What a Christmas so Far!

It’s been a great Christmas so far at Spero:Voice!!  On Monday evening, we had a Christmas celebration with the families who we tutor.  They were invited to a nearby home to have Holiday desserts, hot chocolate, and apple cider.  We sang Christmas carols and Brad (co-founder of Spero:Voice) shared out of Luke 2.  It was a powerful time as Brad shared what a true gift the Christmas Story is to us.  It was an amazing glimpse of what an international church right here in OKC could look like!

Also this Christmas, we’ve given the framed pictures of families that Squint Studios took for us.  The mothers are especially excited when they see those!

Finally, with the help of some seriously generous donors, we’ve been able to provide Christmas gifts for families we work with.  I don’t know if we’ll ever see someone else so excited about receiving a new set of dishes!  And, the kids have gotten new clothes, toys, and educational materials–all VERY pleasant surprises for them!  

Thank you to everyone who contributed to any of these Christmas occasions.  We truly believe that we are honoring God in a beautiful way as we give to His creations whom He loves!  Blessings to all this Christmas Eve!

Compute This!

What difference can be made in the life of a family simply by giving them a computer?  There’s no way to do the math on that!  It’s just too big of an impact.  Giving the gift of a computer opens doors to consistent English learning through software and on-line programs, gives students in the families tools they need to succeed in school, and offers them some opportunity to connect with their much-missed home culture.  

Thanks to a generous donor, Spero Voice now has 5 computers ready to donate to families who can really use them!  We’re so excited to offer this opportunity to them and know it will make all the difference in the world!

Pretty as a Picture

Family Portraits for the families we’ve been tutoring!  What a fun idea!  Bryce from Squint Studios was amazing and donated his time to setting up a professional studio in walking distance to the families, so they could get a picture of their family.  Many families left all their keepsakes at home when they left.  And, most certainly don’t have the funds to buy a camera or go to get a family pic taken.  And, what mother doesn’t want to keep records of her kids growing up?  

So, thanks to Bryce and all the many other volunteers who made this day great!  All the families are SO looking forward to getting the framed family portrait that’s coming to them this Christmas.

Spice Up Your Life!

Spero:Voice is easing into it’s MicroLending Program this weekend, and we’d love your help to kick it off with a bang!  A few ladies are working on creating yummy spice drink, hot cocoa, and dip mixes perfect for you to use yourself or give as a gift.  And, we’ll be helping them sell these items at The Little Trunk Show on Saturday, December 6th from 9a.m. to 6p.m. at 2264 Lakeside Drive in The Village.   The Little Trunk Show sells lots of hand-made goodies in homes around the OKC area, and they’re being kind enough to let us in on the action.  Please consider coming to support these women as they work to start a brand new life in America!

Common Goal–Common Space!

We’ve really been blessed with favor from the owners and managers of the apartment complex in which most of the refugee population in OKC lives, and we’re blown away at how things are coming together for all of us with a common goal of improving the lives of these refugees through education and advocacy.  

By the end of December, we should be able to hold job readiness classes, ESL classes, tutoring sessions and other activities in a newly remodeled classroom space.  It will also be the site of a computer-based language lab so individuals can come in for extra help learning English.  

The apartment complex has been so generous in taking charge of all the structural needs in the classroom and all the churches who are working together in use of the space are coming together to paint, lay tile, and furnish the place.  

We can’t tell you how excited we are to have this resource!  It will expand our ability to serve those living in the apartments and will give us a common place to gather for all events, eliminating any miscommunications due to language barriers due about meeting places.  

We have a few needs related to this space.  If you are able to fill any of these needs, please email kim@thesperoproject.com.  Any help would be appreciated!

1.  Laptop computers

2.  An overhead projector and screen

3.  Help laying tile, painting, or decorating!

Zoo Friends

Thanks to OKC Zoo Friends!  They’ve donated two family passes to The Spero Project for our use.  That means families that volunteer with us can take families they tutor for some fun outings at the zoo to help build relationships and encourage conversation!  We really appreciate their gift and are looking towards having a large assortment of items like this we can offer our volunteers as resources.