Befriending Families

Amelia Oesch

A few months ago, Christy Hoehner and the CFNA team launched our Friend a Family Program! Key to this effort are church support groups of five to ten members each, committed to serving a refugee family for three to six months. This service commitment includes helping with immediate material needs, teaching ESL, explaining facets of American culture, and developing friendships with people who have experienced an abundance of hardship in a short period of time. 

Over the past few months nine support groups consisting of 63 volunteers from Lutheran congregations have each walked with a refugee family through the resettlement process in St. Louis. Each group now has its own story of how the experience has impacted not only the lives of a refugee family, but theirs as well. One of the discoveries had to do with the challenges facing low-income people, coupled with the difficulties involved in navigating the available support systems. As one member put it, “We gained an appreciation for the plight of refugees moving to St. Louis. Moreover, we were humbled by the hospitality of our Afghan friends, and have a greater understanding of the difference between an individualistic time-oriented culture versus a collectivistic relationship-oriented culture.” 

Other group members stated they enjoyed “helping the family achieve milestones like school registration” and were gratified to learn that their Afghan family’s child “will be the first in the family to receive an education.” Beyond providing for immediate material needs, Friend a Family really does help refugee families establish roots in our community through Christ-inspired care. 

Looking forward, we expect to encounter additional Afghan families as they arrive in St. Louis, together with families from other countries as well. All of them will be in need of support, and all of them will be seeking friends as well. The Friend a Family program, while personally fulfilling, is a commitment to loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Meanwhile, we covet your prayers as we continue to recruit more volunteers, better our program logistics, and discover ways to serve the growing refugee community. 

We are extremely grateful for the generous support provided by the Lutheran community, and especially the Lutheran Foundation, for their in-kind and financial donations, as well as through untold hours of volunteer service. If you and your family or church group are interested in sponsoring a refugee family and walking with them through one of life’s most challenging experiences, feel free to reach out to me at aoesch@cfna-stl.org. Thank you for your prayers and support! 

By Amelia Oesch
Friend a Family Coordiantor, CFNA