About Us
Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries (ARIM) was created by the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists to inspire, coordinate, facilitate, and expand Adventist ministries to and by refugees, immigrants, and visitors to North America, especially among the least established and least reached people groups.
Our mission is to:
- Introduce Adventists to refugees and their needs
- Empower Adventists to fulfill the Great Commission to Refugees in North America
- Provide practical and language-specific resources to refugees and immigrants, and Adventists reaching out to them
- Provide ideas, coaching, and/or mentoring to churches reaching out to refugees
- Provide ministry updates to inspire Adventists to reach out to refugees
Terri Saelee coordinates Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries through the office of Tony Anobile, Vice President of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists for Multi-Lingual, Multi-Ethnic Ministries
Telephone: (608) 443-6575
Bio: Terri (West) Saelee discovered refugees while attending Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska when she responded to a bulletin board request to give Cambodian refugees rides to church in their language. That summer she went as a student missionary to teach English and Bible in the refugee camps in Thailand. Six months turned into four years as she discovered the joy of refugees when they learned about God. Returning to finish her education, Terri discovered refugees in the States who spoke the languages she had been learning in Thailand. Responding to God's leading, she had the privilege of launching SEARCH (Southeast Asian Refugee Community Helps), a joint outreach of Weimar College and the Sacramento Japanese Church, and leading the team of volunteers in reaching out to Lao, Hmong and Mienh refugees in Sacramento. This led to an indigenous Lao congregation. In 1995, Terri married Ko Saelee, a church planter from Thailand who had come as a Student Missionary from Thailand Mission College (now Asia-Pacific International University). Together they planted a Hmong congregation in Sacramento and are now reaching out, with their three children, to Hmong refugees in Wisconsin. Pastor Ko is Hmong Ministries Coordinator for the Wisconsin Conference and Hmong Church Planting Consultant for NAD ARIM. Terri coordinates ARIM (Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries) from home.
Welcome to the website designed to network to bring refugee needs and resources together. Please bear with us as we develop our new site. We welcome your ideas, suggestions, and contributions. Contact us.