Once a week, my little boy and I would meet with Anna, a girl from the Congo, and spend time together—sometimes at a local park and sometimes at my apartment complex’s swimming pool, which she loved. Being with Anna was immensely beneficial for my son and me.

I had seen Adeela before. She shared a garden plot close to ours, and I remember watching her as she prepared the ground with just a hoe. She was pregnant and had four little children with her.

Around Christmastime, my family was trying to think of something meaningful to do for the holidays. We decided to approach the refugee coordinator and ask if we could provide a Christmas meal for a family.

We have lived in North Carolina for the past seven years. We have made many friends here, so when we moved away for my husband’s job, I was crushed. To have a sense of closure, we wanted to throw a party and invite everyone we knew and loved in the area. However, as I listened to the April 2016 general conference, I had a new idea for our party.