California and Texas will be receiving the largest numbers of Afghan refugees

As the US military has now fully exited Afghanistan as of August 31, thousands of Afghan interpreters and families feeling the Taliban will be arriving in cities across the USA, and especially where Afghans already live. Local refugee resettlement agencies are expecting hundreds of  families to be resettled in San Diego and El Cajon, and many families are already arriving.

Many new Afghan families are expected to be resettled here soon. Let’s welcome them with open arms.

Being recipient to some one-time grants during the Covid-19 Pandemic has enabled us to rent a space in El Cajon which we are calling THE LEARNING CENTER.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and internally displaced peoples have returned to their homes to attempt a new beginning.

As the grip of the pandemic is easing somewhat, we are re-launching our in-person citizesnship classes for Syrian newcomers who are elgible to apply for citizesnship this year. This past November we halted these classes due to the pandemic.

Bridge Builders Network now has Associates in Ft Worth, Texas and soon will have an active and experienced team joining us in Austin.

For the past 4 years we have held Christmas celebrations with our Syrian friends. This year we will adapt but continue loving our neighbors and sharing the birth of Messiah & Savior with them. We have now over 100 families that we know and love and plan to deliver to them a hot Middle Eastern meal during Christmas Week. Please email us If you are interested in being involved in the deliveries or help with the costs, and we will contact you with details.

The vision of Hope for Vulnerable Families: Working in partnership with our local Syrian friends who have been resettled as refugees here among us, to see the love of Christ expressed in word and deed to their family members who remain in Syria and unsettled in neighboring countries, suffering ongoing hardships from years of conflict in their homelands, and now a worldwide pandemic.

Thanks to a partnership with Salvation Army’s East County Red Shield Center, our Syrian Wellbeing Initiative is inviting Syrian kids to summer camp! Our goal is to personally invite 60 kids. The one week sessions for elementary age kids will be held throughout the month of July. Parents are excited to have an organized activity like this for their kids this summer. These camp sessions will be modified for safety in order to follow all state and local guidelines during the Covid-19 Pandemic. For more information or to donate.

For our neighbors from Syria, Ramadan is not only a month of fasting during daylight hours, but also about celebrating evenings together in breaking bread with their Muslim and non-Muslim neighbors. The Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr comes at the end of Ramadan, with celebrations going up to three days also including visiting friends and families and lots of good food prepared and shared.

Our Syrian Wellbeing Initiative (SWI) leadership team continues to meet and develop videos to help educate and encourage our Syrian neighbors in their navigating through this worldwide pandemic.