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Greetings Friends in
Christ!
On Friday, July 29, two
brothers from the Nabiyev family arrived at Philadelphia airport and
were greeted by a contingent of church committee members and
Lutheran Children and Family Service staff members. Otabek Nabiyev
and Balabek Nabiyev are two members of a twelve-member family who
were sent ahead to prepare the way for the remaining part of the
family. The family consists of a mother and father with four adult
sons and one adult daughter. Two sons are married; one has a 1-year
old daughter; one has two small children. Otabek has informed us
they expect the remaining family members to arrive in the United
States in approximately twenty days. Please keep in mind this
information is unofficial. However, it gives us an idea of when to
expect the family to arrive.
Otabek and Balabek have
asked us to convey their sincerest gratitude for the generosity our
members have given to help them settle in America. As they stated
in the greeting to our congregations “We thank everyone who
has been helping us settle in our new life. 1000 times thank you.”
We also would like to
express our sincere appreciation to Dick and Joyce Burkett (from
Peace-Tohickon Lutheran church) who were very instrumental in
organizing the cleaning and furnishing of the Lutheran Community at
Telford home on such short notice while both co-chairs were on
vacation. In addition, we wish to thank members who donated items
or volunteered to help clean and prepare the house for the family.
Without your help we could not have accomplished this important
task. We also wish to thank Olga Smirnova from St. Matthew’s
Lutheran Church who has agreed to be our interpreter for the
family. She was a tremendous help to us as we settled the Nabiyev
brothers into their new home. Finally, we wish to thank our church
councils, and members who have contributed financial support,
donated items, and volunteered to help us in this important
ministry.
Please keep us in your
prayers as we prepare to receive the remaining family members.
Your Servants in Christ
Steve Gratias
Jim Garcia
Co-Chair
Co-Chair
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church Trinity Lutheran Church
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Pennridge
Lutherans for Refugee
