Keller Woman Provides Baby Showers for Refugees

Kristy Nuttall, a resident of Keller and mom of four, has been working for a couple of years to provide baby showers to refugee mothers in Dallas, Texas. Kristy, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, connected with World Relief in the spring of 2016, after looking for ways to serve the refugee community here in the DFW area. She and her family helped distribute food at an outdoor market for local refugees.

“I heard a talk in October of that year that encouraged me to reach out and help refugees in my community. I found a way for my family to serve soon after that, and it left me wanting to do more. In fact, after we served refugees that day, my seven-year-old son, Ty, said, ‘Mom, I really liked doing that because I feel good inside. I want to do this again!’”

Kristy reached out to another organization called Gateway of Grace to ascertain what other efforts she might be able to support. Her contact there mentioned that one of their biggest needs was people to host baby showers for refugee moms having their first babies in the United States. She sent Kristy a list of the basic items the families usually needed, and she kept it in the back of her mind as a project that would be good to do in the future. A few weeks later, a friend texted Kristy to ask if she knew a good place to donate her stroller, baby clothes, and other gently used baby items.

“At that moment, I knew it was time to organize a refugee baby shower! My friend, Megan, was thrilled that her baby items could be channeled towards a wonderful cause, and I was elated to be able to check several items off of the baby shower list,” said Nuttall.

Kristy put the word out to her friends and neighbors, and soon, she had dozens of donations of diapers, wipes, clothing, toys, bottles, formula, baby furniture, bedding, and books.

“People have been so generous,” Nuttall says. “I had enough for two baby showers after I put out that first call for donations. We have since been able to provide eight baby showers for women from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. At the end of one of the baby showers, a new mom from Afghanistan just stood by her new stroller with the happiest smile of relief. It was obvious how much the baby shower was like a warm hug to let her know that she was no longer a stranger in a strange land. She was loved and her baby would be loved, too.”

The baby showers all follow the same pattern: Kristy and her team enlist the help of friends, mostly other mothers, to gather the essentials for the expectant women, who often have no supplies prepared for their newborns. Friends donate new and used baby clothes, often wrapped and ready for giving. The women gather with minivans full of gifts, either at the woman’s home or at Gateway of Grace. They bring party food and a cake for the guest of honor and her friends and family, then watch as she opens the gifts. They help set up the crib and the stroller, if needed, and then they leave with hugs and well-wishes. The showers are also an opportunity for the refugee women to practice their English skills, and sometimes Kristy and her team use some basic games to practice conversation or just share pictures and talk about their families and life in Texas.

Nuttall is grateful for her friends who come to help. “My main supporters have been Leslie Horn and my sister-in-law, Julia Nuttall. Both of them have gone out of their way to collect and store donations. They also help by bringing cakes and refreshments to the showers. Leslie and Julia have also shown their skills as a master crib, stroller, bouncy seat, and pack-n-play engineers. Each baby shower is a special opportunity to get to know a refugee family on a personal level. One of my favorite showers was for a young couple having their first child. The husband was at the shower and he was just so tickled with all of the presents. When his wife unwrapped a pair of soft fuzzy slippers he said, ‘Wait, how did you know that this is exactly what my wife needed?’ He and his wife expressed their gratitude and a huge sense of relief after the shower—they shared that they did not have any idea how they were going to get everything their baby needed, and after the shower, they felt taken care of and loved.”

“We have brought each new mom either a crib or a portable crib, a car seat and a stroller. I can’t believe how many gifts and supplies we have been able to gather every time! People are so generous. I have even had friends from across the country send me cash to shop with for these sweet new mothers,” says Leslie Horn, also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who has helped with the showers a few times. “These families have tried for years to come to a safe place like Texas, and they are very grateful for any assistance. They are so humble and are both excited and nervous to have a new baby in America. Sometimes they don’t speak very much English, but with hugs and smiles, we are able to communicate to them that we love them,” says Horn.

“This baby shower project has definitely changed me,” says Nuttall. “When I hear about refugees in my community, they are no longer faceless numbers; they are real people who I have met. I think of the stories I have heard from Manijeh, Naseeba, and Masouda. They are strong and resilient people who have so much to teach us.”

Many of the refugee families are here because their husbands worked as translators for the US military. Their lives became greatly endangered in their home countries.

“I think of how Christ has asked us to be his hands and feet here on the earth. We read in the Book of Matthew, ‘when you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ I know that these words are true; when we serve others, we are on a divine errand. We are all pieces of a puzzle of humanity scattered all over the earth. Seeking to help one another is the glue that connects these puzzle pieces together and helps us form a stronger picture of who we are and what we can accomplish together,” said Nuttall.

Patrick Kearon, a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says, “Meeting refugee families and hearing their stories with your own ears, and not from a screen or newspaper, will change you.”

Kristy says, “My family and I decided to take this challenge and it has definitely changed us.”

If you would like to be involved in helping host baby showers for refugee women in the future, please contact Leslie Horn at [email protected].

http://www.gatewayofgrace.org/