The First Christmas
It was his first Christmas in the United States…in Memphis.
Never before had the seven year-old received wrapped presents underneath a sparkling Christmas tree. His struggling family would not have known it this year, either, except for the kindness of his Memphis neighbors who saw their need and made it happen.
“WOW!” the little boy’s eyes shone as he excitedly explained to his school teacher in broken English, “Do you know I no can open the boxes now? I shake it but don’t know what it is. Did you know I must wait till Christmas?!”
It did not matter to the neighbors that the boy’s family was from a different culture with a different language and religion. It was more important to them find a way to share God’s love and open a door of friendship – and bring a HUGE smile to a little child’s heart.
Never before had the seven year-old received wrapped presents underneath a sparkling Christmas tree. His struggling family would not have known it this year, either, except for the kindness of his Memphis neighbors who saw their need and made it happen.
“WOW!” the little boy’s eyes shone as he excitedly explained to his school teacher in broken English, “Do you know I no can open the boxes now? I shake it but don’t know what it is. Did you know I must wait till Christmas?!”
It did not matter to the neighbors that the boy’s family was from a different culture with a different language and religion. It was more important to them find a way to share God’s love and open a door of friendship – and bring a HUGE smile to a little child’s heart.
No politics. . . No petitions. . . No protesting
For 26 years . . . Multi-National Ministries has shown kindness to refugee and immigrant families living in Memphis—helping them to find their way, understand this culture, achieve academic success, and feel the love of God.
This year over 700 folks from 5 continents and dozens of countries with many different languages, religions, and cultures will come to MNM hoping
to get help with homework,
to learn read and speak English,
to get to know & love Memphis,
and to be a good member of our community.
Multi-National Ministries. . .No politics. . . No petitions. . . No protesting . . . Just trying to follows God’s command to love our neighbors (no matter where they come from) and to make our city a better place.
This year over 700 folks from 5 continents and dozens of countries with many different languages, religions, and cultures will come to MNM hoping
to get help with homework,
to learn read and speak English,
to get to know & love Memphis,
and to be a good member of our community.
Multi-National Ministries. . .No politics. . . No petitions. . . No protesting . . . Just trying to follows God’s command to love our neighbors (no matter where they come from) and to make our city a better place.
Kindred Spirits in Ecuador
This past summer, eight of the MNM staff had the heart-enlightening chance to spend a week in Súa, Ecuador where we reconnected with some old friends and met new ones.
We arrived in coastal town of Súa (about 4 hours from Quito) just several months after earthquakes had devastated the region. Bumping along rutted roads, the crumbled structures, broken bridges, and temporary tent dwellings could be seen everywhere. The quake not only destroyed homes and livelihoods, but their sense of wellbeing...especially for the children. The parents told us how the children were afraid to go to sleep at night because the quakes might come again. We were humbled by their gratitude for the diversion of the simple songs, crafts, and activities we brought. (and appreciative of their patience as we tried our best to commutate in Spanish!)
Out of the many countryside churches visited, our very favorite was the one actually in the town of Súa. It did not take long to think of this precious place and its leaders (a.k.a. our new best friends and kindred spirits) like a “Multi-National Ministries SOUTH.” We discovered that each of our ministries do much same thing in the same way: help children with school work, feed them, care for them, share kindness, and tell them about God’s love. Serving side by side, the MNM staff learned a lot from the Súa Church, as we hope they, also, picked up ideas from us. We hope to return next summer and continue this shared friendship and work relationship.
That week in Ecuador—a beautiful country with beautiful people—was a big inspiration to us as we came back to the states to continue loving and caring for folks from around the world who are living in Memphis today.
To learn more about our new friends, please visit www.facebook.com/IglesiaEsperanzaVivaSua
We arrived in coastal town of Súa (about 4 hours from Quito) just several months after earthquakes had devastated the region. Bumping along rutted roads, the crumbled structures, broken bridges, and temporary tent dwellings could be seen everywhere. The quake not only destroyed homes and livelihoods, but their sense of wellbeing...especially for the children. The parents told us how the children were afraid to go to sleep at night because the quakes might come again. We were humbled by their gratitude for the diversion of the simple songs, crafts, and activities we brought. (and appreciative of their patience as we tried our best to commutate in Spanish!)
Out of the many countryside churches visited, our very favorite was the one actually in the town of Súa. It did not take long to think of this precious place and its leaders (a.k.a. our new best friends and kindred spirits) like a “Multi-National Ministries SOUTH.” We discovered that each of our ministries do much same thing in the same way: help children with school work, feed them, care for them, share kindness, and tell them about God’s love. Serving side by side, the MNM staff learned a lot from the Súa Church, as we hope they, also, picked up ideas from us. We hope to return next summer and continue this shared friendship and work relationship.
That week in Ecuador—a beautiful country with beautiful people—was a big inspiration to us as we came back to the states to continue loving and caring for folks from around the world who are living in Memphis today.
To learn more about our new friends, please visit www.facebook.com/IglesiaEsperanzaVivaSua
How do they do it?
Multi-National Ministries will provide all of its programs and activities (and bunches more!) for about 700 folks in 2017. And, even though we have 4 full time employees and 36 Part-time Program staff (leaders that only work during program times and work directly with the children/participants), this is done on a surprisingly small budget — only $400,000. We are able to do this because of several reasons:
With the number of refugee/immigrant students increasing in Shelby County Schools (did you know that there are over a dozen schools with 20-60% limited English speakers?), Multi-National National Ministries will hopefully be able to respond to this need by increasing the number of Homework Help sites around the city.
We ask for and really would appreciate your help in this effort and with all of the other MNM programs. Thanks you!
.
- An army of wonderful volunteers who show up each week and are passionate about showing God’s love to refugee/immigrant families here in Memphis
- Instead of buying/building a facility, MNM rents space for its main site in midtown and then uses classroom space in partnering schools for our other afterschool sites.
- The Part-Time Program Staff (many of whom grew up at MNM or are parents of MNM students) are the backbone of all the programs. Even though some may only work several hours a week between their college classes or after school, MNM could not effectively serve and give such loving, individual attention to as many participants without them.
With the number of refugee/immigrant students increasing in Shelby County Schools (did you know that there are over a dozen schools with 20-60% limited English speakers?), Multi-National National Ministries will hopefully be able to respond to this need by increasing the number of Homework Help sites around the city.
We ask for and really would appreciate your help in this effort and with all of the other MNM programs. Thanks you!
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(When making a donation, be sure to designate "MultiNational Ministries" in the Special Instructions box. And after making an onine donation, please send your mailing address through the Contact Form so that your tax deductible acknowledgement can be correctly sent to you. Thank you!)
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