$22,016
Mortgage: $500,000
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After two and a half years of prayer, fundraising, planning, and paperwork, we have finally purchased a refugee house! THANK YOU to everyone who prayed with us, gave us practical help and real estate and legal advice, and gave a gift to help us fund this home.

  • It's a 4 bedroom house
  • Basement is a walk backing onto a forest
  • It's an end unit so minimal annoyance to neighbours
  • Finally, the House shares a fence with a local school where refugee kids can walk without having to cross one street!
  • 2025 05 01 01a
  • 2025 05 01 04a
  • 04 pray
  • Shawn holding the house key
  • 2025 05 01 03a
  • house yard

A long-term safe house and first (Canadian) home for refugees

When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Jesus Network and the Afghan Church, with the support of many generous donors, began the process of sponsoring many Christian Afghan refugee families to Canada. Before the crisis, the Afghan Church was on track to sponsor 3 families; after the crisis, they are now on track to sponsor 75 families.

  • Refugees on airplant towards refugee camp
  • Shawn, Obed, and other supporters welcoming a just-arrived refugee family with Canadian flags, flowers, and food baskets, at the airport.
  • A bedroom with a single bed, side table, lamp, and chair
Housing is a major challenge when refugee families arrive

When a refugee family arrives, we have to secure safe and stable housing for them. The main challenges are:

  • We often only have days' notice that a family will be getting arriving, so we have to scramble to find an appropriate home.
  • Sometimes a family is delayed at the last moment and we end up paying rent for an empty apartment.
  • Every family has different housing needs.
  • As much as possible, we want to place families near necessary social and support services, and near each other.
  • Cost of rent has been skyrocketing.
A supporter suggested the idea a refugee house: a permanent, long-term safe house where families can stay when they arrive in Canada until permanent housing is found. It would let us focus on helping the families get settled (e.g. get health cards, register for school, etc.) without the hectic scramble to immediately rent and furnish an apartment each time a family arrives.

Pray with us as we consider the possibilities

Thorncliffe House makes a lot of sense as an idea, but would be a very big change in the Jesus Network's ministry, and there are a lot of responsibilities and risks involved with home ownership. So please pray with us as we consider and explore this option:

  • Pray as we investigate financing for this project. Consider how the Lord would have you help!
  • Pray that if this is the way for us, the Lord to guide us to the right house in the right location
  • Pray for a team who would be able to help us clean, renovate, and maintain the home
Pray with us as God leads, and stay updated at jesusnetwork.ca/afghanrefugees.