JUBILEE PARTNERS REPORT

Winter 2018

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you

good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

— Luke 2:10 (NIV)

Ingrid landed in Florida last November, searching for safety and stability.

She had fled her home in Colombia after two thugs pressed a gun to her head and threatened her family. She

had gone to Ecuador, where there were slim resources for supporting refugees. “In Colombia, we were afraid,”

she said. “In Ecuador, we were hungry.” Now Ingrid and her four children had come to Jacksonville, Fla., as

documented refugees.

But resettling in their new home brought plenty of challenges. Ingrid worked 16-hour days and struggled to

make ends meet, all while dealing with some menacing neighbors. Where could she go next?

Everyone at Jubilee travels a unique path to get here. This is how Ingrid came to Jubilee, as told by her and

some of the folks that helped along the way.

INGRID (translated from Spanish):

I was living in Florida and working two jobs. I made sandwiches from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. My next job was from

5 p.m. to 1 a.m. I cleaned offices, vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms. I worked all the time without rest. Day care

and rent cost so much money.

I had a problem with some phone calls. There

was a man that called and said terrible things.

Every morning he called. “I can see you,” he

said, “you’re at the window.” I couldn’t sleep

at night because I was worried about my

babies.

I had trouble with some of the neighbors. Once

my 13-year-old daughter Natalia was carrying

our laundry to the laundry room when a man

grabbed her. Another man opened the trunk of

his car. My son was taking the trash out and

Natalia screamed for him. The men took off

running. The police came and drove around the

buildings but they didn’t find the men. Noth-

ing. The apartments weren’t so great.

So I worked and I worried about my family. Natalia, Dilan (back), Deimar, Ingrid and Lidice are finding their way — speaking English and making new friends.

I told one of my dear friends about my problems. She

told me about a woman that had lived in the apartments

before, a woman named “Yizeth”. She said Yizeth

moved to the country, where they were helping her. She

said they have little houses you can live in and they

teach you English. She said they are Christians. That

sometimes you have to cook with everyone in the

kitchen. They help with the kids, but there’s no internet.

That’s not a problem.

I called Yizeth and told her, “I’m having problems here.

Can you help me like they helped you?” So we talked

and the process began.

Yizeth (pronounced “Jee-set”) could sympathize with Ingrid. Like Ingrid, she had grown up in Colombia be-

fore coming to the United States as a refugee. Like Ingrid, Yizeth and her kids lived in Jacksonville before

coming to Jubilee. (Yizeth — who also goes by Karen — was featured in the Winter 2017 newsletter.)

YIZETH, a volunteer:

Ingrid called me in the night and asked me many questions about Jubilee. I told her, when I came here I was

like a refugee and now I’m a volunteer. I live in my own house with my own children. It’s a community with

many trees. Too many trees.

I told her that the houses are better here because you don’t have to pay for electric service or rent. And there is

a lot of space outside the house.

Later I talked to Blake [a resident partner] and told him about the problems with Ingrid. He asked the other

partners in a meeting. Blake said they need a person who can be in charge of the new family and I said, “OK, I

can do it.” I also asked Corina if she could do it with me. Corina said yes.

Being a point person, I learned

many things. When Ingrid’s

daughter was sick, I had to go

with her to urgent care. It was

too much for me. I had to

translate everything Ingrid

said and everything the doctor

said.

But I learned something. I col-

lect something from every per-

son I meet at Jubilee. Maybe

Angie [a volunteer] has pas-

sion, maybe Corina has some-

thing. Each person has some-

thing for me.

And oh God, I am grateful.

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Drew and Russ admire one giant sweet potato during the annual fall harvest. Maybe 10 lbs? Or 15?

Blessings from the sky? Just “sweet potato volleyball” at the end of harvest day!

CORINA, a volunteer:

At lunch, Yizeth and I sat at the picnic table outside the K House and called Ingrid. We wanted to make sure

she knew what Jubilee was before she came. We asked things like, “Do you understand your job here would be

to learn English and you won’t have a chance to make money? Is that okay?” We told her we’re in a small

town. It’s not like there’s a big city here. We’re a community of people living close together, in each other’s

business.

The idea was that Ingrid and her family would come for six months. There would be two months to settle in

and work on English. Two months to look ahead, set some goals, and figure out our next steps. Then two

months to actively work towards Ingrid's goals.

In September, three volunteers drove the Sprinter — Jubilee's trusty red 14-passenger van — to Jacksonville

to pick up Ingrid and her kids.

DREW, a volunteer:

It was about a six-hour drive to Jacksonville. I drove down with Teresa, Yizeth and her two kids. The apart-

ment was primarily immigrant families, including these older Mexican grandmas that seemed to really love

Ingrid’s kids. But the stairs leading up to Ingrid's apartment were covered in cat food, with cat food dishes on

every step. That wasn’t great with her kids running up and down.

For dinner, Ingrid cooked up her Colombian fried rice, with the hot dog slices, just like she later made us for

Thanksgiving at Jubilee.

I just feel privileged to be able to do that. To go and pick somebody up and bring them to more stable ground. I

feel honored, privileged, and thankful.

TERESA, a volunteer:

I think it's cool Ingrid hosted us at her apartment before we hosted her. She kept feeding us and giving us

drinks. Even though her whole life was about to change, she was trying to make sure we were comfortable.

Ingrid and her family moved into the

recently renovated House No. 1 at the

Welcome Center. Her two oldest kids now

attend local public schools. Ingrid's three-

year-old son Dilan is known for his utter

fearlessness riding his tiny green bike

down the steepest parts of the property.

And Ingrid’s singing has become a wel-

come feature of Sunday worship.

INGRID:

There were surprises at Jubilee. We got

here and I thought, “Now I’m sleeping in

the woods?” That was a little scary. There

was only one lock on the door. What about

snakes? Or bad men? But in Colombia, I

knew about the country. I once kept chick-

ens, and had a little garden with cilantro.

Now I think Jubilee is peaceful.

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Bae Meh, Klaw Reh, La Reh, Law Reh (and 2 sisters not in photo) spent 2 months with us from summer into fall. Corina (front) is enjoying an Athens field trip with the group of ESOL learners.

YVONNE, Ingrid's neighbor:

I helped Natalia [Ingrid’s daughter] do the laundry for what

felt like three hours last Saturday. It had been raining the

week before, and there was a mountain of clothing to do.

We went back to the house and I saw one of their mattress

pads had no elastic to keep it in place and I had to fix that.

That stuff is so much fun for me. Just getting me out of my

little planned day. It’s so much better to help.

Another time Ingrid came over and needed salt. The next

day I needed cinnamon and went to Ingrid’s house and she

gave me some. That’s the good thing about being

neighbors.

A visit to the largest immigrant detention center east of the Mississippi Pedro was working a construction job in Georgia when police stopped him and asked for his license. He has

lived in the U.S. for almost 20 years. He is married and has children here. He has helped to build Walmarts.

But he entered the U.S. without documents and so Pedro did not have a driver’s license.

Now he is being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., one of 1900 detainees awaiting depor-

tation. Only a small percentage of them are likely to get a legal welcome in the U.S.

At the end of November, a group of 17 Jubilee residents, friends and toddlers visited the holding facility and

spent an hour with Pedro (not his real name) and several other men from Latin America, West Africa and

South Asia.

The visits were a chance to offer a friendly ear and to check on the detainees’ well-being. Stepping into the

detention center also gave an unsettling glimpse into our country’s treatment of immigrants during this season

of fear and division.

Visitors passed through the facility’s razor wire fences, then an X-ray machine, to get to the visiting room.

These were no-contact visits and a Plexiglas window separated detainees and visitors. As Pedro chatted with

his guests, he held his hand up to the glass and teased a pair of two-year-old visitors, Sam and Jamie, with his

fingers. He missed his own children on the West Coast, he said. But it seems unlikely Pedro will be reunited

with them anytime soon. In recent years, the immigration court in Lumpkin has rejected more than 94-percent

of asylum requests, according to a database kept by Syracuse University.

The day’s trip was coordinated by El Refugio Ministries, a hospitality house in Lumpkin. The group also

visited with friends at Koinonia on the ride back home.

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Who we are Jubilee Partners is an intentional Christian service community in north Georgia. Our primary ministry is offering

hospitality to newly arrived refugees. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are thus tax-deductible. Your donations and support of our work are most appreciated.

Jubilee Partners Box 68 Comer, GA 30629 706-783-5131 www.jubileepartners.org

from the people of Jubilee

Toddler energy helps lighten a heavy prison visit!

View Jubilee’s newsletter in color online at www.jubileepartners.org!

Sunday following the wed-ding, many of us swarmed the Carousel for a Birthday Celebration: our Coffee Worth turned 99! (above) Wedding Saturday (October 27) came cool and dry after days of rain. 5:30 pm saw at least 250 witnesses to yet another “Jubilee wedding”, this one overlooking the Upper Pond. The reception supper happened in the “Walnut Grove” just East of the K-house and continued with outside games and fun.

Here’s a JPK quiz: These 12 Jubilee Kids lived at Jubilee between1988 and, well — some are still around! This occasion hap-

pened in late October at Rebecca Smith’s wedding to Nathanael Kelly. She’s the one with the flower garland in the second

row. Celebrating here are 3 Winterfelds, 2 Chantry-Simonsens, 1 Buller, 3 Byler-Ortmans and 2 more Smiths. Name them?

Non-Profit Organization

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Athens, Georgia

Permit Number 14

Jubilee Partners

P.O. Box 68

Comer, GA 30629

Winter 2018