We've worked to address a complex situation in what we believe has been a consistently godly, compassionate, and strategic way. We've been quick to try new initiatives, and equally quick to discard them when they haven't worked. Yet through it all, we've always been willing to take the detour into homes and give our time to friends. This is what Jesus did. He invested his time in a few, and them s
ent them out to do likewise. We've relied primarily on donations so that we can focus on key individual relationships rather than on large grant-funded programs. We've sacrificed growth as an organization in order to spend time in Somali coffee shops and in Burmese apartments. It's probably impossible to overstate the importance of the depth of these relationships. We can't count how many people in our city regularly connect with refugees because of our role in fostering these relationships. These people don't report to us as volunteers—because we're not counting. It just happens. Seriously, the list is so long that we could never write it all. And we don't need to. You get the point. As we pour into these individuals' lives, we're changing the fabric of this city. When the COVID pandemic hit our refugee community, it was our Somali mentee who took the initiative for translating informational flyers in Somali—not us. The impacts of this work are deep, structural, and long-term. We've been a catalyst for countless new relationships, classes, and approaches. We've conducted community needs assessments. We've supported the Amarillo Area Foundation's efforts to diversify their approaches. We've surveyed local ESL programs to identify which refugees were falling through the cracks. We've offered many trainings to churches and schools. We've partnered with the library. We've consulted for Amarillo College. We've advocated for refugees in local and national news outlets. We've bridged the wide gaps between immigrants and city institutions. We've been a compassionate voice in a world that has been angry. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for participating with us in being a catalyst for change in this world.
