September 3, 2016

Cornerstone Farms, St. Jacob – We kicked off our partnership with Oasis International Ministries with a visioneering trip to the Farm. Oasis’ founders, Mark & Joanie, urban missionaries Matt & Kim, and their extended families spent the afternoon with us and a number of our students blue sky dreaming about how God might use what He is doing, and inviting all of us into, to minister to refugees here in St. Louis.

The great gift of the day was the refugee family who came. Eman and her 3 daughters are from Jordan, and Eman’s husband is from Baghdad. While he was unable to join us, Eman immediately recognized the paintings of a mosque she and her husband knew well from his home town. After a few minutes of walking through our home, she said, “I feel as though I am back at home in Jordan, in my family’s home.” It was a beautiful moment.

Iraqi/Jordanian and American students sitting on a rug from Cairo, Egypt, playing spoons on a table that was made by a Palestinian carpenter in Amman, Jordan. More of this God, please! We want so much more of this.

Julie Tucker provided an amazing lunch spread and when Eman saw it she exclaimed, “Ah! Arab food!!” Well done, Julie! It was such a blessing, and no small accomplishment to succeed in showing proper Arab hospitality. We finished the visit with Arabic coffee from Amman.

Eman is a new follower of Jesus, and life is not easy. Let’s remember to pray for her and her family.  The Hendrick family are excited about joining her and her family at their home in a couple of weeks for dinner.

We are looking forward with great anticipation to our next Fall event – a Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 22nd. We want to be in a position to provide transportation for as many refugee families as possible. There will be pony rides, pumpkin carving, hay rides, face painting, live music, chicken races and more. It will be a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus with a great many people who may have never stepped foot outside of a city setting before. Imagine! Please save the date and think of who else might be interested in volunteering time and resources to this exciting opportunity.