Some Great Questions from Lynda:

Hi Carla,
I have questions about what it is okay for me to do individually, and where I need to follow certain procedures.
1)–I assume that any donations should go through you (ie Trinity).
For example, I know that Januka and her husband have a tv but not dvd player. I assume it shouldn’t just buy them a dvd player.
We have a certain $ donation we want to make, especially since we will be gone for 2 ½ months this summer. Do I make out a check to Trinity re: Bhutanese, or do I just give you or Mike or someone cash?
At what, if any, point could donations and/or gifts be given directly to the Bhutanese. For example, Januka gave me a necklace from Nepal. I am a beader and plan to give her a necklace that I made, esp. since she’s NOT SINGLE! So, I’m assuming those kinds of gifts are okay.
. Well, I wish we had procedures, and we need procedures, but we're not there as yet. Most the team at various times have felt okay about buying an item or items for a family here and there. So you feel the freedom to do as the Lord leads, but just be aware that lots of requests will probably follow and it's also okay to say no. If you'd like them to have a dvd player but don't want that dynamic to come into play, I could deliver it since I deliver lots of the donations, and they won't have to know it's from you. Savers and Goodwill have dvd players sometimes. I think the beading gift would be really sweet and would be a great friendship gift directly from you. RE: giving, send it to the church and put on the memo line that it's for the refugee ministry.

2)I would like to make a commitment to Januka’s family, but I won’t be much help after June 10 until mid August. Are you formally or informally matching people up?

Until I leave, these are the things I assume I can do:
Take Januka and others grocery shopping, visit her home and answer questions about appliances, etc, work on English, invite the family to my home, take them on other outings.
That would be fantastic! We have seen God working out the connections as natural friendships arise, and it's a real encouragement to me personally when that happens! So you have the freedom to do as much or as little as your schedule allows, and then when you get back, God willing, we'll all be here and glad to see you। I bet they would get a big kick out of getting mail or postcards from you while you are away.

३3) I have no real feel at all on how to help people find jobs!
this is a tough area for sure. Shekkar might ask you to take him to GCA which is a cleaning company with its main office in Mesa. Lots of our friends work for them especially at the airport. He failed the english screening test but can take it again. GCA also has sites around the city which do not require passing the test. Those who are persistent tend to get jobs, though not always full time. GCA can take a few hours if he gets hired. Helen looks through the want ads. You could take them to a Goodwill service center and teach them to look for work themselves using the Goodwill resources. Also, I suggest taking them to the library to get a library card. Burton Barr branch has lots of ELL/ESL dvd programs they can check out. I have some ELL work books if you want to use any of them.
४)4Feel free to pass this on to someone else on your team if it is appropriate.
I will, because this encourages all of us to know that others are catching the vision and see a need and are ready and willing to step in!! I struggle every week with feeling like there's too much to do, and have to keep reminding myself it's not up to me in the first place! So .....God bless you for joining in the journey!!
Thx,
Lynda