Build Community, Support Immigrants

From the St. Louis Mayor's office to a program called "The Mosaic Project" at the World Trade Center, to local church activity, THERE IS A LOT GOING ON which focuses on immigrants and refugees. The following is a list of programs and events FYI.

St. Louis Cup Soccer

Bosnia vs. Ivory Coast

May 30 7:30pm

Edward Jones Dome

www.soccerstl.net

St. Louis Mosaic Project:

www.stlmosaicproject.org

Immigrant Inc. St. Louis regional economic conference:

Hold your calendars for the annual Immigration Economic Report to the community which will be Thursday, June 26, from 4-7pm at the Danforth Plant Science Center. The theme will be “ Immigrant, Inc. St. Louis”, highlighting the role of high tech and neighborhood immigrant entrepreneurs. There will be an update on the St. Louis Mosaic Project as well as comments from Mayor Slay and County Executive Dooley. Richard Herman, the author of Immigrant, Inc. on immigrant entrepreneurs, will present. Registration will be in the May time frame.

Soccer:

Soccer will support current immigrant and native-born players as well as be a beacon of attraction to immigrants outside St. Louis that we have a region that develops soccer champions, that has a history and future with soccer. Alex Araiza is leading the work stream on this, so let me know if you want to join Alex’s team. There is a four month calendar of events from May-August around the games in St. Louis, World Cup, Cup of Nations and More. See this story:

http://fcbordo.com/fc-bordo-and-the-st-louis-mosaic-project-collaborate-to-unify-the-community-through-soccer/

Mayor Slay provided a thought-provoking blog last week:

http://www.mayorslay.com/article/stl-pop-500000

And last week’s census data yielded some intriguing stories- our regional numbers are up proportionately but not as much as other regions are experiencing. We need to accelerate.

http://www.businessinsider.com/population-adjusted-immigration-map-2014-3

St. Louis continues to drop in population, but the loss is slowing

STLtoday.com

St. Louis city continues to lose population but is doing so at a much slower rate ... Of the seven largest counties surrounding St. Louis, all but St. Clair and ... Make St. Louis the fasted growing U.S. metro area forimmigration by 2020.

And, Jorge Riopedre, Executive Director of Casa de Salud,  did an excellent commentary on NPR about his own story and why immigration/education are so key to our region’s growth and intellectual acceleration.

Commentary: Immigrants Will Help Rebuild St. Louis

St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis has long benefited fromimmigrants. At the turn of the 20th century, St. Louis had almost 600,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city ...

IMMIGRANT, INC - St. Louis Fostering innovation is about bringing together people and ideas, embracing new energy and talent--and that's exactly our goal for St. Louis! Each year, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and City of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay host a joint conference on how to grow the regional economy. This year, they've invited Immigrant Inc. co-author, Richard Herman, to highlight how immigrant entrepreneurs are driving the new economy and creating local jobs.

Time:   4-5:30 pm reception to follow Date:    Thursday, June 26, 2014 Place:   Danforth Plant Science Center 975 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132 RSVP:   Click to register online.  (by June 23, 2014) $25 per person

Quiz! Bosnian Culture in St. Louis, videos coming soon.

Video clips from the April Bosnian Culture night in St. Louis are coming soon. Read through some interesting facts about Bosnian Culture:

What is the estimated Bosnian population in St. Louis? 60K- 70K.

True or False: World War I was ignited in Bosnia. True
True or False: The war in Bosnia was from 1992-1995. True
True or False: Half of the Muslim population living in St. Louis are Bosnian. True
True or False: Bosnian women do not cover their hair except in the mosque. True
True or False: St. Louis has a professional, Bosnian led soccer team. True
True or False: Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian languages are very different. True
---I see a pattern here---: )

True or False: Bosnia is part of the former Yugoslavia. True
True or False: This is the first year Bosnia is in the World Cup. True
True or False: Mike was a missionary to Bosnia after the war. True
True or False: Bosnian coffee grew chest hair on Mike. True

True or False: Bosnians love soccer and are very good players. True
True or False: In rural areas, traditional Muslim lifestyles still exist with arranged marriages. There is a definitte difference between male and female roles. This is slowly changing and women are starting to work outside the home in Bosnia, but especially in the St. Louis. True

True or False: Bosnians and Slavs will live a style of "zadrugas". This is several families living on common ground. At times a large family will live in one dwelling and share all livestock, land, and responsibilities. Typically the eldest member of the family is the leader. True

What can we do for the youth?

The following quotes are from:

Western Christians in Global Mission: What’s the Role of the North American Church? By Paul Borthwick

“Our world is young, restless, and uncertain. More than 50 percent of the world is under the age of twenty-five.  p.24

"China has more teenagers than the U.S. has people.” p. 24

“In some of the countries in the Middle East, more than 50 percent of the population is under fourteen years old.” p.25

 “The zealous youth of the world want change, but they’re not sure what they want to change to.” P.25

What can we do for the youth? Provide positive messages which guide them in the truth for their lives; that they're accepted and have a God centered purpose.

Creation Bible Verses (Chinese)

International Chinese Students studying the Bible found this synopsis of verses about creation helpful.

Let's make more! Contact me about your video ideas.

Do Unto Others...

Be A Refuge Blog - communicates my desire to come alongside refugees and make a difference in their new lives in the U.S. My perspective: by meeting refugees in their need today, we will build a better community for tomorrow. This is done in several ways: provide material, everyday things, which they can't buy on their own.
#1 Provide programs which help them get settled, programs such as ESL classes, job training, community, and networking.
#2 Film their story and get the word out about their needs. Refugees' needs are great. Being an example of kindness in a world with too much pain.

I use video to promote and present the various needs of refugees throughout the United States, using cross cultural, multi-lingual videos as a platform to better connect all of us.  I visit churches, businesses, and homes to share refugees' stories and ask for involvement.  I want to build a team of supporters who are actively changing the lives of refugees with the message of hope, education, and opportunity.

Take a step to a greater tomorrow.

Reconciliation is the only way forward. 

It begins one small step at a time.

Trust is built one step at a time and involves mutual forgiveness.

Healing begins one step at a time.

With perseverance, we build a reliable, beautiful bridge.

Perseverance produces character, character produces hope,

and hope does not disappoint. 

We all have a great story. So share it!

We all love a good story. I have always enjoyed the power of people's stories, captured in the dynamics of movies. The ups and downs, highs and lows, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the beauty in the routine of life, and the triumph of a hard fought battle. Be A Refuge tells the stories of refugees as they live out their new lives in a new land, their struggle and their pursuit of a better life. Additionally, stories of the lives that intersect with refugees' lives will be mentioned.


The people who seem so different from you or me have dreams, vision, business and personal goals, laughter, passion, and humanity. Refugees shouldn't be treated as distant strangers but our family. Could video convey their need and our need to act on their behalf? Could videos motivate a community to come together for the common good? Am I a dreamer? Or should our dreams become reality and reality be filled with a strong community of brothers and sisters who support one another through struggle as well as celebrate together the good times.


From our personal lives to our business lives, our stories matter to ourselves and to our communities. Video shares all of this. Video is personal.


Video is a great tool. This site is dedicated to sharing the stories of refugees, their families and the businesses and organizations that help them.

Title explanation: "Bear"?

FYI It's not Bear Efuge, though that's a cool name. It's "Be A Refuge", okay? Just saying. Thanks for viewing!