|
Late 70’s the Southeast Asian refugees started coming
to the
US for
their resettlement. Churches within the Presbyterian Church USA
welcomed Lao refugees and started looking for ways to provide Spiritual
help for those who came to church regularly. However, the sponsor
churches ran into difficulty on helping Lao refugees on their new
lives due to language barrier, custom and culture differences and
education level. The need to have someone speaks Lao and English was
high. The Rev. Dr.
James Oudom became the first
Laotian ordained minister in the PCUSA and through his leadership
the National Laotian Presbyterian Council (NLPC) was established in
1991 and the Lao
American Mission Partnership (LAMP) in 1993 to
enable churches and organizations within the PCUSA to do ministry to
these people and providing effective help on their resettlement
program.
NLPC and LAMP
were established for the purpose of helping churches and
organizations to assist Lao refugees and new immigrants for their
resettlement in the
US which providing services are as follows:
*
Immigrants and refugee needs: legal service, jobs search and
training, filling forms, school, doctors and hospitals for translation
and transportation, and other basic needs for new comers.
*
Churches & Organizations: Provides workshop and training on how
to work with these new immigrants. Provide leadership training at
Austin Theological Seminary to upgrade leadership skill to the Lao
church leaders within PCUSA.
Looking
for more Lao Ministry?
Check out our links
below! |