Life Alongside The Refugee

In my teen years I had this overly romanticized dream that I would become an undercover photojournalist who would go to the front lines of humanitarian crises and capture the raw, untold stories. One local newspaper internship later and the reality of writing life hurled that dream right back in my face. I began to settle in to the mindset that those experiences were only destined for the select few and that my talent was only for that of a sweatshirt intern After a bit that desire faded as I pursued other majors in college and found myself four years into a trade job…until I found myself here.

It has been one week since we landed in the ME and started partnering with the organization we are currently with. When my team first arrived, the founder sat us down, explained the mission and then went around asking each of us what our giftings were so that he could place us where we would be of the most use. Some of us landed in the school getting to work with kids, others who loved to evangelize were assigned to house visits and we even had one girl tasked with translating literature from Arabic to English. I landed in the visual aid and storytelling department and was told to run with my creativity to create a magazine that highlighted stories of the persecuted church and Iraqi refugee stories. You guys, it was my dream come true!! I never thought I would have the honor of being the medium that would pass along these voices to a wider audience. I mean these people are absolutely amazing in the resiliency and devotion to faith they held onto as they went through hell. Every day I get to read and rewrite real life stories from refugees who live right next door to me and sing alongside me in church. God is so crazy how He works out little things like that in our lives that He knows meet the deepest desires of our hearts. The fact that I am here was based on a randomized selection for placement, but the Lord knew as He always does.

We have only been here one week and my heart is already swelling with love for this community. I feel right at home with what I get to do in exercising my creative writing and photography skills. In addition to our assigned tasks, we also get to work alongside the refugees in their craft departments. Since the area we are in has restrictions on refugee employment, the organization provides artisan workshops that allow these people to create and sell their own goods. Many of them are skilled artisans in woodwork, sewing, jewelry making and mosaics. I personally took a special interest in the last one and tried my hand at it  by taking on a simple coaster. I definitely underestimated the difficulty of this art. Every piece is so intentional and tedious. One normal sized piece can take them around 5 days to complete. They have even started doing custom designs for local businesses to gain more advertising for their handiwork.

In the middle of the week we were invited to go serve at two Syrian refugee camps. The goal was to spend time with the young mothers and children while simply loving on them as Jesus would. For as much trauma as these kids have been through in having to flee their war-ridden countries, they had bigger smiles on their face then I did. Everyone was incredibly kind and hospitable. Even after I left, I still could not fully comprehend that all of this was actually a reality for me and how lucky I was to be meeting people with such incredible stories. Although their situation is much better than it was, these families still live about 2 hours away from an active war zone. Continue to be praying for these families and others that supplies and opportunities would be provided for them to start a new life.

All this to say, I am overwhelmed. This week has been full to the brim with new challenges, exhilarating moments and fresh friendships. All to say life is definitely a grand adventure when you are living it at the foot of Jesus. I am definitely excited for what else awaits us in our time here. I am also desiring to continue down the path of storytelling in the States and will hopefully have an opportunity to partner with an amazing organization more long-term. To think the race is coming to a close here in just a few months. I’m definitely trying to soak in every moment that I can.