Currently leading CFNA’s African Youth Ministry, Pastor Mike Okine is this year’s Volunteer of the Month. With 30 participants, the Ministry offers Sunday Bible studies attended by people from Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. His wife Joan has also volunteered with CFNA over the years in the health and wellness screening program. 

CFNA’s newly launched Employment Support Program is showing results for some of our New Friends who have registered with the program. Philibs Ali from Sudan and Zaryalai Nawabi from Afghanistan each began new jobs in the last eight weeks, showing the fruit born from this important program!

CFNA is stepping forward to meet the growing needs facing refugees and immigrants! We seek to expand our impact for years to come, and secure the long-term financial future of the ministry. To fuel this vision, the Board of Directors of CFNA has established the Christian Friends of New Americans Endowment Fund.

A special partnership has emerged to engage a growing number of volunteers to help move beds, tables, chairs, microwaves, washing machines, dryers, and more provided by generous donors for the benefit of New American families. More than 200 household items from more than 40 donors have now been delivered to 25 recently arrived refugee families!

During the past 12 months, several program changes were introduced along with the addition of a new staff member, Debbie McBride, who now oversees the entire driving program. This, plus the addition of a Driver’s Ed vehicle, has increased participation to the extent that we had to modify the schedule to accommodate all the students! 

The staff at CFNA make mission their vocation. Kerry Pozaric is a shining example of an associate dedicated to their work for Jesus. As CFNA Business Manager, she is responsible for accounting, payroll, database, fundraisers, and more.

We are currently seeking the following in-kind items: toilet bowl liquid cleaner, paper towels, size 4 baby diapers, eating utensils, tea/coffee cups, plates/saucers, tissues 100+ct, tampons 36ct, 13 gal & 36/39 gal trash bags, quilts made for beds/couches. shampoo and conditioner-family size, disinfectant wipes, and adult/children's gloves. Preowned teacups, utensils, plates/saucers, quilts, and gloves are welcome!

The 5th Annual CFNA, “Christmas Give Away” consisting of winter clothing, house-use items and more was held at the Peace Center during the 14th – 16th of December.  The beneficiaries were the numerous refugee and immigrant families living in St. Louis. This special event also included Christmas music, cookies and hot chocolate, and this year saw the highest number of New American participants ever. 

The Annual CFNA Christmas Party, which welcomed approximately 40 refugee children from Nepal, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan were joined by 25 volunteers from several host congregations. Between the preparations, the dinner, special desserts, fun times, and a sharing of the Christmas Story, this special event was a special time in the lives of the many participants!

CFNA volunteers truly work as hands and feet of the body of Christ. They sacrifice their time and energy and use their experience and talents to help make disciples of all nations. Jen Janssen is one shining example of such a volunteer. For the past eight years, she has served as a teacher in our After School Tutoring program, along with her two children Ben and Addie. She now serves as a role model for other volunteers.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, hundreds of men and boys from Concordia Lutheran Church put together and distribute these meals to families in need. Anyone is welcome to drive through to pick up a Thanksgiving dinner. The only question they are asked when they pick up the meal is "What can I pray for with you? Recipients have been people from the greater Kirkwood, community and beyond, including dozens of immigrant and refugee families!

Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA) is adding to its already robust suite of services for its New American friends! The new Employment Support Program will work with participants seeking jobs in a number of ways, including assistance with resume writing, interview skills and identification of available jobs.

Did you know that Christian Friends of New Americans offers permit and driving classes? We currently have 50 students registered for these classes. They are not only from a variety of countries, including Afghanistan, Africa, India, and Nepal, but have various abilities. Many of our students are referred to our program by our partner agencies and their volunteers.

Bethlehem and Dawit Mulat started at Word of Life in Fall 2011 with support from CFNA’s scholarship program; Bethlehem was in 7th grade and Dawit was in 5th grade. After graduating from Word of Life, both went to Lutheran High South. During their high school years, they were active in Timothy’s youth group and both went to the National Youth Gathering.

Raising awareness and support for the ministries of CFNA, the 10th annual CFNA Golf Event was held on October 10 at the Greenbriar Hills Country Club. 112 participants enjoyed fantastic weather and 18 holes of golf. The entire effort met with success: “It was a beautiful day, the course was great, and we very much enjoyed the fun and fellowship.”

Welcome the new communications associate for Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA)! Heather is here to help with social media, email marketing, web design, and “prettyfying” documents. Welcome, Heather!!