Mustard Seed Association 芥菜种新移民扶助协会

11/03/2024

11/03/2024

Every week, after our Bible study at the mustard seed gathering, we provide a Chinese-style dinner, which is always the liveliest moment of our meeting. Friendships are strengthened and deepened through these shared meals. Let’s take a look at the meal preparation process!The preparation of the love feast is a time for sisters to connect, learn, and practice during each church gathering. The sisters who cook watch everyone enjoy the food with delight, smiling with a motherly warmth and satisfaction. Out of love for the Lord, they love and serve others wholeheartedly. Although Chinese cooking can be complex and time-consuming, when love fills the heart, no task is too hard.

05/02/2024

The Mustard Seed Association provides assistance to newly arrived Chinese immigrants. We offer reception services aimed at helping Chinese students and new immigrants smoothly integrate into local society and culture. Volunteers provide a range of support, including free airport pickups, housing arrangements, documentation assistance, job search guidance, and welfare applications, aiming to help them settle in permanently. Once settled, we invite them to join in assisting future immigrants, fostering a culture of caring and giving back within the Chinese community.

In today's diverse immigrant landscape, many families arrive in the U.S. without prior study experiences, facing significant language and cultural shocks, and struggling to adapt to their new lives. The Mustard Seed Association invites both native-born Americans and Chinese immigrants to join hands in supporting newcomers, embracing them with open and loving arms. Every immigrant represents a community, and by planting seeds of love, we aim to cultivate sustainable community development in the future.

Funds raised by the Mustard Seed Association are primarily allocated to the following projects:

1. Social Gatherings: Regularly renting venues for cultural exchanges, hosting public lectures to provide practical information about local life, offering free assistance with social welfare applications and legal consultations, and providing dinner gatherings.

2. Psychological Counseling: Referring individuals and families experiencing mental health issues to professional counselors and matching them with financial assistance for counseling fees to alleviate personal burdens, offering visits, care, and companionship.

3. Children's Education: Providing free bilingual (Chinese-English) courses for children at social gatherings, hiring professional teachers in Chinese language, music, and art, as well as childcare, to encourage regular participation in community gatherings and exchanges by Chinese families.

4. Campus Ambassadors: Inviting Chinese students to free lunches and conversations at the campus activity center during the week, organizing short outings for Chinese student groups, and providing free transportation and meals.

If you're moved to support the Mustard Seed Association's assistance for Chinese immigrants, you can make financial contributions. Checks can be made payable to Mustard Seed Association, or you can donate via bank transfer to ACH Account Number: 598915810, Routing Number: 325070760. You can also use Zelle with the recipient email address [email protected]. As a registered non-profit organization 501(c)(3), we will provide legal tax exemptions for your donations and regularly send ministry reports, witnessing the growth of your seeds of love as they take root and flourish.

04/26/2024

We help international students find suitable housing.

In Fairfax, where the cost of living is high, it's not easy for international students to find affordable and comfortable accommodation. They often have limited English proficiency, most don't have social security numbers, and their access to local rental information is limited.

We mobilize local networks to match them with appropriate housing options and compatible roommates from similar cultural backgrounds, helping them settle near the campus.

04/18/2024

Today, we partnered with a Community Church to provide a Chinese-style lunch for all the students and teachers of the new immigrant English learning class. In our Fairfax area, there are many new immigrants, and learning English and the local culture are essential skills for them to integrate into the local community life as quickly as possible. Volunteers offer free English classes twice a week, year-round.

People from many different ethnic backgrounds gather here weekly; love knows no borders. The Chinese cuisine today received rave reviews from everyone present, making it a truly unforgettable experience!

04/16/2024

Today, we took a new immigrant friend to apply for their SSN (Social Security Number). It's just off the toll road in Reston, and driving from GMU takes about 22 minutes. There used to be a processing point near Hmart in Fairfax, but it closed during the pandemic, so Reston is the closest option for us now.

No appointment is needed, and they're open from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays. It's best to avoid Mondays and Fridays as they tend to be crowded. Be prepared to wait in line as that's pretty much the drill. My friend arrived shortly before noon, and by the time we were done, it was already 3 pm. All you have to do on-site is take a number, and if you don't speak English, it's okay since most of the time is spent waiting in line. Once your documents are verified, you can head back home and expect the SSN card to arrive in about two weeks.

Don't forget to bring some snacks，you might get hungry while waiting!

04/15/2024

We are a compassionate volunteer service team dedicated to assisting newly arrived ethnic minority students and immigrants in the United States. Operating year-round, we provide both physical and spiritual support to help them overcome cultural shock and establish themselves in American society.

As first-generation Chinese immigrants ourselves, we understand the challenges faced by newcomers. Many major cities and university towns in the United States continuously receive individuals from China, including students and various immigrants. Due to significant differences in language and culture, these newcomers often experience immense economic and emotional pressure, leading to social issues.

With God's love, we embrace them, starting from picking them up for free at the airport to being the first familiar faces they encounter upon landing in the United States. We open our homes to host them for Chinese meals, assist them in finding housing and schools, drive them to supermarkets, help them with various documentation processes, facilitate job opportunities, and support them until they settle and integrate into society.

We continue to provide care and follow-up for their lives in the United States, organizing weekly fellowships where we share hometown food and engage in meaningful discussions, helping them understand American culture rooted in Christianity, and nurturing their compassion to inspire them to volunteer in assisting new immigrants. We also offer Chinese classes to help second-generation Chinese-Americans maintain and improve their Chinese language skills. Additionally, we visit elderly Chinese residents in senior apartments, providing companionship and care for those who cannot speak English.

The Bible says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32). Behind every immigrant is a community, and your compassion is a seed. As long as you are willing to sow it, let us plant it, and it will take root, grow, and provide shade and comfort to many.