With bittersweet hearts, we share that the Wolas Yar family is moving from the Boston area to reunite with their family in Oklahoma. These extended family members were also evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021 and lived at the same military base as the Wolas Yars before they were all resettled in different locations. Though “our” family’s decision to move was quite sudden, the desire to be reunited with their family after being separated and in a foreign place is completely understandable. We hope that by reuniting, the entire family will be able to rebuild some of the emotional, spiritual, and material supports and family structures that they had in Afghanistan. We have heard that OKC has a large Afghan evacuee community, so we are hopeful that they can build a close-knit community there as well.

Over the past few weeks, our team has been working to support them in this transition. This included coordinating with the resettlement agency in OK and trying to figure out if the family could get assistance from a local support team like ours. This was challenging given the tight timeline and communicating with multiple parties through a language barrier. Praise God that the local organization that is currently supporting the extended family in OKC (The Spero Project) is willing to support our family as well. We are also grateful that some churches in the area have expressed interest in helping out too. The team has also been working on moving logistics, dismantling and packing up the apartment, and figuring out how to close out government benefits and the family’s bank account. When the family arrives in OKC, they will move into one of the two apartments shared by the extended family in the same complex.

On Thursday, July 7, the NST Team had a farewell dinner with the Wolas Yar family in the 151 Fellowship Building. It was a joyous time to revisit memories over the last six months while sharing delicious Turkish and Afghan food. We gifted the family with a photo album of photos and notes that we hope will be a cherished reminder of the time they spent with us. With the help of one of our Afghan interpreter friends, we shared some final words of encouragement, gratitude, and blessing, as well as prayer. The family also expressed their gratitude and sadness about leaving us.

What a blessing it has been to know and support this family over the last six months. We will miss them dearly and cherish the memories that we have with them. This is still the beginning of a long road ahead in rebuilding their lives. We thank God that he chose our church to be some of the first people to welcome them and walk with them in the US. We hope and pray that the Lord has used our short time together to plant the seeds of his love in each of the family members' hearts, and that one day they will know Jesus. Please continue to pray for this family, other Afghan neighbors in the Boston area, and how CBCGB can continue to partner in the Lord’s work among Muslims.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in this initiative. Whether you donated finances, dedicated your time, or offered prayers, our team couldn’t have done it without you. It was a great joy to work with one another across multiple generations and congregations in our church. We praise God for the privilege of serving together as the body of Christ. May God bless this ministry and the families we hope to serve in the future!

It has been almost exactly 3 months since the Wolas Yar family moved into their Waltham apartment (and 4 months since we first met them). Praise God for the work that our NST has been able to do these last few months to help them set up their government benefits, receive adequate healthcare, apply for the SIV status, adjust to U.S. culture and their new environment, learn English, etc. Many of us have developed a personal relationship with the family and have truly become their “neighbor”. Moving forward, we hope that more CBCGB members would join the team and become a neighbor to the Wolas Yar family as living witnesses of God’s love.

Specific areas of need:

• Donated Goods: We are looking for good quality used laptops, tablets, and phones. We are NOT collecting toys and clothes at this time.

• Childcare: We are looking for volunteers to provide childcare while members of the Education Team are tutoring the adults. Contact Lilian Wang if you are interested.

• Tutoring: If you are an educator or have experience with tutoring, please consider joining the Education Team to provide in-home English and math tutoring! Contact Lilian Wang if you are interested.

• Transportation Team: We are looking for volunteers with a car to offer their availability to help drive the family to medical appointments, shopping, etc. Contact John Cintolo if you are interested.

• Cultural Mentor Team: We are looking for volunteers to sign up to go on “field trips” and have playdates with the kids. Contact Natalie Chong or Leon He if you are interested.

If you are interested in helping out or learning more about the opportunities, please fill out the Volunteer form or email afghanministry@cbcgb.org. We would love to have more people join us!

Praise God for another great 2 weeks with the Wolas Yar family! A core group of team members (about 6-8 people) visit the family regularly to support them with English tutoring, go shopping, take walks, share a meal, etc. We have become good friends and have found creative ways to communicate with one another despite the language barrier. Praise God for how He has blessed us with many opportunities to spend time with the family, get to know them more, and learn from one another. Here are more updates from each team:

• Government Benefits/Admin Team is still working with Ascentria on the legal process to apply for asylum, making sure all the govt. benefits are applied for, and proper documentation is set. We will also be submitting tax return forms to get the family more cash benefits, such as the COVID stimulus checks and child tax credit.

• Education Team: The two older girls have successfully started school this week! They were so excited to pack their new backpacks and lunchboxes and wear their new clothes. The 3 adults are doing well with their Ascentria ESL class, as well as supplementary tutoring with NST members 4x a week. We welcome more volunteers!

• Healthcare Team: Praise God we have finalized health insurance and PCP matches so the family can get their medical care closer to Waltham. There are several doctor’s appointments scheduled this month, so please pray for good health.

• Employment Team will continue to work on creating a timeline for getting ZK and PM into the workforce. We are partnering with CBCGL on this.

• Finance Team is helping the NST organize our finances and will be supporting the family with their budgeting once they’re at that point.

• Cultural Mentorship Team will be leading weekly Culture Lessons to go more in-depth on topics such as personal hygiene, U.S. laws, U.S. family roles, etc. The team will also be going on field trips to help the family put their learning into practice. For example, learning how to ride the T, going clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant. When the weather gets warmer, we will also be setting up playdates, which we encourage CBCGB families with young children to partner with us.

We are still looking for volunteers to join this ministry! There are many ways to serve, from one-time opportunities to consistent weekly or bi-weekly ones. If you are interested in helping out or learning more about the opportunities, please fill out the Volunteer form or email afghanministry@cbcgb.org. We would love to have more people join us!

It has been almost 3 weeks since the Wolas Yar family officially moved into their new home in Waltham! A big update is that the father’s (ZK’s) youngest brother (PM) has arrived in the U.S. as well and we were able to reunite him with his family. Though PM is considered a separate individual case under Ascentria, we are now supporting them as a family of 7. The last few weeks have consisted of mostly two things: 1) teaching/training and 2) building relationships and trust. The various sub-committees of the NST Team have been meeting with the family to discuss topics such as U.S. government benefits, employment opportunities, the education system, personal hygiene, etc. We are so grateful to have generous interpretation support from our other Afghan friends who we met at the Hope House. Here is a brief update on each team:

• Government Benefits/Admin Team is working with Ascentria on the legal process to apply for asylum, making sure all the govt. benefits are applied for, and proper documentation is set.

• Education Team set up an ESL tutoring schedule for the adults and is in process of enrolling the 2 older girls in school and getting in-home early intervention support for the 2 younger children.

• Healthcare Team is finalizing health insurance and PCP matches so the family can get their medical and dental care closer to Waltham.

• Employment Team will be meeting with the father and uncle to figure out what their skillsets are and a timeline for getting them into the workforce.

• Finance Team is helping the NST organize our finances and will be supporting the family with their budgeting once they’re at that point.

• Cultural Mentorship Team has gone through an initial training with the family and will be meeting weekly to go more in-depth on topics, such as personal hygiene, U.S. laws, U.S. family roles, etc. The team will also be going on field trips to help the family put their learning into practice. For example, learning how to ride the T, going clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant. When the weather gets warmer, we will also be setting up playdates, which we encourage CBCGB families with young children to partner with us.

We are still looking for volunteers to join this ministry! There are many ways to serve, from one-time opportunities to consistent weekly or bi-weekly ones. If you are interested in helping out or learning more about the opportunities, please fill out the Volunteer form or email afghanministry@cbcgb.org. We would love to have more people join us!

The Wolas Yar family has officially moved into their new home! This first week has been full of learning and relationship building. We have been visiting nearly every single day to check in on the family and go through information about their new home, the neighborhood, and our role as their Neighborhood Support Team. We are so grateful to our Afghan translators who have helped us mediate these initial important conversations, such as how to use kitchen appliances and who to call in an emergency. The parents are taking Ascentria government-sponsored ESL and Culture classes, and the team will continue to supplement those classes with our own teaching. The children are learning quickly as well, picking up new English phrases with each visit. The older two are excited to begin school soon!

These next few weeks and months will be extremely important as we support the family in getting used to their new home and neighborhood. We hope more CBCGB members and families will join our team to visit the family, walk around the neighborhood, go shopping together, have playdates at the park, and practice English conversation. Please fill out the volunteer sign-up form or email afghanministry@cbcgb.org if you are interested!

The Wolas Yar family has been resting at the Hope House these last few weeks and NST members have visited each week, bringing snacks and tea to share, gifting toys and learning materials for the children, and addressing urgent medical and legal needs. Despite the language barrier, we’ve still been able to have many meaningful and enjoyable interactions with the family. The children are so friendly and sweet, and they love to play! We’ve built block towers and domino trains, taken silly selfies, and given piggyback rides. Not only do they love to play, but they also love to learn! We’ve practiced counting to 100 in English, taught each other new words in Pashto and English, and learned the alphabet with ABC flashcards. The father shared with us photos and videos from his phone of their life in Afghanistan, including a silly video of a monkey grooming his leg hair. One NST member even sat and watched a cricket game with him for half an hour! We also joined in on video calls with their extended family and friends who are also in the process of resettling, just to wave and say hello. In addition to the Wolas Yar family, we’ve developed relationships with other Afghans in the Hope House too. One woman has been consistently supporting us with translation and has also been tutoring the two older girls in English. We helped her set up her new laptop, as she is preparing to work on her CV and apply for jobs. Overall, God has truly blessed us with so many opportunities to serve our Afghan neighbors and hear their stories.

Each NST sub-committee has been hard at work attending trainings and meeting on their own time to prepare for things related to healthcare, education, housing, employment, etc. In particular, the Apartment Setup Team has been working hard to collect household items, culminating in a very successful donation drop-off this past Sunday! What a joy to partner together as a church family and hear the stories behind each donation - even the little children joined in by helping to pick out items or load the car. The Signup Genius will remain open till January 30 for the last few remaining items. We have almost finalized housing arrangements for the family and hope to move them here in February. There will still be many challenges ahead of us so please continue to pray for God to grant us unity, wisdom, and perseverance. We praise God for the amazing things He has done so far and we pray that He will use us as His hands and feet to share the love of Christ.

Click to read the official Update Letter sent out to the CBCGB congregation.

Our Afghan family has arrived! The Airport Pickup Team picked up the family from the Worcester airport on Wednesday, January 5. The family will be temporarily staying at the Hope House in New Hampshire while we finalize housing arrangements for them in the Boston area. During the next few weeks, the family will rest and recover from their many months of travel and trauma, and members of the NST sub-committees will visit and get to know their needs.

A more detailed update will be shared next week.