Organizer Diana Martin came up with the idea of a pre-Christmas party during a conversation about finding volunteers to "adopt" refugees as recipients of Christmas gifts. Diana first came into contact with RIS when she and her husband sponsored an Iraqi family.

Recounting how the event came together, Diana says, "Mary Beth Pizzino, the volunteer coordinator at RIS, found a church that would let us use a room, and we invited all of the 2009 refugees. A friend of ours provided smoked chicken and beans, people from the church brought along potato salad and home-made cookies, and we asked the refugees to bring a dish.

"It was a very humbling experience when you think how very poor most of these people are and saw them bring the best that they could afford. We will be looking at what worked and what didn't to help us think about future events, and we will consider the possibility that some people may not have come because they didn't have anything to bring," Diana reflects.

"As a child in Texas, our church would have a Christmas program, and families got a small plastic bag with oranges, apples, nuts and candy. My husband and I put together bags for all of the guests who attended and really had a lot of fun doing it," says Diana.

The party brought together families from Cuba, Nepal, Burma and Iraq. When everyone was gathered, Diana gave an explanation of the symbols of Christmas, including stars, bells and wreaths. Pastor Tim from Grace Church explained the real meaning of Christmas.

"We had three different translators translating, and people sat there mesmerized. They seemed really interested in what we were saying. It really was a fun thing, and I would cheerfully do it again next year," Diana says.

Diana describes her volunteering with refugees as being a form of ministry. She and her husband were first led to sponsor an Iraqi family when a Jordanian missionary spoke at their home church, Rainbow Forest Baptist Church in Botetourt County, about 18 months ago.

"We prayed about it and decided to go ahead," recalls Diana. "Eight months later we went to Roanoke airport to meet the Iraqi mother and her two sons that we now sponsor -- Fekriayh Matar, Mustafa (age 16) and Achmed (age 9). Over the months, we have become very close to them. As sponsors, we help them financially and take them to and from appointments. And through them we connected to RIS and to families from various other countries. I hadn't heard of RIS before, but I think it is a wonderful organization, and I'm now volunteering in the office and doing whatever I can.

"I had been looking for some volunteer work, and this has been perfect," says Diana. "It has really expanded our world. We have made many new friends. Some are visiting our home. My husband took the English as a Second Language class so that he could become a tutor. It has been very, very exciting for us.

"We have become more and more involved with RIS and have been asked to befriend other families, for example driving a Bhutanese family with a sick child to appointments with a doctor. I helped one person find a job."

Diana says she would heartily recommend volunteering with refugees as an exceptionally rewarding experience.

"I found the ordinary shopping and wrapping of Christmas gifts for my family and friends more stressful than organizing a banquet for 200 people. Working with refugees, doing the party, it made the other preparations for Christmas seem frivolous," Diana Martin concludes.