Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Claire Hall and Molly Jamison.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mary Claire and Molly. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2010, the Hall family and the Jamison family participated in the refugee mentor training program at Catholic Charities of Fort Worth. Both of our families desired to find a service opportunity that could involve the whole family (including our very small children), and our intention was to “adopt” a refugee family together as a way to love the vulnerable in our community. There was soon to be a new baby in both of our families, so it took us until 2012 to pursue getting matched with a family.
We were eventually matched with a precious Sudanese woman, who is a resident at an apartment complex not far from our neighborhood. When we met her, she had two small children and was expecting her third. Her husband was left behind in the refugee camp when she and her kids were accepted as refugees to the USA in 2012.
Many members of our church’s homegroup got to know our new friend and walked with her for about a year, loving on her in whatever ways we could: hosting a baby shower, transportation to the hospital, Christmas gifts and birthday parties. Two ladies from our group drove her to the hospital when it was time to give birth, and the next day Mary Claire and Molly had the incredible privilege of being by her side when her son was born. It was increasingly clear to us that we were to be our friend’s family and her advocate. It wasn’t easy, but it was life-changing, and we wondered what was next!
Each time we went to visit our dear friend, we met more of her friends and neighbors. As we met more and more residents of the apartment complex, we felt called to know and love the entire community there. To that end, our homegroup planted a community garden in the spring of 2014, hoping that it would help us get to know more people in the complex. We also began monthly hotdog cookouts as a way to engage with the community and get to know the people. (While the garden didn’t last, the cookouts have become an institution and are still one of the primary ways we get to know the residents.) It turns out that going to this complex is like taking a trip around the world. There are refugees from Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, Liberia, Burma, Russia, Iraq, Nepal, Iran, Pakistan, and more… It is incredible – the nations are right here in our backyard!
The cookouts drew dozens of kids, and we quickly began relationships with around 50 children. Over the next months, our volunteer base grew beyond our homegroup to include other friends and church family who wanted to know what in the world was going on. As more people got involved, the outreach kept growing. In June of 2014, we hosted our first 3-day summer camp in the evenings. It was a wild and crazy time, and each of the kiddos heard the Gospel. More and more people were asking how to get involved, and the Lord began turning this into more than just a family/homegroup service opportunity – it was becoming a way for our friends, family, and church to serve and love the people we had fallen in love with, and it was clear the Lord was taking this in a totally unexpected direction!
Eventually, we decided it was time to advocate for our original friend’s husband to be reunited with his family. That sent us on a wild journey navigating government agencies and filling out form after form after form. In November of 2016, the family was finally reunited. That story can be found here: https://vimeo.com/192009410
The North Hill now operates as a ministry under Kerygma Ventures, a local 501(c)3. At this point, the opportunities through The North Hill include school uniform drives, backpack drives, winter coat drives, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas gifts, Spring Break Camp, Summer Camp, as well as outreach to and partnership with the nearby elementary school. Our hearts started with and continue to be pointed towards relationships, so while many of these events focus on meeting felt needs, our heart has always been and will always be to build a relationship. Our desire is that every family at the complex will hear the Gospel and know the love of Jesus.
The Lord has taken us on a wild adventure through the development of The North Hill. He has blessed each step of obedience, covered each difficulty in grace, and turned our head in the direction we need to go next. We never, ever expected or planned for any of this. It has been his idea from the beginning, and we are so thankful he has allowed us to come along for the ride.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Entering into a relationship with people who do not speak your first language or share your cultural norms is super challenging. When we first met our dear friend, she spoke no English, and we didn’t speak her tribal language. Our communication consisted of miming hand motions, and lots of show and tell, which made it difficult to form relationships.
Neither of us was familiar with each other’s daily schedule, dinner table spread or smells that filled our homes. As we continued to spend time together, we learned to love and celebrate each other’s differences! We’ve learned quips of Dinka, and her English has taken off. We introduced their family to the Sundance Square Santa Claus one Christmas, we’ve shared American and African meals together, and the once unfamiliar smells that fill the apartment complex bring a smile to my face. -Molly
I think another difficulty has been simply not having any kind of roadmap. When we realized we wanted to formalize The North Hill, there was no one to ask how to do it. Everything was from scratch, and we had to learn from a lot of mistakes along the way! We learned more from failures than successes and have had to be willing to simply try something not knowing if it would succeed or not. That’s hard for me considering my personality wants to weigh the costs and benefits and have an end goal in mind before starting something!
Another struggle was learning to appreciate and capitalize on each other’s giftings. Molly and I are so different and approach things differently. Building an outreach together required both of us to really listen and learn from each other. We’ve both grown in humility seeing how each of us is uniquely suited to handle different aspects of the ministry. It’s been an awesome exercise in letting go, appreciating another’s perspective and seeing what comes from true partnership and humble collaboration. -Mary Claire
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The North Hill – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our mission at The North Hill is to glorify God and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth by seeking to build Gospel-centered relationships and fostering Gospel-centered community in the primarily refugee population in north Fort Worth, who represent the nations where we are. We aim to share the Gospel in word and deed and to seek justice by engaging God’s people who are often unseen and neglected. Our goal is to serve these beloved families with grace-filled excellence that reflects the love and care of Jesus.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our events at The North Hill consist of seasonal, monthly Play North Hill events at the complex, Camp North Hill -Spring Break, and Camp North Hill – Summer, and two Give North Hill events – a winter coat drive, and a Christmas gift drive. We also work closely with the elementary school nearby to tutor kids who need a little extra help, and a Support a Teacher program to walk alongside the teachers and support the staff.
We’re always looking for ways to improve what we do and have decided to never be tied too tightly to specific event ideas. Many of the outreaches that The North Hill is currently engaged were born our of suggestions from volunteers. We always welcome and look forward to the next idea we didn’t know was coming! The beauty of running “bare bones” with no overhead expenses is that we can make adjustments and changes quickly and easily.
Our ultimate goal is to have every family at the complex partnered with a volunteer family to “do life with.” We envision family dinners, birthday parties, and afternoon visits that are mutually life-giving and life-changing. A recent statistic stated that 85% of immigrants never visit a native American’s home. We would love to be a part of changing that statistic in Fort Worth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thenorthhill.org
- Email: info@thenorthhill.org
- Instagram: thenorthhill
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/283388638523627/?ref=bookmarks
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
