Church Blog

Before long, students will soon be ready to go back to school! This includes refugee and immigrant families, and you and I have a great opportunity if we open our hearts in support. Reflecting on this mid-summer season, I want to share a story from my own family about how God takes care of those who trust Him. 

The Heart of God

I was born in the Soviet Union in a large Christian family. We lived in a society that was aggressively opposed to faith in God. Atheism was the main religion, and the state did everything possible to make life difficult for Christians. Our life was not easy. My own school experience as a child was not always positive. But my parents raised us to trust God in many different circumstances and to always pray and trust God every day. This is how we survived the Soviet Union and the economic crisis that came after it collapsed.   

In 1998 my family and I received an invitation to move to the United States under the religious refugee program, but we could not even pay for the tickets. Then World Relief supported us, and in the end people who did not even know us responded and donated so we were able to move to this country!  

Even the smallest things help! You can help by donating backpacks, school supplies, and other seasonal needs today!

Image: Tanya, her husband Oleg, and her daughter Lisa on their flight to the USA in 1999.

Summer is right around the corner! It’s the season of graduation parties, life transitions, and changing ministry rhythms. In the midst of all that, my team has been wondering, How can your church keep serving and welcoming our immigrant and refugee neighbors through the summer season – and have some fun along the way? 
 
Here’s one creative example. Recently a Ukrainian colleague and her niece spent time with a group of high schoolers to share about their life experiences. The students were so stirred by hearing from a peer about the realities of displacement and adaptation to a new country that they self-organized and collected $2,000 to supply newly arriving families with welcome kits – sets of donated items that furnish homes for new families. 
 
Their ingenuity was totally unexpected and blew us away! However, as our offices continue receiving over 80 people a month for refugee resettlement, the needs continue.  
 
Summer is a time to slow down a little and invite your church to embrace the joy and fun activities of the summer. With some creativity and cheerful hearts, how could your church think of new ways to collect Welcome Kits? 
 
Perhaps you could … 

• Challenge your youth group to hold a scavenger hunt at Walmart to collect all the items for a Welcome Kit in record time.  
   
• Send off your small groups to see who can find the most discounted kitchen item at Bed, Bath, and Beyond before it closes!  
   
• Invite your tech savvy college students and their friends to build a Welcome Kit item by item from their computers or phones by using the Welcome Kit Amazon wishlist. 

Like the students at this high school did, I’m sure you can think of your own ideas to engage your congregation!  

If you’d like to learn more, sign up here and someone from our team will reach out with details. You can also view our  Welcome Kit guide here. We can’t wait to see what ideas you come up with as you continue building communities of welcome and love with our immigrant and refugee neighbors this summer! 

This month, about 100 people will arrive as refugees at our offices in Chicagoland from countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Burma and others. As we prepare for Holy Week, I can’t help but reflect on God’s lavish and magnificent love for each of these individuals and the opportunity we have to show sacrificial love.

I was also reminded of the way God loves all of us in our vulnerability through a terrifying event involving my son while on vacation recently. Our tour guide took us to a dramatic cliff overlooking the ocean. Within seconds we noticed our 9-year-old son running down the stairs towards the water. We tried to stop him, but no success. The next thing I remember was him being swept away by the vicious, towering waves.

Even though I can’t swim, I immediately ran and jumped into the water. I also ignored my precious camera on me that I had saved up for months to buy. I fought with all I had to get my son to safety. After several attempts we got ashore and right at that instance God reminded me of the way He loves us.

For God so loved the world, He gave.

In Matthew 22, Jesus gave the great commandments: we are to love God and one another with all our soul, heart, and mind. We can easily accept the idea of loving God and one another while neglecting how we should love. We are to love with our whole being, just like my love for my son compelled me to throw myself into the water. There is no such thing as to love half-heartedly.

Love does indeed come at a cost.

I invite you to consider how you and your church can imitate God’s love for people courageously navigating the waters of displacement this month. We have a critical need for household items. These goods show tangible welcome to people who God has brought to safety on our shores.
 

Together we can build communities of sacrificial love and welcome!

Grace and peace,

Adrian Hendarta

Hello, I am Tatyana Sigidina, and I joined the church team as Ukrainian Church Liaison in December 2022. I was born in Ukraine in a huge Christian family, the eighth child of eleven. After finishing high school and seven years of music school, I got a diploma for tailoring women’s clothing. 

In the 1990s, when the Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved, God opened the door for evangelism. After attending Donetsk Christian University, I went as a missionary to Russia and taught children at a public school for Bible Study and youth groups.  

I got married in 1997. God gave me a great husband, Oleg. A year later, we welcomed a first child into our lives who is hard of hearing. Two years later, we moved out of the country to the United States. On the first day living in US, I met people from World Relief who welcomed and took care of my family as we settled in Washington state. I now have three children: Lisa, David and Tim. 

My all-time favorite hobby is music and I took some college classes to complete an associate degree as a music teacher. For the past 15 years, I’ve taught  private music lessons.  

 When I came to America, one of my desires was to see all immigrants get a chance to experience welcome like I did when I got here. I am happy to be a part of the World Relief staff now, and I look forward to helping any refugees who have the same types of troubling situations in their country. I am ready and willing to open my heart to them as others have done for me.