Hi friends! As I mentioned in my New Year's post, we are planning to have a celebration on April 12, 2025 to give thanks for God's provision of our house and for all who made it possible. If that's you, and you'd like to join us, please let us know! (You can use our gmail address, which begins thus: dghousefund)

As part of our celebration, we'd be honored if you make a donation toward an urgent housing need: Refugee families who recently arrived in Clarkston, Georgia (where our church meets) are facing eviction notices because the housing funds they were promised were suddenly withdrawn. It seems fitting to celebrate God's housing provision for us by providing housing for others. See below for details.

Here's how our house looks today. We got new shingles last month!

Who, What, When, Etc.

Who's coming on April 12? So far it looks like we'll have about four to six households represented from out of state, plus local friends. And maybe you?

What's our address? 251 W Lake Dr NW,  Atlanta, GA 30314

When should you arrive? Zonya is planning to have cinnamon rolls ready from 9:00 am on (yum!), so open house will run from then until 9:00 pm. Feel free to drop in and leave whenever works best for you, and we'll give you a tour.

We'll plan for supper at 5:00, followed by a time of praise, singing, and prayer. So that will be the prime time for you to be here, if you can make it then. Please let us know if you think you'll be here for the meal.

Don't expect to see a house in perfect repair or a fancy program that evening. To be 100% honest, I'm actually a little embarrassed at some corners of our house that aren't properly fixed yet. We're also super busy right now with school, work, church, and planning for summer activities. So if you come, you'll find us just as we are, without one plea except that we are loved by God and people like you.

If you need lodging, I think we have friends who could host one couple. Let us know if that interests you, and we'll see if it's available. Other than that, we'll let you find your own lodging so that our house doesn't get too full.

If you want to join us for church Sunday morning, we'd love that! Our church, Cellebration Fellowship, meets at the Clarkston Community Center (3701 College Ave, Clarkston, GA 30021) at 10:00 am. It looks like the main activity for that morning will be extra time of corporate prayer (rather than a sermon), so it will be a good interactive Sunday to get to know our church.

An Opportunity to Give

Again, we invite you to celebrate with us by making a donation to support refugee rent bills in Clarkston, Georgia. Why this urgent need? Here is a message (Mar. 20) from Clarkston Cares, which is organizing support:

Upon arriving in the US in January, these refugees were promised at least 90 days of help with rent, utilities, and necessities until they could gain employment and self-sufficiency. Regrettably, the whole ecosystem to help these vulnerable families thrive in the US has been defunded, and these new refugees are now at risk of losing their housing and refuge. 

The good news is that churches, foundations, and everyday folks have stepped up and paid rent to keep most of these new refugee families from eviction. However, TWENTY SIX families in the Clarkston area still haven’t received help and are receiving eviction notices. The total cost of keeping all these families safely housed through March is almost $40,000. Add April rent which is only a week away, and that brings the total to around $75,000.  

​These families have fled from unimaginable suffering and violence in their homelands. Some of them fled because they served with American troops! We have single moms, elderly couples, and families with 5 children or more whose parents haven’t yet found work. We have families from war-torn Congo, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Central America. And I am not willing for homelessness, instead of hospitality, to be their first experience of America. Is this not our calling from God– to show hospitality to strangers/foreigners? (literally, xenophilia- Hebrews 13:2).  

We at Clarkston Cares are stepping up to try and ensure that none of these families lose their housing. Can you help us meet our goal of $75,000 to keep these 26 families safe through April? Because of a generous donor and a grant from the City of Clarkston, our first $25,000 in donations will be MATCHED!

These are families who are eager to become self-supporting, but need bridge money as they settle. If more money is raised than is needed to cover this immediate rent crisis, it will be used for other refugee support needs. 

You can learn more and make a gift here: 
https://www.clarkstoncaresfund.org/

Thank you for considering making a donation.

I think that's it. Thanks for celebrating with us. We thank God for you!