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.

There is one family that we have known for a long time. Juma is the mom and she started coming to the Swahili church a while ago. She got baptized there. She has a lot of kids – 9 of them in all. The oldest would be a senior in high school but she has been staying home to help with the other kids. The youngest is a new baby! She was born two months ago.

Fortunately for them, they recently moved out of their apartment and into a house which is good because they have such a big family. But the problem they have is the dad is very sick and he had to stop working. He needs injections which cost a lot of money. So Juma is working very hard now.

We brought the family a lot of food, some baby clothes and, of course a Bible. Actually, we brought two Bibles – one in Swahili and one in English. The two oldest kids are learning English and they can understand it and wanted an English Bible too.

Juma was very happy about everything we gave her, especially the Bibles. She was carrying the baby girl around on her back. It seemed like she didn’t even know the baby was there, but the baby seemed really happy and was sleeping.

This was a very big family and they have some problems. They need a lot of help. I was glad to help them by giving them all those things, but I was especially glad because Juma was happiest about getting that Swahili Bible. She liked getting the food and baby clothes, but the Bible really made her smile.

There are so many families in Clarkston that don’t have a Bible! Desiree and Echa have nine children and their family is one that didn’t have a Bible until I brought them one last week.

The family is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and they moved to Clarkston three months ago. In their apartment I saw that they have very little furniture and they asked us to bring some for them next time we come. They only had a small couch and a chair in their living room and when all of the nine children came out to say hello to us, I couldn’t believe how many people were in there, and there weren’t enough seats! I never saw such a big family in one apartment like that before.

None of them could speak English very well but they speak Swahili so I gave them a Bible in Swahili and they all liked it and were thankful. They all took turns holding it.

After I gave them the Bible, my dad prayed for them. They have some problems because they still haven’t found a job. Desiree is trying to get a job at a chicken factory. They also have a daughter with special needs and they asked my dad to help them with that.

Before we left, we gave them some food from the food pantry. They almost took it all! The only thing they left were the bags of string beans. They never saw them before.

I was glad to see such a big family and get a chance to give them a Bible. Now they can read it whenever they want!

Today I visited the family of Abedi. She is Congolese but she spent most of her life in the refugee camp in Tanzania. She is the first wife of a man who has three wives. The second wife lives with her kids on the other side of Clarkston and the third wife lives with her kids in Tanzania. Abedi has five kids, and she said her husband has about 14 kids altogether.

Abedi lives in Plantation apartment complex and it’s not a very nice one. She has lived there for three years but she wants to find a new one because the rent is now $2,000 every month! There was water dripping from her ceiling and black mold on the walls. She didn’t have any couches, just some folding chairs that we sat on. She works in a window factory but her day off is Saturday so that’s why we came to visit her on Saturday.

She was so happy when we arrived. She wanted a Bible in Swahili for a long time, but she didn’t expect us to arrive that day. She said it was a blessing to get an unexpected visitor. While we were sitting with her, two more unexpected visitors arrived. They just came in and sat with her for a little while and then they left. They didn’t come for any reason except to talk and visit a little bit. Abedi said this was a very special day for her because she was receiving so many unexpected visitors.

We gave her the Swahili Bible and she clapped her hands. My dad told her that now she could read the Bible and make sure the pastor is telling the truth in his Sunday sermons. She liked it a lot.

I felt bad for Abedi because of her apartment and also because her husband has so many wives and he isn’t a Christian. But I was also happy because Abedi could feel like she was blessed just for receiving some visitors to her apartment. And she was so happy about getting a Bible!

I delivered another Bible this month to someone whose name means “Well Done” in French. Well Done and his parents live in an apartment in Clarkston and they needed a Swahili or French Bible in their home. Well Done is Congolese and works at the post office near the airport and he can speak English. I gave him a Swahili Bible and he was really grateful for it. Well Done has been going to the church my dad started for the last couple years. When we got to his apartment, at first he wasn’t there because he was helping his sister who got in a car accident. So we just sat in his apartment with his parents and a lot of other people until he showed up. He said his sister was fine but the car was not. And then when he got his Bible he was so surprised and very happy about it. He kept smiling and saying “thank you” many times. He said now he could bring his Bible to church and read God’s Word every day.

Today we visited Binti and I gave her a Swahili Bible. Last year she visited my dad’s church and she heard an announcement about Bibles for any family that doesn’t have one. She signed up for a Bible that day and has wanted one for a long time.

Binti is a co-wife. That means she is the second wife of a man who has two wives. They can do that in Congo. When we came to her apartment there was like a big group of people already there. They were having a kind of funeral there because the baby of the first wife died. It was sad and they were trying to comfort the first wife. Binti was very busy and her main job was cooking for all the people who came. So we had to go to a friend’s apartment nearby and Binti met us there later.

Binti was so tired from the work, but she was really glad to get a Bible that she could read in Swahili which is her language. She said she would read it every day and try to learn more about God. She also said she wanted to start coming to the church. We prayed for her and we gave her some food that we had in the car, and she asked us to come again and teach her about the Bible.