Vineyard Boise Culture Connection Refugee Ministry
New American citizens!
Our refugee resettlement ministry exists to help people begin new lives in Boise. Most of the refugees that are currently part of the Vineyard community have come from Burma/Myanmar and arrive with varying skills and backgrounds. We work with about 150 people from the Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin ethnic groups that come through refugee camps and programs in Thailand or Malaysia. Our goal is to help them resettle here in Boise with dignity and a clear understanding of how to support themselves. Our main areas of focus are:
In-Home Mentoring – Volunteers work with refugee individuals and families to provide positive interactions and assistance with areas like life skills training, navigating the unfamiliar American culture, school support and English language tutoring. Our heart is to develop lasting relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ and let our refugee friends know that they are loved and welcome.
Transportation – We have a core of volunteers who assist with all things transportation-related: finding reliable and affordable cars, navigating the public transit systems, auto maintenance, assisting with insurance paperwork and driving the church bus route to enable families to attend community events and services.
Teaching Life Skills and English Classes – We meet at the Boise Vineyard church, in homes and apartments, and at various other locations around the community to provide practical classes and group discussions on day-to-day life in America. In these sessions we have informal conversations about everything from banking to nutrition to football and everything in between.
Sunday Service - Every Sunday morning during the 11:00am service at the Boise Vineyard, the refugee families gather together with the main service for worship. During the message, the Bible text is displayed in both English and Burmese scripts. Every other month, we have a more traditional, translated service in Auditorium 1 of the church. These services are translated into either Karen or Burmese (and sometimes both!)
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