Our Amazing Clients
At our monthly board meetings, I give an update our board members on how things are going at the office and a little story about how God has touched my heart through our clients. This fall, there are three special clients that come to mind…one is a homeless veteran from Canada, the second a permanent resident from an African country who has petitioned her 3 daughters and third is a US citizen who recently brought her spouse from a war torn country in the Middle East. Three very different people who have blessed us in different ways.
Joe* was brought to this country when he was 4 years old from Canada. His parents settled in California where they lived the party life, addicted to alcohol and drugs. His parents never had a desire to become US citizens nor care for the immigration status of their growing son. Joe ended up joining the military, but this was before the time that joining could grant you automatic citizenship. Soon, he too became an alcoholic and a drug addict. It was by God’s grace that he was never deported although he came very close after serving time in prison for drug possession. His case ended up being dismissed. Joe gave his life to Jesus and has never looked back. He testifies how the Lord completely delivered his from his addictions and has provided for his every need.
Now his testimony would have been special any day of the year, but it just so happened that Joe came into our office on a day Dalia and I were feeling discouraged, especially about how God was going to continue keeping ADC afloat. Joe had come to us because he needed his green card renewed or else he couldn’t get his driver’s license renewed or apply for a housing voucher from the VA. Thankfully we were able to get him the renewal paper quickly and he now has his new license and his case worker is helping him find housing. Joe receives just around $700 per month in benefits, so his budget is tight. But he says he never has been left wanting, and how God has provided for every need. It was exactly what he needed it even before he could voice his prayer of need to God. As you can imagine, his testimony encouraged us greatly.
Amanda* has been working on petitioning her 3 adult daughters from her home country in Africa and we have been wading through the long and sometimes difficult consular process. When Amanda heard that we have been short on finances, she and her sister sprang into action taking my office supply list and turning it into a reality. The next week she brought us a box of copy paper, 1 pack of gel pens, a large box of paperclips and a stack of multicolored sticky notes: all things we use often and that we were running low on Please continue to pray for Amanda and her girls that they would be reunited here in the US very soon.
Our third blessing happened just last night. We were invited to a baby shower for one of our Middle Eastern clients. Dalia and I had no idea what to expect. It was like nothing either of us had experienced before. We were greeted at the door by our pregnant hostess looked amazing in a velvet dress, makeup and with her beautiful long brown hair flowing over her shoulders. We were a bit in shock as we had never seen this lady without her hijab on, nor dressed up with makeup. We were escorted into the living room where several other ladies (some with hijabs and others without) were sitting on sofas and chairs and happily chatting away in Arabic. The hostess went around the room offering us qawah in paper cups. Soon we were sitting in a living room with over 50 women representing 4 middle eastern nationalities: Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian and Palestinian.
Children ran happily back and forth cutting across the living room floor. Large aluminum foil containers were brought into the kitchen and dining room and before I knew it, we were being encouraged to get up and fill a plate. The food was amazing! Rice dishes, pasta dishes, bean dishes, grape leaf rolls, a variety of salads, chicken shawarma and any kind of middle eastern dish you could imagine was spread out before us. What a feast! Soon after the food was finished, room was made in the middle of the living room and the dancing began! They ladies clapped, did zaghrouta, sang and entertained each other by dancing. It was free and joyful. Everyone knew the words and clapped along. Then it was time for the hostess to dance with the cake…not an easy feat considering she is 8 months pregnant and the cake was a full sheet cake, big enough to serve 50 people! Cake was then served to the guests and after being encouraged to try some dancing for ourselves, we finished our cake and excused ourselves to leave. What an amazing blessing to have spent an evening with such lovely ladies celebrating life and each other so freely, despite knowing they have family members in some of the most dangerous parts of the world to be living in right now. Please pray that their relatives will be able to be brought safely to the US and that those who stay behind will be protected from the dangerous destruction that plagues some of these countries currently.
*Names are changed to protect privacy
