The past six months have been a challenging and stressful season for our refugee friends as government actions wreaked havoc on their lives. On January 27, 2025, all new refugee arrivals were put on indefinite pause, and all contracts with resettlement agencies were cancelled for the coming fiscal year. This means no new refugee arrivals through at least the end of 2026. Utterly heartbreaking. Please pray for the 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide* with no place to call home (*USA for UNHCR Refugee Statistics).
This national chaos meant that our day-to-day life at Abba’s House was rather unpredictable for the first half of 2025. From January to March, we served six different refugee women from five different countries — some single, some with children, 12 souls total. Five of these lived at Abba’s House at one time in March (see photo below). We were popping at the seams!
Making matters even more difficult, the refugee agencies, whose job it is to provide support services for arriving refugees, had their funding drastically cut, resulting in massive layoffs. The natural fallout of this meant that agencies such as the YMCA, Interfaith, Church World Service, World Relief, and others were no longer able to provide the services needed to newly arrived refugees who came prior to the January 27th shutdown. Consequently, with no new arrivals and a massive needs gap for those who had recently come, our focus at Abba’s House shifted to helping individuals and families who were already here but without a support system, including some of our guests from the past year or so. This has included helping out with rent and groceries, securing jobs and housing, and navigating critical benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid.
One of our crucial steps to assist these families and individuals was hiring a part-time case worker to check in on them and provide the support the agencies would have provided. Due to a generous gift from one of our partners, we were able to hire Claire Kayitesi, one of our former refugee guests who was working as a case worker for the YMCA when these layoffs happened. We also added intern Jessica Corona, who is currently working on her master’s degree in social work. Together they check in on our former and current families to be sure everyone has what they need and keep us abreast of any needs to be met.
In April, we rejoiced to celebrate our first Abba’s House baptisms! During LifeBridge Church’s Easter worship service, Asia (14) and Faraja (2) were baptized by Pastor Michael.
In June, we had the joy of hosting our first Abba’s House wedding for Claire’s sister Yvonne and her new husband Nathan. Pastor Michael officiated the ceremony, and some of our former guests were part of the wedding party. So beautiful! Congratulations to the happy couple!
Jeane, Asia, and Faraja have stayed with us the longest, since Jeane was pregnant and due June 17th. While here, Asia turned 15 and Faraja turned 3. Our volunteers have been amazing at loving on them, taking Jeane to prenatal appointments, taking their family out for fun experiences, teaching them how to do makeup and hair, translating for them, helping Jeane get her food handler’s license, and enjoying the space here at Abba’s House. Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers! You are our heroes!
Jeane just gave birth to our first Abba’s House baby, Michael Amisi Amisi, born on his due date, June 17, 2025, and named in honor of our founder and executive director! Have you noticed this family has been part of many firsts here? Such a sweet family!
All of the hard work in planting the spirng garden has paid off (above photo is from our spring garden workday). The bounty that has been harvested this summer is incredible! Thank you to the many volunteers who came out for planting, weeding, and ongoing care of our garden. We hope you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Stop by and pick some vegetables when you’re in the neighborhood!
Life changes daily at Abba’s House, so please stay tuned for ongoing updates and needs. We are committed to coming alongside our local refugee community, especially our former guests, to help in any way possible during this unsettling season. Some are facing the fears of changing status with the unknowns it will bring, while others struggle with underemployment or unemployment. All are vulnerable. Please keep them in your prayers.
We also ask for your prayers for a young music group from Afghanistan comprised of street girls taught to play guitar and sing by musician Lanny Cordola who formed The Miraculous Love Kids. Michael has been working closely with Lanny to advocate for them however we can. These young women and their families were cleared to come to the U.S. in February before the travel ban. Two had arrived in November 2024, and the band was set to reunite in February 2025. Instead they are stuck in Pakistan in hiding because of the threat of deportation, which will mean certain imprisonment or death for these young people and their families, since they are associated with American music and famous musicians like Brian Wilson, Blake Shelton, Roger Daltrey (The Who), and more. Michael has sent letters to President Trump and spoken in person with Senator Cornyn’s office pleaing for their lives and that permission be granted for them to come to the U.S. If their visas are honored and they get to come, Abba’s House will be stepping up in a significant way to provide housing, food, and other support needed. PRAY FOR THEM! We will send word if we have the opportunity to meet their needs upon their arrival.
Thank you for your dedication and heart as we seek to mirror the heart of our Abba Father by caring for the orphan, widow, and foreigner in our midst.
Abba's House 