HospitalityWelcoming Refugee and Immigrant Neighbors

2020 Newsletter v. 2

Seeking life transformation for refugees, immigrants,

and the Church. 1515 East 66th StreetRichfi eld MN 55423arriveministries.org

“Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained

angels without realizing it!” Hebrews 13:2

2 2020 v. 2

What is Biblical Hospitality? The amazing stories in this update illustrate a theme of Hospitality. While that word is frequently used to describe having friends in our homes, I ’ve been challenged recently with its biblical meaning. In Romans 12, we are told to “show hospitality.” In biblical times, hospitality was focused on the alien or the stranger. Because these individuals were not part of the community, they lacked the usual sources of familial support and help. Hospitality, therefore

meant graciously receiving an alienated person into one’s home and providing directly for that person’s needs. Biblical hospitality is not actually about my friends, but rather focused on someone different than me. That’s not what I previously assumed! My goal by extending hospitality is to be a blessing. Arrive Ministries exists to welcome, serve and love refugees by providingdirect services and by mobilizing the church to offer true, biblical hospitality to

Mike Bergman and Sahil at Sahil’s Naturalization Ceremony in March 2020. Sahil and his family arrived from Afghanistan in 2014; Mike was connected to Sahil through Arrive Ministries because of our AWELL program.

“hospitality was focused on the alien or the stranger.”refugees and immigrants right here in Minnesota. The support, partner-ship and volunteering that each of you provide enables us to deliver this life-changing, gospel-focused work! I hope that you are encouraged and inspired by the wonderful stories of hospitality you’re about to read.

Enjoy!

Mike BergmanExecutive Director

philoxenia [FIL-OH- ZEEN-YUH] NOUN

Greek, translated as hospitality. In New Testament, love of strangers;

eagerness to show hospitality.

Providing directprogram services

Mobilizing the Church

Welcoming refugee and immigrant neighbors by:

Calling our communities to respond biblically

3 arriveministries.org

In this edition:Recipes from our refugee friends!

Somali Restaurant Owner Blesses Church

Noor Yussuf’s bike needed a tune-up after a recent bike ride with his friend Andrew Grimsley.When Noor stopped by the Grimsley’s house one Sunday afternoon, he didn’t realize their house church’s meeting was still in progress. That meant 20 church-goers were hungry after a long morning of fellowship. Noor is a 30-year-old refugee-background friend from Somalia, and also the owner of a well-loved St. Cloud restaurant and grocery store. One of the church members joked with Noor, “I wish you would have brought us some of your delicious food.” Immediately, Noor

pulled out his phone to place an order, rushed over to his restaurant, and brought back a lunch of goat, salad and rice within 20 minutes for the dozens of hungry worshippers. This isn’t the fi rst time Arrive Ministries St. Cloud Area Director Samantha Grimsley has been in awe of their friend Noor’s generosity; at the start of COVID-19, Noor partnered with local organizations to establish a free Halal section at his Midnimo Grocery Store to help Somali residents experiencing food insecurity. In honor of Noor’s generosity, we are sharing a Somali rice recipe.

“ ...brought back a lunch of goat, salad and rice within 20 minutes for the dozens of hungry worshippers.”

Somali RiceIngredients:¼ cup vegetable oil1 medium onion (sliced)1 cinnamon stick4 cloves¼ tsp ground cardamom 3 garlic cloves (minced)1 medium tomato (sliced)2 cups Sella basmati rice2 Tbsp Xawaash bouillon powder4 cups water (boil)1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Instructions:Soak the rice for 30 minutes. Using medium heat, fry the sliced onion in the oil; add the cinnamon stick, cloves, ground cardamom and minced garlic.Add the sliced tomato and cook for 3 minutes.Add the rice and fry for 5 minutes.Mix the Xawaash bouillon powder with the boiling water to make a stock and stir well.Add the Xawaash stock to the rice and stir well.Cover and cook at low heat for 15 minutes.Add cilantro.

4 2020 v. 2

Former Refugee Provides Water to Camp

Recently Linny, an Arrive Ministries volunteer interpreter, hosted a fundraiser at his church to raise money for building two new wells at the refugee camp in Thailand where he lived for fi ve years. Linny cooked and sold delicious Karen food that many Arrive Ministries staff members enjoyed. He raised about $1,800

that day. Linny was inspired to help build the wells after he visited the Mae La refugee camp where he fl ed to and lived in Thailand during his childhood. During this visit Linny brought along 400 pounds of books and clothes that his friends and family at the camp said they needed. Many

Arrive Ministries friends helpeddonate these books and clothes through our “Love Your Neighbor” program. Seeing the desperate conditions in which many forcibly displaced Karenpeople lived in this refugee camp motivated Linny to make adiff erence all the way from his home in St. Paul.

“ Seeing the desperate conditions in this refugee camp motivated Linny to make a difference all the way from his home in St. Paul.”

Ta Ka Paw (Karen Rice Chicken)

Ingredients:1 cup of rice (soak fi rst)1 cup vegetables of choice1/2 lb of chicken (or river snails)1/2 teaspoon salt or MSG 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Instructions:Drain and grind the rice grains to the size of table salt.Add rice to boiling water (amount of water depends on how many people).

Constantly stir the pot until the rice starts to thicken (the rice will burn and stick to the pot if stirring stops).Add vegetables, meat, salt, and turmeric powder.

“I bought this recipe from a Thai street vendor. I was hoping I could open my own Khao Man Kai shop in St. Paul, so far I have not found the perfect spot yet.” -Linny

5 arriveministries.org

Preparing a Home for Good

Zemecha Gora fl ed Ethiopia and arrived in Minnesota four years ago. He has been served through many of our direct service programs: fi ling for his green card through Immigration Legal Services, and preparing for job interviews with our employment counselors. Zemecha’s unyielding focus now is on preparing a home for his wife and 3-year-old son in Albert Lea, MN. The family was separated before Zemecha was able to meet their son, Marobet who was born in 2017 and still lives

in Ethiopia with his mom. Immigration counselors at Arrive Ministries helped Zemecha petition for family reunifi cation. Now he is patiently waiting for the government to approve his family’s reunion. While he waits, Zemecha prepares. “I left the Twin Cities, so I could fi nd a place with lower rent and to make a good income,” said Zemecha. Zemecha wants his wife and son to feel warmly welcomed when they arrive in Minnesota; that’s why Arrive Ministries’ role in

navigating the complex U.S. immigration system is important. “Someone can be here for many years with a green card or visa and start building the elements of home by enrolling in school, committing to a faith community, fi nding housing and employment,” said AllegraDrobnick, an Immigration Counselor. “But the work we do at Arrive Ministries to reunite family members and apply for citizenship is often what solidifi es the U.S. as home for refugees and immigrants.”

“ privilege of being able to house this beautiful family.”COVER PHOTO: The Noori family arrived in February from Afghanistan. They stayed with a volunteer host family, Dan and Emily Hansen for a few weeks. Dan refl ected on the experience: “Thank you for the privilege of being able to house this beautiful family. I hope it was a sweet time for them as they overcame what I’m sure was a

jarring transition. We already miss having them around! I really appreciate what Arrive Ministries does to make sure they get what they need as soon as possible.” The Noori family has also been welcomed by a church team from Emmanuel Covenant Church. The photo on the cover is of the Hansens and the Nooris sharing a meal. The photo to the right is from a visit to the Zoo.

Temporary Home with Lasting Impact

“the work we do... to reunite family members and apply for citizenship is often what solidifi es the U.S. as home.”

6 2020 v. 2

Ukrainian Refugee Finds Home in Pizza Parlor“My English is so much better and I still like my job.”

Our Employment Coun-selor, Anya met with a refugee client named Natalia for coff ee recently to give her some clothes. Anya had helped Natalia, a refugee from Ukraine, get a job at a pizza parlor last summer. “Remember how most of my crew members at the restaurant had to download a translator app on their phones so we could communicate last summer?” Natalia asked Anya. “Now my English is so much

better and I still like my job! I had to work more hours when the virus hit, because people were ordering a lot of pizzas,” exclaimed Natalia. The owner of the restaurant kept asking Natalia if she could make a Ukrainian dish for him to try, so she made him Deruny, potato pancakes. “He absolutely loved them and wants to add them to our menu once things settle down a bit,” shared Natalia.

Deruny (Ukrainian Potato Pancakes)Ingredients:5 medium potatoes, peeled1 onion, peeled1 egg3 Tbsp of all purpose fl our1 Tbsp of sour cream1 tsp of saltPepper to tasteOil (for frying)

Instructions:Grate potatoes and onion in big bowl. Mix together.Add fl our, egg, sour cream, salt, black pepper; mix well. Batter should be runny enough to easily ladle.Warm up a skillet with 2-3 Tbsp of cooking oil over medium/high heat. Add 1 heaping Tbsp of mixture to the skillet, fry on one side until golden, then fl ip to other side for the same amount of time. Repeat for the rest of the batter.Deruny is best served warm with sour cream.

Volunteer Delivers 2K Lbs. of Rice to Families“I never expected such an abundance of rice!” Jeff has been volun-teering at a food shelf during the coronavirus pandemic. The food shelf, located in a rural area, was continually having an overabundance of rice, due to lower demand from the residents. Jeff and his church team from Woodbury Community Church knew that the rice could go to good use in the Karen and Karenni communities, especially with several families having kids at home with distance learning or members out of work.

Over a 6 month period Jeff has been able to pick up and distribute more than 2,300 pounds of rice and 450 pounds of vegetables to families in St. Paul! “I never expected there to be such an abundance of rice!” said Jeff . The bags of rice were left on doorsteps or delivered from a distance, along with a greeting of love and support. “It was a great reason to visit each family and make sure they were all okay,” he said.

Jeff teaching English to Karenni friends.

7 arriveministries.org

Friba Welcomes a Stranger

When I was 9 months pregnant, my toddler and I were tasked with photographing Jenny, one of our exceptional AWELL program tutors. Unbeknownst to me, due to some crossed-wires, Jenny wasn’t able to warn Friba that an Arrive Ministries staff person would be showing up to her apartment that Friday morning. So with a shy 2-year-old on my hip and a camera around my neck, I buzzed Friba’s

apartment in the drizzling rain. She said in her limited English, “Jenny?” Since I naively assumed my visit was expected, I took that greeting to mean, “Any friend of Jenny’s is a friend of mine. Welcome!” Friba came to let her unexpected guests into her apartment. My son and I made ourselves comfortable sitting cross-legged on her beautiful Persian rugs. (Okay, I wasn’t that comfortable, but that was

due to the impending baby, not the lack of hospitality.) Friba pulled out platters of Afghan snacks, warmed up a pot of Afghan green tea, and we smiled at each other… a lot. Jenny finally showed up and explained who I was to Friba. It was only then that I realized Friba had no idea who I was, and yet she still “rolled out the carpet” for me and my son. Friba’s hospitality was a pure example of what it means to welcome the stranger.

“ ...she had no idea who I was, and yet she still ‘rolled out the carpet’ for me and my son.”

Kate Shermer, Communications Director at Arrive Ministries

Ingredients:1 tsp Kashmiri Green Tea3 cups water10-12 strands saff ron1/2 inch stick cinnamon1 clove1 cardamom (crushed)1/2 tsp dried rose petals2 tsp almonds (slivered)1 tsp honey (optional)

Kahwah (Afghan Green Tea)Traditional

Afghan Snacks

PistachiosCashewsAlmonds

Dried CherriesDried Apricots

Instructions:Heat water in a pan.Add saff ron, cinnamon, cloves, rose petals and cardamom in water and let it simmer for 4 minutes.Switch off the heat and add green tea in the water. Let the tea steep for a minute.Strain the tea in 2 cups. Add almond slivers and honey.

Generous Grocer Feeds Newly Arrived Family

Nothing is more closely affi liated with hospitality than off ering food. Yet when a newly arrived family of 8 from Afghanistan was being settled by Arrive Ministries during the early days of COVID-19, they found themselves caught in a backlog of government food assistance delays, so they couldn’t buy food. That’s when Pastor Carl Johnson, a friend of Arrive Ministries, opened the doors to his grocery store and allowed the newly-arrived family to fi ll up their empty pantry with an abundance of food. Pastor Carl Johnson ownsStorehouse Grocers in the St. Paul neighborhood of Dayton’s Bluff , where everything is priced lower than $5. The grocery store was started as a practical ministry of his church, Faith City

Church, to respond to the high rates of food insecurity many of his neighbors were experiencing. “They were new to this country, and they didn’t know where to get food, and I did,” Carl simply said. Then Pastor Carl went above and beyond this initial act of generosity, by purchasing rice and halal meat from another store and delivering it to the family that night. “We think of our church and grocery store as a place of refuge for the poor, under-resourced and under-served, and that includes refugees and immigrants,” said Pastor Carl. Thank you to Storehouse Grocers for helping welcome our newest neighbors with an act of hospitality and nourishment they’ll never forget.

Get Involved

arriveministries.org/get-involved

1515 East 66th StreetRichfi eld MN 55423

Subsidiary of Transform Minnesota

“ They were new to this country, and they didn’t know where to get food, and I did.”

Volunteer with us

Give financially

Donate Welcome Kit items for new families

Host an Interest Meeting at your church

Attend an upcoming event

Advocate with us