Origin story

How Idaho Falls Bridge Builders Got Started

Joe and I often get asked, “What prompted you to bring refugees to Idaho Falls?” The answer–

First, our Creator loved and pursued us. Jesus sacrificed his life and rose again so that, if we trust him, we can live at peace with God and others. This is real love–not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (I John 4:10-11 NLT)

Second, Joe and I lived with our two kids in China for seven years, assisting locals with clean water, tuition for education, English for business, and medical connections for health problems. During those years, a tribal family showed us how to navigate life in their town. They welcomed us into their daily life and celebrations and funerals, treating us as family.

Putting those two things together, we wanted to pursue refugees, providing them a home free from persecution and help to navigate life in our town. In 2021, after researching how to bring refugees, I discovered that because Idaho Falls is outside the 100 mile radius of the Twin Falls refugee resettlement agency, we could not be a satellite resettlement group. We gave up on the idea. The next day, I did a last-ditch search to see if we could take even a baby step toward bringing refugees to Idaho Falls. Up popped a news article saying that the U.S. State Department had just opened Sponsor Circles, an initiative whereby private citizens could form a group and invite refugees to their city. It would require a pledge of $2200 for each refugee and a three month commitment to assist them: to locate housing, purchase food, clothing and household items, stock a medicine cabinet and get a family doctor, to get a driver’s license, find a lawyer to help with asylum, sign up for school, sign up for benefits, and connect with locals of their religion. We asked a few young friends to join us, and we formed a Sponsor Circle.

The three refugees we welcomed were young Afghan Air Force pilots who served as allies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. When the U.S. withdrew and Kabul fell, these men and their squadron flew 17 planes and helicopters to Tajikistan to keep the planes from falling into the hands of the Taliban. The men were put in a prison camp. After three months with little food and almost no communication with their families, the U.S. sprung them to the UAE where they were vetted and then brought to the U.S.

In Idaho Falls, the men quickly got jobs, enrolled in college, made friends, and patiently shared their stories and explained their culture and history. They are currently working on getting asylum and then sending for their wives who could not get out of the country.

Idaho Falls welcomed them. A pharmacist at Walgreens paid for the men’s medicine cabinet supplies. The president of College of Eastern Idaho met them and helped them get in-state tuition and scholarships. St. John’s Lutheran provided free housing. People from Christ Community Church put in a flower garden, cleaned and did a few repairs on the house, taught the men how to drive, and donated a car. Two individuals also donated cars. 1st Presbyterian church paid fall tuition at CEI. The Muslim Association helped the men find halal food, stocked their pantry, and welcomed all of us to a Ramadan feast. Several community groups asked us to speak about refugee resettlement and expressed gratefulness that Idaho Falls has refugees because it helps us get to know the wider world and opens our hearts, and it adds to our economic vitality.

Joe and I had such fun getting to know the hard working, honest, grateful, intelligent young Hazara men and watching the people of Idaho Falls work together to welcome them that we decided to morph the Sponsor Circle into a 501c3 nonprofit to continue welcoming refugees. We are currently working toward bringing a Ukrainian family. An individual family donated a home for refugee use. And people from a local homeschool group and from an LDS ward tracked us down to donate furnishings for The Grace House.

Which brings us up to the present, December 20, 2022. What an adventure!