“Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered”. Exra 1:5-6 NKJV
Though we laborers have not been building a house of the Lord in Jerusalem, we have been allowing the Holy Spirit to build a house for the Lord in the hearts of the Bhutanese/Nepalese refugees.
The greatest human need is love and no one can fill us with love and allow us to love another culture like Jesus. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (payment) for our sins. beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”. 1 John 4: 10-11 NKJV
There are no words to express the gratitude in my heart to those of you who have prayed, spoken words of encouragment, given sacrificially, and physically helped the Bhutanese refugees. Your prayers and acts of kindness have moved the hearts of the refugees and opened a door for the Message.
Because you have given, prayed and served, many rerfugees are asking for Bible stories and interest in these has increased. A Bhutanese/Nepalese church was born three weeks ago because a local church allowed us to have a room to worship in and attendance is growing.
Donations poured in so rapidly that a second warehouse had to be rented. Already, four new families have received supplemental food, furniture, household items, toys for the children, and linens. Existing families have received supplemental clothing, food, and bicycles. It is such a pleasure to see joy on their faces. They, like most refugees, have suffered much
These Bhutanese have experienced cruelty that we cannot understand. H was walking down the street in Bhutan at age 16, and he was arrested because the govenment was arresting males. H spent 15 months in prison eating only rice (sometimes with maggots), sleeping on a concrete floor in the cold, and being forced to buid walls for the government.
B worked for the government of Bhutan. He was imprisoned when he protested how the Bhutanese/Nepalese were being treated.
A widow lost her husband when he was taken by the Nepalese government to fight in battle. He never returned to the refugee camp. She is raising three sons.
Another man has a broken back from the beatings he endured in prison.
All have spent from 17-18 years (depending on their current age) in a refugee camp consisting of houses made of bamboo with no electricity or running water. Their meal consisted of the same five items each day.
Our government brought them here legally and gave them work permits. I am sure that when the process to bring them to the States began, jobs were more plentiful than they are now. We, the church, will need to commit to pray for them and love them through these desperate times until they know the Lover of their soul and are anchored in Him.
February 14th, a day when American express their love to each other, is coming soon. I will most probably be suffering with jet lag, so I wanted to write something to you and thank you for all you have done while I am coherent 
.
Thank you from the depths of my heart for what you are doing to advance the Kingdom of God.
Margie
