayer as a way to see God's power unleashed. Ahamdulillah!
• A friend has kicked a smoking habit. Ahamdulillah!
• A friend from our women's study group is miraculously pregnant. Ahamdulillah!
• The refugee sewing society has been busting at the seams (no pun intended) with supply donations as well as women anxious to take sewing, beading, and knitting classes. Ahamdulillah!
  
• I have received funding that will support me for the next two months. Ahamdulillah!
  
• There is a woman who is interested in allowing us to be a distributor in Atlanta for her pie business. This gives us the opportunity to start a business in Clarkston as a way to help refugees develop skills in running a business, and to create a source of income for AMFA. Ahamdulillah!

All praise be to God that He does take care of His children!

Bit Twelve

Over the past week, I have taken on a new role as the North American Division Adventist Muslim Relations Administrative Assistant. It's quite a mouthful, but it basically means that I'm Bryan's secretary.

My responsibilities include anything business or communications related. It's nice because most of my tasks can be done anywhere, I just need to be able to access my email. It's fun because I am now a travel agent, customer service representative, graphic designer, public relations person, and event planner! I guess I have enough to keep me busy.

Aside from all of this business stuff, I am now officially a World Relief Volunteer! As a volunteer, I am assigned a refugee family, who I visit at least once a week in order to help them become more accustomed to life in the US.

On Monday, I met Haddad, Zahrah, & Kedar (Not their real names) in their apartment in Clarkston. They are a young family from Iraq, who have had to flee their home due to threat of persecution. Haddad & Zahrah speak English fairly well, but Kedar has not been able to learn it yet.

I was a little afraid to meet them, only because I don't know enough about their culture to make sure I don't embarass myself, or them. That's pretty much unavoidable. I'm pretty sure I said or did at least 3 things that I shouldn't have:

1. To Muslims, dogs are one of the dirtiest things on earth. So, of course, as I'm introducing myself, I talk about my sweet little dog at home who I adore!
2. The word "church" can be a misunderstood term for Muslims (not to mention most Christians as well), so it is best to explain what you mean by it. Silly me, I wanted to be part of the conversation, so I shared an experience I had with one of my church members.
3. It is impolite for a woman to offer to shake a man's hand, and there I was, about to leave, and I reached out to shake Haddad's hand before saying good bye!

I'm sure I made more cultural blunders than this. They were so gracious, though. I could tell they were very excited to have met someone who was willing to help them practice their English skills, exchange recipes, show them around Atlanta, and just be an American friend to them.
I'm very excited to see where our friendship goes!