Month: May 2020

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Shoutout to our featured volunteer, Elisa Walt!

Shoutout to our featured volunteer, Elisa Walt! Elisa manages administrative work here at Jonathan House.

“I have the privilege of working behind the scenes in scheduling and organizing things so we can work smoothly to serve our residence.”

How did you first learn about the plight of asylum-seeking individuals in America?

In growing up overseas in an environment that worked closely with refugees, I was introduced to the life of asylum seekers fairly early on in my life, learning about the journey and the hardships of those seeking asylum and now much it differed from my own life. From there there the Lord slowly but continuously opened my heart and eyes to asylum seekers globally. 

I first learned about Jonathan House after reaching out to IAFR in search of ways to walk alongside asylum seekers. 

What is something everyone can do to help the cause of asylum-seeking individuals in the US?

Get connected! There are so many different organizations that work one on one with asylum seekers, be a voice for many people right now that don’t have the ability to speak for themselves. 

Is there a statistic or fact that has surprised you concerning Jonathan House’s cause?

One of the main statistics that surprised me to learn was that Minnesota has some of the highest numbers of forcibly displaced people who have either received asylum or are seeking it. 

What is something that the Jonathan House residents have taught you?

There is a whole list of different things that I have learned from my asylum seeker friends. One of the most impactful ones has been joy in the midst of hardship. Along with how to cook some wonderful food!

What languages do you speak?

I speak German and English.

Is there any other line of work you’re in?

Along with working with Jonathan House, I work at Spyhouse Coffee, come by anytime for some coffee!

What are your hobbies?

Some of my hobbies include; making and drinking coffee, baking and cooking, being in nature, creating art and spending time at a coffee shop reading.

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“Citizens of the World”: An intern reflects on his time at IAFR Jonathan House


Photo: Jonah Broberg, senior writing major at University of Northwestern, St.
Paul, served as a web content intern with IAFR Jonathan House this semester.

My name is Jonah Broberg, and I’m a senior at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. Part of my professional writing major includes working for an organization of my choice on their communications: writing and creating content for them and helping them find their voice. For the past semester, I had the opportunity to serve as IAFR Jonathan House’s communications and social media intern. 

Every week, SJ Holsteen, the IAFR Minneapolis-St. Paul Ministry Leader, and I went through The God Who Sees by Karen Gonzalez and talked through the discussion questions. It was a spiritually enriching experience that shaped my views on asylum policy both as a citizen and a Christian. It helped me see myself and all of us as citizens of the world instead of just citizens of the United States. I now understand more what the role of Christians should be in this world, as our loyalty lies not primarily to our country, but primarily to God. 

One of the highlights of this internship was meeting one of the residents at a training day. I was fascinated to learn that he spoke five languages. As a student of linguistics, I have to say I was a bit jealous!

Though I could not understand French, I was able to hear his story translated into English, and I was shocked to hear that upon arriving in America, he was detained arbitrarily for five months (read more about A.S.’s story here). Through hearing his story and seeing the way that Jonathan House’s staff welcomed him in, helping him with his asylum case and English-learning, I could tell that they were fulfilling God’s role for Christians in modern America.

During my time at IAFR Jonathan House, I’ve learned more about its mission to extend shelter, hope, and healing to asylum seekers in Minneapolis/St. Paul. This has informed my own views on an increasingly complex crisis. As a Christian, this semester has been a period of strengthening for my faith and figuring out how to integrate it into my daily life and actions. I now have a renewed perspective for what it means to follow God’s commands in our political climate. I will aspire to write with the same compassion and care that I’ve seen exemplified by the staff of Jonathan House.

As I close my internship, I’d like to share a verse that especially stuck out to me throughout my internship:

James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

I understand the need better now—the need to extend a welcoming hand to asylum seekers in the US, the need for a better system that doesn’t wait so long to grant people work permits and the need for a system that doesn’t detain people arbitrarily when they come over.

When the world falls into crisis, we have a choice. We can let ourselves be overwhelmed and crushed by the world’s chaos and panic, or we can remember Christ and know that, whatever may happen, He’s in control. We can remember God’s command to love one another, helping those in need.