Life of a Refugee Do we really understand what they have been through? A refugee is a person who must leave his or her homeland because of persecution or fear of persecution of religious beliefs, ethnic background or political activities. A lengthy wait in a refugee camp is the first step for most refugees. The average stay in a camp is five years, but some families have lived in one camp for over fifteen years. The camps are usually guarded …
I think the biggest thing I have learned from my neighbors this year is how to slow down. Whenever I run into a neighbor, they are usually not in a hurry. One day, my roommate, Stephen and I went over to our Nepali friend’s house. We knocked on their door, they welcomed us in, and we sat down. We spent two hours there eating food and sharing life with them. When Stephen and I were ready to leave, they followed …
Dear Friends, You will want to read this. For the past seven months, I have been on a “break” from break dancing. It’s been hard because I haven’t been able to find another creative outlet to express myself. Just to give ya’ll a little background, I have been dancing for 8 years now and I have taught break dancing to kids in several communities. I was very successful at this last summer. The sad thing was that I became so …
Dear friends, Yesterday, I took a Nepali refugee named Jaganidhi to the food pantry because his food stamps ran out. He shared some wisdom with me. He said, “In life, you must give and take. As a refugee I have been given much, but one day when I have a job I must give back to those who have helped me.” I told him, “Well, you can start giving back right now. You don’t need money.” After I helped him …
Let me share a story with you. The other day, I was eating a sandwich and looking out the kitchen window when I spotted one of my roommates making his way back toward the apartment. Suddenly, he stopped, bent over and picked up a bag full of trash, and then proceeded to toss it into the dumpster. He repeated this process until there was no more garbage in sight and then continued to walk home. After a few moments, the …
Daily Interactions One day when my friend and I were waiting for the bus, chatting and minding our own business, a homeless woman approached us. The first thing she said to us was “I’m homeless. My husband beats me and hurts me. I need a couple of dollars to get some food. Can you please help me?” I turned to her and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t have any money (I really didn’t at that time). But what’s your name?” …
Hey everybody! So, I’ve been here six months now, so got to make the next 5 count. In life, it’s easy to get comfortable in our daily routines. We wake up at 6am, shower, eat, read the newspaper, go to work, watch tv, and do it all over the next day. This is boring. A wise minister once said, “Are you living each day like every other day, round and round like a squirrel in a wheel, or are you …
I didn’t get accepted into the Faiths Act Fellowship 2009-2010 cohort. I am very disappointed! I’m currently asking God questions like Why me? Why wasn’t I accepted? What is your plan for me? I really don’t know what I am going to do after Mission Year now. Help me God. During the past couple of days, I have had some time to reflect. I realized that I applied for the wrong reasons. I thought it would look good on my …
One day when my friend and I were waiting for the bus, chatting and minding our own business, a homeless woman approached us. The first thing she said to us was “I’m homeless. My husband beats me and hurts me. I need a couple of dollars to get some food. Can you please help me?” I turned to her and said, “I’m sorry. I do not have any money (I really didn’t at that time). But what’s your name?” She …
Probably, the biggest thing I have learned this week is that I am accepted. By than I mean the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. He loves us. I am deeply loved by Christ. When one turns to God, one accepts him. Many people ask me “When did you become a Christian?” I pondered that thought for awhile now and here is my answer. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, went to church, …
During break, I have had the chance to reflect on life. The truth is you cannot do anything about the past and you can only plan so much for the future. Live now. Below you will find a short, powerful one-page essay I wrote about how to be present in the moment and how to focus on what matters most in life. peace. In his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle states that “Guilt, regret, bitterness, and remorse are …
The question that we have to ask ourselves is: What specific strategies can we put in place to change people’s hearts? To do that, I would recommend two simple action plans: Love and Children. In my eyes, love is the greatest verb in the American Dictionary. As a Christian community developer, Robert Lupton, says “Rather than be points of conflict, our cultural differences should become opportunities to learn from and enrich one another.” Embrace those differences. Jesus said our neighbors …
The majority of the refugees in our neighborhood had decent lives back in their home countries, but now many are struggling to survive physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. It is sad to hear that most are unable to find the work they had dreamed of here in The United States. According to World Relief, over 150 refugees are unemployed. The Mission of World Relief is empowering the local Church to serve the most vulnerable. At World Relief, we try to …
“Octavia”, an African-American woman was one of those people who continued to live in Clarkston, but remained bitter and resentful. Over the past fourteen years, Octavia has seen it all: the bad, the boneheaded, and the ugly. “You know, it has not been easy trying to adapt to all of these changes. You see, about ten years ago I used to know my neighbors but now I feel like I do not know anyone,” she said in a conversation we …
According to The New York Times, Clarkston, Georgia is now the most diverse 1.1 square-mile area in America. But life has not always been quite this way for this small town of 7,100 people. “In the late 1800s, Clarkston was settled by mostly white farmers and railroad workers. It stayed that way until the 1970s, when apartment complexes for middle-class workers began to be built. As years passed, many of those workers relocated to new suburbs farther from town, which …
To wrap things up, I would like to share a story. The other day I was sitting on the bus reading a book and minding my own business when suddenly a scraggly, homely, middle-aged woman plopped down beside me. The first thing she said was “Hmmm… that looks like an interesting book. What is it about?” After awhile, Sarah decided to share her life with me. She told me that her husband left her nineteen years ago, so she had …
My Bhutanese friend Lila-Ballab said, “World Relief does everything for us. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Since I have arrived here, I have felt like I have lost my courage.” Most refugees that I have come into contact with feel unconfident in their abilities, especially when it comes to speaking English. They rely on those of us who speak passable English to be their voices. When we try to teach the refugees how to do …
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service interviews those refugees who may be resettled in the United States and only those who can prove they are escaping persecution are eligible to find freedom in this country. When some refugees do receive the good news that a country has accepted them, the International Organization for Migration coordinates their transportation from the camp to their new home. The United States receives more than 50,000 refugees each year. The Department of State assigns …
We live in a world that loves to help. Often times, we do for others what they can already do for themselves. Bob Lupton, a Christian Community Developer and an entrepreneur, says “Doing for others what they can do for themselves is charity at its worst.” For example, a child is failing in school, so we help her with her homework. A family is about to get kicked out of their apartment, so we scrounge up some money to pay …
Ya’ll have heard people say don’t expect anything from nobody. You’ve got to work hard to earn an honest living for yourself. The fact of the matter is that we are not entitled to anything in this world. Yet most of us grow up with this entitlement mentality. We expect things from others and expect others to cater around us. Everyday we buy more clothes, appliances, cars, books, televisions, computers and so forth simply because we can (and often when …
