“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Josefina is a single mom from Tanzania. Even though she is from Tanzania, she is Congolese because she had to move to Tanzania as a refugee. She is living with her parents and all but one of her siblings. There were 11 people living in the three-bedroom apartment. They have been in America for six weeks so they speak very little English. The kids are not enrolled in school yet and no one in the family has a job yet. So, they are kind of struggling and worried about a lot of stuff.

Josefina and her baby are trying to find another apartment because this one is too crowded with people. But the family really likes to be all together. Josefina did find another apartment that was only about one mile away, but they thought that was too far away from the rest of the family. They were afraid about being too far away from each other and they were afraid about many other things about being in a new country.

Josefina wanted a Bible since she arrived in America. She heard about getting a Swahili Bible and asked for one right away. But she was feeling sick when we came to the apartment. So even though she was thankful, she just wanted to go back to bed and rest. My grandmother was visiting us in Clarkston so she came with me to deliver this Bible and she got to meet Josefina and her family too. We prayed for Josefina and her family.

The rest of Josefina’s family seemed more excited to get the beans, rice and dishes that we brought. They were pretty quiet when we arrived and even when we gave the Bible to Josefina. They thought it was nice, but they got really excited when we showed them the other things we brought. I hope that someday they can also be happy about God’s Word in their heart. Maybe when Josefina feels better, she can teach them the Bible – that Jesus removes our fears and brings us peace!