The following entry is from Lita Sample, one of CBF’s field personnel serving in the San Francisco Bay area ministering to Afghan refugee families. She and her husband Rick, as well as Fran Stevenson, are this month’s feature in CBF’s Missions Education Resources.
For quite some time, our ESL class for Afghan women has been a great encouragement – not only to the women who attend, but also to those who teach — including me. We have all grown into a community – sharing our families, our lives, our laughter, and our concerns. I have found myself praying for them and for their needs, and as my father become seriously ill, they prayed for me and my family. I have had to miss recent classes due to my father’s death, and being gone to be with my mom and family. When I returned, the women were so warm and concerned for me in the loss of my father. They spent a few minutes in the class praying for me. It was touching. It nearly brought me to tears. Class that day had sprung to a larger group. Fran and I divided into two classes – beginner and advanced, with Fran teaching the beginners. It was a busy class day.
Next week, we pick up our scrapbooking class. It’s exciting – with 5 new women who have joined us who will be doing this for the first time. They will bring pictures from their families — many pictures from Afghanistan. With financial gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions, we are able to provide scrapbooking books for the women, and with scrapbooking supplies that have been donated, we are able to provide some variety of paper and special cutting tools for their use. It is a real blessing for these women to share their stories through the pictures that they bring. It is a special connection that will last, not only on paper, but in their hearts.