Ambassadors Circle

Ambassadors Play Key Roles at Summer Church Events
By Denise Laugtug, LIRS Ambassadors Circle Director

“I really enjoyed it and was so proud to be a part of it,” said LIRS Ambassador Kamy Moghbeli about his participation at the LIRS Walk Around the World workshop, a part of the Convention Without Walls, the national Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (WELCA) Triennial Assembly held in Philadelphia July 11-14. Ambassadors Margaret and Mohammed Kromah, Pastor Linda Theophilus and Mekabou Fofana were also on hand, as were a number of LIRS staff members. Participants walked through various stations and heard the stories of life in detention, a refugee’s journey and coming to America. Staff and friends of Lutheran Family Service of Eastern Pennsylvania brought multicultural music and stories to enhance the experience of the WELCA attendees. The WELCA assembly was a four-day event at which women from all over the United States participated. LIRS had an ongoing exhibit in the Unity Village, which was often quite crowded with people asking questions about the work of LIRS. The Walk Around the World offered opportunities for women to experience what it means to be a refugee, an asylee or a child in Immigration and Naturalization Service detention, or to be denied a request to stay in the country. LIRS created a “passport” to guide them throughout these activities.

Nominate someone to be an LIRS Ambassador! Ambassadors bring LIRS’s message of new hope and new life to their communities. We are looking for volunteers from a variety of backgrounds who can speak up to promote a more welcoming community for immigrants and refugees and represent the ministry of LIRS. Good ambassadors are self-starters, have experienced being a refugee or an immigrant, or have welcomed newcomers to this country, can articulate a message, can motivate people to action, and are willing to be public in their support of LIRS and its work. For more information, please contact Denise Laugtug, LIRS Ambassadors Circle Director, 701/298-0288 or ambassadors@lirs.org.

Pastor Linda led one such experience, which involved pantomiming basic phrases with a partner who was then asked to interpret. Many of the women made the comment that they had no idea how frustrating it must be for someone who doesn’t know English to say basic but important things, such as asking where to find a doctor or how to get to the school.

Other participants were shocked to learn about INS detention of children. As Mekabou told his story, tears were visible in the eyes of many participants.

The Walk Around the World ended with the filling and blessing of backpacks for refugees. Over 150 backpacks were filled that day. Prior to the assembly, each attendee was asked to bring a gift in kind. Among the suggested gifts were contents for LIRS Welcome to America backpacks. Those contributing backpack contents could choose to bring items for a very young child, a school age child or a woman, and a list of appropriate items was provided for each of these.

The 150 women who attended left the workshop emotionally touched by all they learned and saw.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission Events were held in Hickory, N.C., July 18-21 and in Minneapolis July 25-28. Pastor Linda was again on hand, as were Ambassadors Dorothy Rossing, Pastor Ken Johnson and Pastor Norman Ullestad. They staffed booths and spread the word about LIRS to attendees.

“Having a drawing was a good attraction. Displaying the T-shirt on the booth backdrop made it a conversation piece as to how long LIRS has been in ministry,” commented Ambassador and Pastor Jose Flores. He represented LIRS at the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Lutheran Laymen’s League International Convention in Toronto.

“The exhibit seemed well-received; most of the men were familiar with LIRS’s work. One man took 20 copies of all the brochures, which he is going to distribute at a pastors’ conference in Houston. A pastor’s wife took about six sets of materials,” commented Pat Friar about her representation of LIRS at the ELCA Lutheran Men in Mission convention in San Antonio, Texas.

LIRS continues to appreciate the dedication and expertise of its volunteer ambassadors, who freely give of their time and energy to spread the word about LIRS’s ministries of service and justice to refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. We are grateful!

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No. 230
September/October 2002

Contents
 
Front Cover
From the President’s Desk
Washington Update
Focus on Partners
Focus on Volunteerism
From the Field
Project Helps Burmese Asylees
Ambassadors Circle
Resources
LIRS in the News
Staff News
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Vice President for
Agency Advancement
Timmi Pierce

Director for Communications
Susan Baukhages

Editor/Designer
Valerie Anne Bost

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Unless otherwise noted, the articles in FYI are not copyrighted and may be reprinted with the following statement: “Reprinted courtesy of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee service.”
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Mission

In response to God’s love in Christ, we welcome the stranger, bringing new hope and new life through ministries of service and justice.