Hope Rise Website Launched

We launched our Website today! Go check it out when you get a chance! www.hoperise.org

Also, tonight is our first fundraising event: The Hope Rise Birthday Bash! If you can come out and are in the Nashville area, we would love to see you! We will be telling a bit about Hope Rise International and the refugees that we support. Also, we will be selling scarves that the refugees have been making! It will be a great night! It starts at 7p.m. at Wallace Chapel at 15354 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37211! Come celebrate with us!

VBS

This year we had about 55 refugee children come to VBS! We had amazing donors supply funds for each child to be sponsored so that they would have the opportunity to be there. The week was incredible for the kids! They played games, made new friends, sang songs and learned more about Jesus and His word!

Camps like these were not available in the countries where they are from, so it was truly a new and exciting experience for them. They became adjusted so quickly and by the second day they were doing hand motions to each song, laughing and playing with new friends. I was so touched and proud to see how much of an impact something like VBS can have on a child. Here are some pictures to show you their faces and some of the activities they did!

To see more pictures, go to the Hope Rise International Facebook Page!!

"Scarving": Making a Difference in A Woman's Life

Many of you have read the blog and seen the pictures of the farming project. Now, we are starting a new project for the economic development of 18 women in the refugee community. The idea is to take the skills and talents they have, and help them develop an income. Our new project is handmade scarves and hats.

These women are able to knit and crochet beautifully handmade items. These scarves are something that the women really spend time on and we have seen their excitement grow as they are creating something beautiful for others to enjoy. Now we are looking for proactive ways to get the word out about these women and their scarves.

So, Hope Rise invested the first few batches of yarn, needles and other items needed for the women to get started. When we got the first 20 items back, we were pleasantly surprised how unique and beautiful each scarf was. They were beyond our expectations. The women make each scarf with unique color and style, which takes about two days to finish. Our goal is to try and get these scarves out into the public, so that the profits go directly to the woman that made it so that they may help pay their rent, utilities and other needs for their family.

We really believe in these women, and we believe that this is the next step God has for us. We are giving each woman a sense of purpose as she creates beautiful things to add to the world around her, and they are finding joy in that. Many of them sit in apartments all day with no job and little activity. The cook, clean and watch their children. One woman, Narayani, told me that she would like to just help her husband pay for the electricity bill, so that she could be a part of providing for her family.

Right now, our first step is to start a website and scarf store, which will be up within the next month or so. Until then, we will be selling them at Hope Rise sponsored events, and other church events where we have been asked to speak.

Besides the unique handmade scarves, the website will include a story about the woman who made each individual scarf. These stories are touching and filled with true hope.

We really are trying to get the word out, and we know once people see these scarves and the purpose behind them. People will love them!

Today, we are asking if anyone has extra yarn, needles, or additional items we can use! Please continue to stay updated as this opportunity for these women continues to grow. Our hope is we will get the scarves into local shops and boutiques around the city. We are so excited to use our resources and the talents of the women in this way!

Have a great day! We love that you are a part of this mission. Thank you so much for reading and being involved. We love you!

Check out our new Logo for Hope Rise!!

Planting the first Seeds

Saturday was a day to mark in the books for Hope Rise International! We launched the new farming project! The day was sunny and beautiful- a perfect day to spend outside.

The farming project is a vision that I have had since August. You see, about 80% of the Bhutanese-Nepali refugees were farmers in Nepal. They had worked land all their lives, seen growth, been outside and fed their families. Many of them since being in America, have spent days inside apartments with nothing to do, nowhere to go and no way to get anywhere. But this day, they were outside where they feel alive and their faces showed it! With smiles spread across their faces and dressed in their typical saris, dresses and nice pants, they got down in the dirt to plant onions, potatoes and beets. They could not have been more pleased.

We have worked on pulling together the necessary elements to get them started to plant and grow vegetables, fruits and herbs. Epworth United Methodist Church found out about the refugees and the congregation has been a vital part in getting the farming started. One man from the church donated three acres of land in College Grove, Tennessee, for them to begin to plant and harvest. He bought the seeds and got them started on Saturday. Other members of the church have been helping with equipment, seed calendars and many other things to ensure we get this started and set it up for success.

We are hoping to feed most of the families in the refugee community with the things that are grown and we also want to start selling the crops at Farmer’s Markets around Nashville. Now we need to find some trucks to load up and drive to the markets! This will give the farmers an income! This is particularly a great opportunity because many of the farmers are elderly people and women who do not speak English. It has been a challenge for them to get a job in America. Now they are getting to do what they have always known, be outside instead of cooped up in an apartment all day and sell product for an income.

Hope was planted in their hearts today as we planted the seeds for the harvest to come in a few months!

Tricycles!!

We took about 25 tricycles and riding toys for the little refugee kids yesterday!! Here are some pictures! Sorry they aren't the best quality, I took them on my phone!

It was such a joy to see them all riding around the apartment complex yesterday!

Surely it is Better to Give

In the past few weeks, my time has been blessed with smiles, hugs and grateful tears. It has all been from giving. We have been giving out clothes, toys, furniture, coats, blankets, household items to the refugees. All the donations were given by generous people. We have received beds, couches, chairs, coats, all kinds of clothes, cleaning supplies, microwaves, toasters, silverware, plates, cups etc, etc. It has been amazing. But more importantly, it has made an impact on the lives of people who do not have much.

One story that stuck out to me was when we met with a young family. They have a 4 year old boy and the mother is expecting another child. The little boy only had 2 stuffed animals in the whole apartment. There was no extra toys. The apartment only had a broken kitchen table, a bed, a dirty couch and two metal chairs. When we got out of the truck, the little boy was jumping up and down and clapping his hands. He saw the fire truck, the ninja turtle and the toy soldier and started screaming. It was pure joy. His face was glowing with delight and I had to fight back the tears. I realized why we are doing this. It is for little boys just like this! That day we got to share God's heart with that family. That He will provide and that He truly loves them.

Yesterday, we gave a king size bed to a family of 7 (2 parents and 5 kids). They only had three beds in the apartment. The mother spoke no English but her smile was priceless. She hugged me and slipped a necklace over my head that she had made. It was her way to give back in some way. I will always cherish that moment with her and remember her when I forget to be thankful for all that I have. Sometimes we don't even realize that we are blessed because we have beds, sheets, blankets.

It is a humbling experience to be a part of giving to others. Every item we give, I see how much I am receiving.

Of Humbling Beginnings

I'm starting this blog at a time when my life is basically starting over. My name is Lauren for those of you who don't know me. I graduated from college December of 2005 and immediately in January of 2006 started working at the church I had attended all of my life. I have been working there for the last 3 1/2 years as the Director of Public Relations and then as the Missions Director. My plan was to go to law school this fall and pursue a career doing International Law, working as an advocate for human rights. But, God had another plan.

The doors literally slammed shut! How humbling. It is pretty awakening when we think we are doing what is right, just to find out we are pursuing our own dreams instead of God's plan for us. We should be careful what we ask God. When I asked Him to take my life and I would do whatever He asked of me, I probably didn't realize I was laying down my own agenda. Most of the time we figure we love Him so our agenda will just match His. So, on to what He was really asking me to do with my life. In October, a group of refugees, mainly from Nepal (originally from Bhutan) and some Africans from the Congo and Burundi, showed up at the church. As the Missions Director, I had spent a great deal of time with them and my heart was captured. So, when I sought after God in the midst of my confusion about my big law school plans, He showed me what He had in store.

I was walking through the apartment complex where most of them live, the sun was shining through the clouds and on my face. The dust was kicking up on my flip flops, waves of curry were stinging in my nose, kids were running barefoot on the concrete pushing tires as a toy and every face looking at me was dark skinned with dark eyes. God spoke softly, you asked me to give you the nations, here they are! Oh, it all made sense. For years I had known God had called me to the nations as a missionary and humanitarian. Those nations are people and here they all were. Two blocks from where I worked everyday. Like I said before, be aware of what you are asking of God, He may just give it to you!

So, in August, I quit working at the church to start a non-profit organization called Hope Rise International. It is an organization that helps assimilate refugees into American society through education, job training and service! Yikes!! It actually sounds like I know what I am doing, but please do not be fooled.

This blog will be about what I am doing, what I am learning and how a young girl felt a call on her life and is trying to discover what to do with it. I'll try to share the journey with you!