Justice Advocacy Compassion

JAC stands for Justice Advocacy and Compassion. Serving the last, lost and least in our community and world is the outward expression of inward transformation. Simply put, your spiritual journey with us will not be complete without becoming involved with JAC.

Mosaic

We serve families of African refugees who have been recently admitted into the United States. We seek to help their kids adjust to school and culture. We seek to help the parents cope with the new world of America in the basics of life and work. These refugees receive state and federal assistance for only 6 months. Some of them have lived in refugee camps for over 15 years. America is more than a new country, it's a new world.

We tutor kids of our Mosaic families from the ages of 4 to 18. We help them with math and reading. We also try to have fun at the park and do things that are fun.

The adult refugees have it very hard. They come here with a few belongings and sometimes very limited language skills. Within 6 months, they will see the end of government assistance with housing and they must make it like the rest of us, only they start from a standstill. We seek to be friends and helpers to them and their families. We build relationships and give them people that they can rely on.

Update from Alice....

Summer's been fun and easy going for the kids with summer school and vacation.  We've enjoyed our game nites on Monday nights.  There's been a noticeable change in the children.  They are happy and not angry and getting into fights.  They are courteous and kind and not hording and selfish.  They are more confident about themselves in school and in sports.  They've all had some exposure to the gospel through Bible Club or summer camps.  Our oldest kids (whom we taught calculus to last year) are all now in college and some are planning to earn PCT (orderly/ nurse aid) so they can earn money for university. Our parents have steady jobs, but unfortunately with little earning potential, little advancement potential, and don't get to spend a lot of time with the kids.  They also have the added stress of thinking about future housing but losing the local social network.  2 of the families we’re familiar with have already moved out of the neighborhood, I wish them well.

I'm continued to be surprised how much God has used this opportunity to change how I think about Dallas, the world, and people who live different lives  And I've been so thankful for the volunteers that have given of their time, money, and heart over the past 2 years!  Thankful also for the apartments that lent us a place

Prayer Requests/Needs

Things that need help and prayer:

1)  School Supply Drive has started! We hope to have everything ready before school starts Aug 28 (sounds late huh).  Angela is our main point girl.  We can do our dental education around that time too.
We need:
supplies, people to buy/ sort, and people to help me scour the neighborhood to see what the current needs are and how many students, people who love teeth.  Pray also for the upcoming school year.

2)  We're loosing the tutoring apartment. We've been with the IRC the 1st  year and then with Lake Highlands Church for the past year  Thanks to them we can do what we do on a small budget.  Through Lake Hightlands Church's Refugee Program, their congregation is now 50% African.  So they will be stopping the outreach program and using the resources to help their congregation. 
We need:  a savvy solution, a place to meet.

3) Augusta needs a computer wiz. Augusta, the Great Aunt of the Refugees, came from the Congo over a decade ago.  She has done extensive refugee work in Houston before her move to Dallas a few years ago.  She really knows how to look out for the refugees and sees huge gaps in the Dallas system.  All she does is volunteer, but wants to publish her work so that she can get some grants and more volunteers. 
She needs: a computer wiz to set up a scanner and to teach her how to use it.
I can arrange contact.  ?  Arcfac_1999@hotmail.com, arcfac-1999@hotmail.com

4) There are 40,000 new Burndi refugees. I’ve already encountered 2 families at work.  They are at a huge disadvantage b/c they speak Burndi, Swahili, maybe French, and not a lick of English.  They also can’t communicate much with the other Africans b/c of the language barriers and social stratification between them (sad huh).  The adjusting Lake Highlands members are slowing moving out the area and being replaced by these new refugees. 
The needs:  prayer, are we going to be involved?  I don’t know how much the IRC, RR, Catholic Family Charities, and Mosaic are doing?

Contact

Email Alice for more information.