To Know Him More

Girls from Orthodox families. Girls from Protestant families. A girl from a Mslim family. A girl whose family is in a cult. Girls from devout families in ancient church traditions who have never read the Bible. Girls who have impressive knowledge of the Bible but struggle to relate it to everyday life. Girls from broken homes. Girls who are friends. Girls who are enemies. Three to eight 6th-8th-grade girls (out of 50+ youth who attend weekly Bible study) gather each Wednesday to study the Gospel of Luke, and I love how Jesus' words cut through all the labels and backgrounds to the heart issues - the big life questions.

Recently, Mercy*, a new girl in my group asked, "If someone does something really bad, does that mean they are going to hell?" Before I could say a word, Faith* (a former Mslim) turned to her and boldly proclaimed, "Well, sin always leads to death and separation. But that's why Jesus had to die!" It is a privilege to explain the Gospel to a seeking child. But it is infinitely more precious to watch my girls preach it to each other. Pray for the Holy Spirit's work in and through each one.

Another of my girls, Truth*, just arrived in America this summer and has many adjustments happening in her life. She is passionate about loving Jesus, but has received a lot of false teaching. She took home a Bible a few weeks ago and is eagerly meeting my challenge to read the Gospel of Luke at home. Pray that as she soaks in Jesus, the God-Man, false teachers will lose their place in her life to the One worth following.

We pray in our group that this year we will not only know more about Jesus, but that we will know Jesus more. Thank you for praying this with us!

*To respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in this post, please do not share this information in a public setting or on social media.*

Infinitely More Than We Ask Or Imagine

Thank God with me for all that He did this summer at For the Nations! We serve a God who is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).

In summary, we worked with...
- 12 mission teams from 7 states

- 14 high school & college interns and 64 local Dallas volunteers...

...to serve...

- over 700 refugee kids from 15 countries
- for 8 weeks + training week

- through swim lessons, reading & math practice, science experiments, electives (such as music, dance, art, taekwondo, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and cooking), games, a week of KAA summer camp for 48 big kids, and daily lunches...

...and to share the gospel with them through daily Bible lessons and Christian mentorship, because Jesus is our Motivation, Strength, and Reason!

Of course, behind the numbers and programs are the sometimes heartbreaking but always inspiring stories of the beautiful children I am privileged to know. If I include them all here, the length of this post will get out of hand, so as I write my kids' stories and prayer requests, I will post them on my Facebook group and when I have compiled them, post them here on the blog. Stay tuned!

Personal Update

I am in the process of temporarily decreasing my work hours at For the Nations. After receiving some counsel at the end of the summer program, my supervisor and I have decided on this so I can learn how to better manage my own personal stress and steward the trauma of those I care for.

A few clarifications:

• This does not mean that I'm getting tired of refugee ministry or want to do something else. I love what I do and the organization I work with, and cannot imagine ever leaving my kiddos. I'm doing this so I can hopefully sustain my work long-term without burning out.

• I did not ask to decrease my hours for financial reasons. However, because my support level is currently at only about 60% of my eventual goal, this does allow me to cut my hours without having to decrease my current salary or temporarily adjust my support goals. As of now, I will teach Tues-Fri preschool (afternoon only), Tues-Thurs Kids' Clubs, and my weekly middle school Bible study, for a total of 24 hrs/wk. If you have any questions, feel free to text/email me about any of this.

Please pray for me to have strength, health, & energy each day. Pray that I will rely on the Lord to care for my needs. Pray for wisdom in leading my girls’ Bible study, teaching preschoolers, and tutoring/mentoring children. Pray that students and teammates will experience Christ’s love reflected in me.

Get involved!

Don't be sad if you missed the summer fun... we have a HUGE need for volunteers this fall! Fill out the application and choose from two orientation times this Wednesday, Aug 28 (9-10:30am or 5-6:30pm). Send questions to our volunteer coordinator, Lauren Kirkpatrick: laurenk@ftnro.org.

PRESCHOOL. This fall, we will have one teacher per preschool class (last year we had two teachers per class, which was not enough if their were no volunteers). If you love littles (or want to find out if you do), please consider being a teacher's aide once a week during morning class (9-11am) or afternoon class (12-2pm).

KIDS' CLUB. If K-8th graders are more your thing, we will have LOTS of them for you to help with homework, read & play with them, and help them engage with the Bible lessons. Pick a day Mon-Thurs from 4-6pm. This is a great opportunity for families to serve together and make friends with our kids!

ADULT PROGRAMS. If you really want to volunteer with our adult students in ESL classes, conversation practice, and Bible studies, that's okay too (but preschool is wayyy more fun! I'm not biased at all😜). Thanks for considering this, and feel free to copy/paste/share this section to interested friends!

Volunteer

*To respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in this post, please do not share this information in a public setting or on social media.*

Summer Begins!

The Summer Reading Program is a pretty big deal at For the Nations Refugee Outreach! This week is the first of eight weeks of fun and learning about Jesus, English, reading, singing, math, science, art, taekwondo, cooking, basketball, soccer, and swimming. The week of setup and the first week are always a bit crazy, but this year has been our smoothest yet, even though we have had over 300 kids each day. We are so thankful to have our own building this year.

Each week, we host a different mission team (both local and from out-of-state) to provide the bulk of our volunteer force. Pray for me to have energy and flexibility as I co-host this week's team, along with juggling other responsibilities like teaching 5th-8th graders how to read English in the morning, co-leading our 6th-7th graders in the afternoon, and teaching the Bible lesson to our littlest kids. Summer is one of the most rewarding parts of my job, but definitely the most exhausting. Please pray that my tiredness doesn't get in the way of what God wants to accomplish in and through me, and that He will help me lead my children well.

This is the fourth summer that I get to do the Orange Group! They're my favorite because, as our newest-to-America kids, they are excited to learn and tend to make visible progress over our eight weeks together. It's been special to welcome back a few students that I had last year, and fun to meet my new students from Congo, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. Pray for my kids' effective communication, team unity & respect, and understanding & openness to the Gospel.

*To respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in this post, please do not share this information in a public setting or on social media.*

Love Speaks Louder Than Words

"Children are not a distraction from more important work.
They are the most important work."  --C. S. Lewis

As a preschool teacher of children from around the world, I get the special Easter treat of hearing my 3-year-olds belting out in their best English, "sing hosanna to the King of kings." I'm sorry I don't have a recording of it, but you can enjoy the smiles on the right.


Among the 200+ children (in preschool and Kids' Club) that I interact with throughout each week, there are several that require more individualized attention and accommodation. Please pray for these dear ones and their families in their unique situations, and for my teammates and I to have wisdom to help them learn, heal, and grow in an environment of consistency and unconditional love. This is a revolutionary testimony to many of these children and their parents. It's easy for me to forget this and get discouraged about certain kids; but often how I teach them matters more than what I teach them. Truly, the kids who seem hard to love usually need it the most. If I'm telling kids that Jesus loves us and died for us when we treated Him like our enemy, I hope I can show them a glimpse of what that looks like by my actions.

I'm so thankful for my precious 3-year-olds and this beautiful classroom

Sharing About Refugee Ministry at Bob Jones University
Thank you for your prayers for my week in Greenville, SC last month. God answered in amazing ways:

• He kept me safe, awake, and well-cared-for through all 1,800+ miles of driving.
• He gave me opportunities and ability to speak on campus and at a local church, as well as lots of one-on-one interaction with students. It was very exciting to hear from students who are already reaching out to refugees and internationals in Greenville and beyond. It was such a privilege to be a small encouragement to students in the path God has for them, after being "in their shoes" just a few years ago. I look forward to seeing how God will work in and through them in the future😊.
• He treated me to some quality time with dear friends who happen to live in Greenville.
• All glory to God and a big thank you to BJU staff and my amazing former professor Dr. A for making this happen. As a student in his Cell Biology lab, I hadn't expected he'd invite me back to speak about refugee ministry, but I'm so glad he did!

Reconnecting with awesome biology professors

While interacting with students, I also met a gal on staff with another ministry who came to America as a refugee from Burma at age 16. Small world!

Jesus is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Thanksgiving potluck with our ESL students & families

I hope you all had a special Thanksgiving! As I near the end of a very full fall semester at For the Nations, here are a few things for which I thank the Lord:

• That Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). I can never predict what challenges I'll face each day in ministry or in my personal life, but I can be sure of one thing: Jesus is the same!

• For all of you! Your encouragement, prayers, and support constantly remind me to keep trusting God and not quit.

• For my fellow children's staff. It's nice to not be the only one cleaning up after a sick kid or fishing toy spoons out of the toilet ;).

• For the opportunity to host a young lady from Kansas for two weeks this fall. Such a blessing to get to know her, have extra help with the kids, and watch her immerse and flourish in the Dallas refugee ministry experience.

Elaine fit right in during her 2 weeks at FTNRO

• For each one of "my" 200+ children from preschool and Kids' Club. So many colorful personalities and opportunities to teach & learn from all of them!

• For my Bible study girls. This semester I have had a consistent group of three 6th & 7th graders who get along together (a wonderful change!). We have been digging into the person and work of Jesus Christ, and I love listening to them read the Creation & Fall account from Genesis, prophecy of Messiah in Isaiah, and the record of Jesus' resurrection from the Gospel of John (two of them for the first time). They have also risen to the challenge of memorizing John 1:1-18. These girls come from a variety of backgrounds & cultures; one is from an Ethiopian Orthodox tradition and another is one of two Christians in her Mslm family. Last week after reading about how Jesus' resurrection gives believers hope after death (1 Thessalonians 4), she had lots of questions about Mslm beliefs and what will happen to her family members after death. The Ethiopian was shocked to learn that her friend was not from a Christian family, but had chosen a different religion. Sometimes we have the most interesting discussions! Please pray for me as I try to lead these girls to God's answers to our big questions, and that over the Christmas break they will grow in their love for God, read His Word, and remember His promise to us: "I will never leave you" (Hebrews 13:5).

The cutest Mary & Joseph I ever did see :)

Support Update: As you know, my income is funded by gifts from my generous donors. Currently, my monthly funding is short about $800/month, or $9600/year. If you are interested in giving a monthly gift of any amount, or a special year-end gift to help cover the gap, you can do so by clicking the blue "Support Maryellen" button below. All donations to For the Nations are tax-deductible, and if given through my link, will be preferenced to my staff account. Thank you so much!

Support Maryellen

I have a break from usual classes from Dec 17 to Jan 12, during which I would love to catch up with many of you who live locally in Dallas and plan some visits to those who live less locally. If you would like me to come share about what God is doing among this refugee community, let me know! I don't mind an occasional excuse to travel :).


Have a blessed Christmas celebrating Immanuel, God with us.

A Long-Term Investment

Eight weeks of fun, laughter, learning English, reading, math games, art projects, science experiments, Bible stories, songs, prizes, soccer, field trips, and swimming lessons have finally come to a close for Summer 2018!

One of my highlights was teaching the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation for our littlest children from Burma in the afternoons. At our final field trip, they compared the wave pool to the time Jesus calmed the storm - it made me so proud! Kids remember what they learn.💗

Even got to teach a little science :)

God has been teaching me that investing in a child's life is always a long-term investment, and with it there are long-term costs and rewards. Getting to know my new-to-America 11-to-15-year-olds in the morning session provided me with plenty of rewards and challenges. As volunteers came and went throughout the summer, it was truly a privilege to be the one teacher to walk alongside each of them through the whole summer and beyond. But this also means that sooner or later, I start seeing scars of trauma they've experienced. Sometimes, as was the case with Aisha* (one of my teenage girls from Afghanistan), it manifests as unacceptable racism and aggressive behavior. It's not normal and it's not fun. Neither is it something you can shake from your mind after work. But it's an important reminder of the horrible, multi-generational effects that decades of war can have on a family. In spite of this as well as academic challenges, she persevered and made significant reading progress this summer! She also displayed exceptional artistic talent. Please pray for Aisha, her family, and several other families suffering from emotional & physical effects of trauma, that they will open their hardened hearts to the only One who can heal their deep wounds. Also pray for wisdom as we come alongside them in their many challenges.

But then I had students like twelve-year-old Ali* (another new arrival from Afghanistan). The boy is brilliant: he speaks 6 languages (my invaluable translator!), is obsessed with maps and geography, and loves math and science (his favorite movie is Hidden Figures). More importantly, he became best friends with Mike* (a Congolese boy who doesn't even live at the same apartment complex!). The two were inseparable and called each other mubarey which means "my friend, my boy" in Swahili. They were joined later in the summer by Sayed* from Sudan. Sometimes I felt like I had to drag my kids to Bible class, but then Ali would answer questions like "why did Jesus have to die?" with answers like "because He doesn't have sin like us, He's totally God and totally man" (like many others, he still has a bit of a disconnect between what he accepts as truth and personal identification with that truth). Today's kids are tomorrow's leaders. This summer, Ali was the kid who melted the anger & racism and held my team together, and I pray that God will continue to work in his life and grow him into a leader for the Kingdom.

"The Three Mubareys"

A final prayer request: my friend Maryam* (mentioned in a previous post) just lost her father to an unexpected heart attack. She is taking it very hard and cannot go to be with her family in Afghanistan. When I visited her, she cried and cried, but was very grateful to have me pray with her in Jesus' name. Pray that in her grief she will discover God to be her loving Father.

Thank you for supporting & praying for me through the summer! It has been a blessing to get together with some of you recently. My infrequent newsletters are a poor substitute for catching up in person, so if you'd like to meet up for coffee this August, let me know and we'll put it on the calendar. I have a 2-week break before staff get together to arrange classrooms in our new building (see below). Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful facility!

Join me! *Names changed for privacy reasons. To respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in this post, please do not share this information in a public setting or on social media.*

My Spring in Pictures: Pain, Prayer, Parties, & Preschool

One of our American volunteers unexpectedly lost her 2-year-old son. Students were invited to lament & pray for this family, and it was a bittersweet honor to sit with my good friend Maryam* & her friend as we gave our sorrow to God and read Scripture in their native Dari.

Soon after, Maryam invited me to join her & the Afghan community of DFW at a huge Nowruz (Persian New Year) party.

Pray for Maryam's family to encounter Jesus during this month of Ramadan, and for our developing friendship.

Afterschool Kids' Club continues to grow & reach kids in new communities, including a group of new arrivals from Afghanistan (bottom) who will be in my class for Summer Reading Camp :)

Please pray for my team as we get ready for another summer of children's ministry. I'm excited, but a little stressed!

A personal growing experience for me has been leading a Bible study for five of our 5th-6th grade girls. We had a sleepover party last weekend to celebrate our study on Matthew 5-6 this spring.

Pray for the girls to remember & apply what they have learned and to grow closer to the Lord this summer.

One of my Bible study girls (top right) and her two brothers have started coming to church with me. It's been such an encouragement to see my church family welcome them & build into their lives!

This past week, several of my teammates and I participated in a training course to help us better serve those who have experienced various types of trauma.

Pray for the many adults & children we know who have experienced deep pain, and that God will use us to walk alongside them towards healing in Christ.

I already miss my 30 little preschoolers! Most of them are graduating to kindergarten next year. :'(

Pray they will remember that Jesus loves them, and that we can keep contact with their families.

Bonus life announcement: my precious twin nieces, Ella Jane & Emilia Kathleen, were born on my birthday a few weeks ago! So blessed to have them living nearby.

Support update: I am now at nearly 70% of my monthly goal! Praise the Lord!

I know my updates have been a bit sporadic lately. The work can be overwhelming and discouraging at times, but remembering that my big strong team is praying to our big strong God brings great encouragement! Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for me and support me.

Join me! "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:9 *Names changed for privacy reasons. To respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in this post, please do not share this information in a public setting or on social media.*