Nyota is from Tanzania and she came to Clarkston three months ago as a refugee. She has two little girls who are not in school yet. When we arrived at her apartment, we had a little trouble communicating. My dad kept mixing up Malagasy and Swahili for some reason and Nyota was having trouble understanding us. So, she tried to speak English a lot but she was mixing up her English phrases. Instead of “Hello” she said “Bye” and instead of “Thank you” she kept saying “I’m fine.” Finally, we got it all figured out and we could communicate again!

Nyota really wants to learn English so that she can communicate with her neighbors. She also told us that since she was a child, she speaks with a stutter. Sometimes it makes it difficult for her to communicate the way she wants to even in her own language.

But she was so glad when I presented her with her very first Swahili Bible! She gave me a big hug and couldn’t believe it. Then she changed her clothes and took a lot of pictures with me, her new friend.

Today I saw that good communication is important. God communicates to us through the Bible and the Bible is available in so many different languages for people everywhere. That means if you want to know about God, you need to read God’s Word in the language you understand the best.

Today I visited Samia. She is Congolese but she was living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya for 14 years before she came to Clarkston. She has only lived in America for nine months. She seemed very surprised that we came to visit her. We were actually the first Americans to visit her and to welcome her to the US!

Samia’s son came to America about five years ago, but he lives all the way in Arizona with his family. So, Samia was feeling lonely today and she was so glad we came to visit her. She has a job cleaning the schools at night, but she was a little sick today and wasn’t going to work. We gave her some food donations and I presented her with her very first Swahili Bible.

We also prayed for her and she was really glad about that and she asked us to come back again to pray with her and talk about the Bible with her. She said America is very different and she still has to get used to the new life. But she was grateful to have her very first Swahili Bible and to have made her very first American friends!

Today I visited Mrs. Selam. She and her husband own a coffee shop. They are really nice and my dad likes to go there for espresso and I always get vanilla crème. They have a lot of books there and people come and drink coffee or work or they just sit and talk together. It’s a popular place.

Mrs. Selam is Ethiopian and she speaks Amharic. Her husband is the pastor of an Amharic-language church and they are trying to reach out to the people who speak Amharic around them. When they heard about my Bible ministry, they were really glad because sometimes the people who come into their coffee shop don’t know about Jesus.

So, Mrs. Selam asked if I could bring them three Amharic Bibles to use in their coffee shop so that anyone who comes in can get God’s Word in their Amharic language.

Next time I go there, I will get my vanilla crème and a good story about someone who got an Amharic Bible!

“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!

Kuendelea is from Congo but she was living in Tanzania for a long time before she moved to America as a refugee. She wanted to live in Clarkston but she had to live in Jonesboro because it’s close to the airport. The people who resettled her family got her a job at the airport and she does the cleaning there at night.

She said the big problem with living in Jonesboro is that there is no church for people who speak Swahili. She likes going to church for prayer and worship. So, she takes the Swahili church van to and from the church in Clarkston two times every week. It’s about one hour each way. She is in the women’s prayer meeting every Saturday and she comes to the church service on Sunday afternoons.

Kuendelea is a Christian and she said she has never had her own Bible before. She thought we would bring her a Bible a few weeks ago but I couldn’t get a ride to Jonesboro. So, I met her at the women’s prayer meeting in Clarkston on Saturday and surprised her. She was extra happy to get her first Bible. She said it was a special prize that she could hold onto for the rest of her life.

Some of you might know that I broke my leg playing basketball. I had to wear a walking boot for four weeks so I wasn’t able to deliver any Bibles this month. But my brother volunteered to deliver a bible for me, so this is going to be a blog from my brother Orion:

When we moved to Clarkston eight years ago, we lived in an apartment and all our neighbors were refugees. The people who lived below my bedroom were from Congo and they spoke Swahili. Actually, they came from the Maheba Refugee Camp in Zambia where they lived for many years. They were Catholic and they wore rosary beads around their necks. Nabulu and her husband lived there and they had eight kids. Sometimes they asked us to help them with different things. A couple times, Nabulu even came to our Swahili church to get prayed for

But then they moved to Macon, which is about 1 ½ hours from Clarkston, and we didn’t see them anymore.

But more and more families are moving to Macon too because the houses are cheaper there. They have a Bible study because they don’t have a church in Swahili. Nabulu went to the Bible study a lot and then she became a Christian. Now she has been asking for a Swahili Bible for a long time and we decided to bring her one.

So, I went with my dad to visit Macon on Sunday. We went to the Bible study and there were about 25 people there. They were mostly kids or teenagers but Nabulu and a couple other adults were there too. Nabulu was excited to see us again and we were glad to see her too. I gave the Bible to Nabulu and she was really happy to get that Bible. Afterward we had lunch with her – some fufu and fish and also some maandazis.

I could see that giving someone a Bible in their language can make a big difference. They can understand about God because they can read about Him in the language they know. Even if they don’t have much, getting that Swahili Bible seemed like the most important thing.  

Today I visited a family in Jonesboro which is about one hour from Clarkston because of all the traffic. Now a lot of refugee families are getting resettled to Jonesboro because Clarkston is filling up fast. Jonesboro has cheap apartments and there are jobs at the airport which is right nearby. So now a lot of Congolese families are living in Jonesboro.

Azizi has been asking and asking for a Bible for about four months. But we had a hard time getting to Jonesboro which is why it took us so long. She said she was about ready to move to Clarkston just so that she could get a Bible and read God’s Word in her language! So, I’m glad we went.

Azizi’s family has only been in the US for about five months. She has eight kids. The oldest is 16 and the youngest was born last month! She is married but her husband also has another wife. Azizi said she is the head wife because she is older than the other wife. But the other wife lives in Clarkston with her kids and that is where the husband was at the moment. 

We gave Azizi some boxes of dishes, some clothes, and some food too. When I gave her the Bible, I also gave her a Jesus Film DVD in Swahili. We had to show her how to play the DVD. But she liked it a lot.

I didn’t know people could want Bibles so much that they would want to move to Clarkston just to get one! I’m glad we went to Jonesboro to meet Azizi and give her that Bible. Now she can read the Bible and teach her kids about Jesus.