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Post by CU Service Leadership.

Day 5

Today was our final day here in Atlanta.

As we write this post, we are finishing up our final packing and cleaning duties and will head to the airport at 4am to return to Portland.  We are scheduled to be in Portland by 11am on Saturday May 3rd. This was completed at 3:03am.

It began as we awoke and headed back out to Clarkston to spend our final morning volunteering with a senior ESL class at Clarkston Community Center.  Once we arrived, however, we learned that the classes were not taking place today and that there was no other programming today that we could jump into.  This freed up a morning for us because we did not have any afternoon service planned.  Luckily, despite not being able to volunteer, we were able to donate our leftover food from the week to the center so the students could have some snacks or treats when they return.  Our team was sad to know we would not be able to explore a new population of refugees and a new age group we had not worked with throughout the week, but also recognized the opportunity to spend more time at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site.  With this change in time, we were able to secure a reservation to tour Dr. King's birth-home.

We headed back into Atlanta and were able to reserve an afternoon tour of Dr. King's birth-home.  This changed up the schedule even more and the team opted to check out a local business' museum.  We took a trip to the World of Coca Cola to learn more about the company's history, it's impact on the Atlanta (and global) economies, and tasted over 60 flavors from around the world of the popular soft-drink.  Our next stop was lunch at a local BBQ restaurant which was delicious, authentic cuisine.  The rest of our afternoon was spent at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site.  We were able to tour his birth-home and hear stories of his childhood, including stories of friendships, broken hearts, sibling rivalries, and gaining an understanding of racism and discrimination at a young age.   It was deeply impactful for our team to be in the home of "Little M.L." (as the tour guide called him).  After the tour and our team visiting Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. King's burial site, and seeing the neighborhood he grew up in, we spent some time reflecting on the week outside of the Kings' burial site reflecting pool discussing how we would take this week home.

Our team has gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of 'neighbor' and what it truly means to be a refugee and experience having to resettle to a foreign country.  Many of our team members expressed having stereotypes broken and learning more about the various types of resettlement processes.  We discussed how the experience of having to leave a situation and transition into a new unknown environment will be something we will experience ourselves throughout our lives and we will encounter through each of our careers.  Sometimes we may work with refugees who are relocating internationally and sometimes we may be working with individuals who have left families and homes to move to new and/or strange places.  All of these individuals experience loneliness, fear, uncertainty, and disconnection from their homes and previous lives.  Through this week, we have been able to better discern and discover how best to empathize with these individuals.

The end of the night was a spectacular show (literally). Our night ended with an amazing team bonding activity-an Atlanta Braves baseball game. The Braves played the San Francisco Giants and ended up losing to them 2-1. Even though the game was not won, we had an amazing time. Half of us even had a chance to dance on the Jumbo-Tron. The night was made even more spectacular with an amazing fireworks show at the end of the game. Naturally, after the fireworks we went to Waffle House (a delicious restaurant) that satisfied the hunger on waffles could subside.

Day 4

• clean out storage/set up mattresses
• take items to apartment and set them up
• lunch - met Shannon from Breakaway
• after school program ending party, finishing science projects
• KABOBS!
• storytime and reflection, preparing for our final day

Today was a great day!

This morning we met up with Melanie from Lutheran Services of Georgia who introduced us to Vedad and Christian who would be helping us clean out a storage unit LSG uses to store household items that are given to refugees for their first apartments as they arrive in the United States.  We spent some time cleaning out and organizing the storage unit so that it could become a mini 'store' for those coming to collect items for apartment to be set up and ready for those who arrive.  Several of our team members went to set up and construct the furniture that would be in the apartment.  The family we were setting up for will arrive at midnight tonight, so it was quite a morning of getting ready!

After cleaning out the storage unit, the crew from our team that helped with the heavy lifting and furniture assembly returned to gather smaller household items to take to the apartment we were to finish setting up.  Thanks to the encouragement from Christian and the diligence of our team, Vedad was able to quickly pick out some items and get us on the road to setting up for the soon-to-arrive family.  Below are some photos from setting up the apartment.

We spent some time over lunch with Shannon from Break Away - a national alternative break organization.  Our team enjoyed hearing more about the national movement they are a part of through their service.   Shannon works here in Atlanta at the national office and was able to hear from our team about how the week had been so far and shared information about the different ways groups around the country (and globe) are collaborating in their efforts.

This afternoon was both our final afternoon with the students in the after-school program and the final afternoon for this school year of the after school program.  The kid were treated to a celebration with extra snacks and we were able to have some great last moments playing games, triumphing over science projects, and even had the chance to meet many of the parents of the students.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the children, but it was great to hear from them how much of an impact we had on them throughout the week.  We also took time to appreciate Clarkston and Mrs. Daniella with a "Certificate of Awesomeness!" 

Tomorrow we will be heading to work at Clarkston Community Center's ESL program with refugees who are seniors.  We are excited for this opportunity because it is a new population we have not been able to work with this week so far.  After finishing up our service for the week, we will head to lunch and back to the MLK National Historic Site and hopefully catch a tour of his birth home.  This is slated to be a great experience especially if Wednesday's preview is any indication.  We have 1 full day left here in Atlanta, so pray that our team goes out on a great note and are able to wrap up the week successfully.  

Day 3 on Day 4

This post is from Wednesday.

Today our group spent the morning working with Lutheran Services of Georgia assisting refugees who have recently resettled to the Atlanta area and are working to learn English, create email accounts, and develop resumes to apply for jobs.  LSG helps refugees who are resettling gain employment so that the time that the resettlement grant they are provided has been fully utilized, they are gainfully employed in a job where their skills are meaningful.  When we arrived at LSG, we took some time to do some morning stretches to prepare for the day.

After properly preparing for the day, our group welcomed the refugee families to LSG and were even able to reconnect with several of the families we met on Tuesday when visiting homes.  This was a great surprise and blessing!  As families arrived, each of our team members paired up with an individual or family to help with English language practice and develop natural conversation skills.  Once everyone had arrived, we heard the stories of one of the current women who had recently resettled to Clarkston, GA from Somalia.  She is only 24, which is close to the age of several of our team members; this was especially impactful as we reflected on her experience vs. ours and how resilient and determined she was despite having to resettle without her husband.  She is hoping he will be able to resettle to the USA soon.  They registered separately in the refugee camp rather than as husband and wife so that they could receive additional food rations.  This is a common and sometimes necessary decision because, even as a single mom with one child, they only received 3lbs of grain rations (the main food) for an entire month.  Her husband was able to receive food separately and they were able to have some additional food they would not have otherwise had.  The average person eats around 5 lbs of food per day, so it can be easy to see why her family made this decision.   This was shocking to many of our team members and her story left an impact on us.  

Next, the team heard from a current LSG staff member who had resettled to the Clarkston area more than 30 years ago from Iraq and began working at LSG as his first job.  He shared with the volunteers and refugees attending the classes how much more advanced and helpful the services offered to refugees have become since he resettled.  He discussed how he did not have a case manager or a matching grant to help with the first few months' expenses and transitions.  He encouraged those in attendance to pursue employment and work to learn English.  It was great to hear two very different stories of resettlement success.   We were also able to teach "Happy Birthday" to the clients and sing to Suelemon, who's birthday is May 1!

Our next task involved working with those who were in need of a resume and email account to become employed.  Many of the individuals we worked with were very early in learning English and had never created a resume before.  In many of their home countries, there was either no need because individuals traditionally remain in the same career throughout their lifetime, or they had been living in a refugee camp so long, it was difficult to include any employment.  Our team worked through language barriers with the help of translators and using Google images to determine which skills the clients we worked with had.  This was extremely helpful, however, it became apparent that we were now experiencing similar difficulties or frustrations as those we were helping have been experiencing when trying to communicate to us.  We were not able to understand some of the types of jobs, names of companies or cities, or translate the types of skills effectively from their lives in their home countries to traditional jobs in the United States.  Our team worked diligently to prepare resumes with as much correct and helpful information as possible, but the LSG staff mentioned that resumes often took several reviews by clients as their English improves to be fully ready to submit to employers.  Overall, it was a very impactful experience to help with this process and also to begin to understand (on a much smaller level) what it's like when you are working to communicate and there is a major language or cultural breakdown.  

Before heading to lunch, several of our team members were able to spend more time with the LSG staff sharing our stories from the week and learning about future involvement opportunities as a team and individually.  We have truly enjoyed partnering with Melanie and LSG in general.  It will be a bittersweet moment to say goodbye (hopefully temporarily) to Melanie tomorrow morning.  

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site is just down the street from LSG, so our team took some time to visit this site and look around the exhibit hall that detailed many of the stories of Dr. King's life and accomplishments.  We will head back to the site to fully explore his birth home, church (Ebenezer Baptist), and see he and his wife's burial site near Freedom Hall that honors additional civil rights leaders from the past and present.  This was a very meaningful preview of our visit to come and the team was moved by the many displays and exhibits they were able to see in our brief time.  Atlanta (and MLK) have been epicenters for Civil Rights movements and Atlanta is now one of the most popular places to resettle.  This is no accident.  The team discussed how MLK (and other civil rights leaders) paved the way for refugee resettlement to be possible in the United States. 

En route to the Clarkston Community Center we had naptime 

Today was our third day with the students at the after-school program.  Our time today consisted of working on science projects again, homework, and teaching four square to the students.  Most of the science projects were finished and the students were treated to afternoon entertainment by a local musician - Haywood.  

The storms have held off for most of the week during the day and we have yet to experience the washouts or severe weather that was forecasted for the week. In anticipation of thunderstorms, the concert we had planned to attend tonight was cancelled.  Instead of heading downtown immediately after finishing science projects and wrapping up for the day with the after-school program, we were able to experience local cuisine at Kathmandu Kitchen in the same area as the Thriftown grocery store where we met Amina on Tuesday.  This was a great experience!  Much spicier than some of our team expected, but the hospitality from the owner was fantastic and it was a treat to be able to not only support a local family, but to experience a new type of cuisine - Nepali.  

Despite the concert being cancelled, our team still opted to check out Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta and get a glimpse of the skyline from a new part of town (for us).  This was a great way to relax halfway through the week and our team was even treated to a music and light show at the Fountain of Rings.  After the fountains, we found a quick Geocache and headed back to our housing for a night full of great discussion and a full 10 minutes of laughter!  See some pictures below from our evening.

Day 3 Preview

Wednesday's blog will be finished during Thursday's breakfast, but to tide our readers over until then, one of our team members, Jesse, shares the story of one of the gentlemen, John-Mark, he was able to meet while volunteering at Lutheran Services of Georgia today.  John-Mark is another volunteer with LSG.

"Today I got to talk to a really interesting and eye opening individual. His name is John-Mark. He is a Multiple Sclerosis patient who's story is extremely humbling. He started off his story by telling us that he used to be a very cocky person. Just by looking at him, you could never have guessed it. He used to be very athletic and never wanted to ask for help. He became prideful in his independence. Sometime in his mid 30's John developed MS and became very depressed. He was so certain and afraid that he would end up in a chair that he decided he was interested in suicide. He never told anyone and thought of different ways to end his life whenever he found himself alone. He eventually did end up in a chair, but thankfully did not end up following through with his suicide. After, he was forced to depend upon others. John told us that he realized how backwards his life had been. Before, he wanted everyone to know about him and be the center of attention. Now, he wants to know everything about everyone else. He told us that he has been on both extremes because he used to be super cocky and now is very humble. He is trying to find a middle ground and its turning out to be a struggle. John told us that he now realizes how awesome just being with other people is. It's tough for him to get up in the morning, shower, deal with his chair, and, in general, deal with his MS. However, for him, it is all worth it. He feels energized after his volunteer sessions. He feeds off of everyone's energy and loves spending time around literally anyone."

Day 2: Mama Amina

After a full night of rest, the team gathered for breakfast and a morning devotion by one of our co-leaders, Joel, where we heard stories of refugees from the Bible and were encouraged to not only recognize God at work in the stories of those we would meet but in our own life through storms as they arise. It was a great way to start the day and begin building a platform for relating to soon-to-be new friends.

We headed out to Clarkston to meet Melanie from Lutheran Services of Georgia (LSG), who would match our team with 3 interpreters who offered us a chance to meet families who have resettled in the USA within the past few months.  Joel, Max, and Torrey met a family from Somalia who had been living in a refugee camp in Ethiopia for 24 years before resettling to Clarkston through LSG recently.  Karissa, Tito, Jesse, and Kim met a family from Cuba who resettled directly to the United States this year after waiting over 10 years for their entire family to be approved to resettle.  D'Anne, Sarah, Kehley, and Mari met a single mom who relocated from Somalia this year with her son.  Her husband is still overseas in Somalia living in a refugee camp and waiting to be approved to join his family.  Our team had a great time hearing from each family and building relationships with new friends from across the world.  It was eye opening to meet so many different people who have resettled in Clarkston, GA with such varied backgrounds and varied reasons for seeking refugee status here in the United States.  Throughout each story, our team was able to put into perspective how varied stories can be, yet deep community can be built through the shared experience of resettlement.  It was great to hear the stories of our interpreters as well and how they became connected to LSG - whether being a former unaccompanied minor seeking refugee status or a graduate student completing an internship.   The language barriers were difficult for some, but it was also a great reminder of some of the struggles those we were meeting encountered through their resettlement process.

After this, Melanie offered to show us around Clarkston through a driving tour of many of the businesses, service agencies, and community locations many refugees own and utilize each day.  We were able to see community colleges, restaurants, shopping malls featuring over 10 nationalities, ESL classes, and even a church that hosts services for 7 different nationalities/languages!  Our group had discussed the book Outcasts United before arriving in Atlanta.  Today, we were able to see the buses used by the Fugees Family Soccer Team!  It was great to see some of the discussions our team had before arriving in Atlanta come to life through the driving tour by Melanie.  During the tour, Melanie pointed out several shopping areas where local residents owned and worked that she suggested we check out if we had time.

Milam park became our lunchtime destination for the team to have sandwiches and unwind for a bit.  We even tried to find a Geocache but the spiders kept us away :)  After lunch, we opted to head to Thriftown and the surrounding shopping area.  The team was surprised to see so many different types of food under one roof!  German chocolate, Takis, Thai tea, White Castle burgers, and many other different ethnic foods all on the same aisle.  Walking out of the store, two of our team members met Amina - Clarkston's Mama.  Amina moved to Clarkston four years ago and LSG helped her resettle in the area.  Since resettling, she has made it one of her missions to help other refugees resettle successfully and become part of the community.  She immediately welcomed us and offered to give us a tour of the shopping center that featured an Ethiopian restaurant, a Korean clothing store, a hair salon featuring 5 different stylists from 5 different countries, and a global pharmacy.  Throughout each visit, we were welcomed with open arms into a new family who offered us food and advice and answers to questions about their cultures and stories.  At the Ethiopian restaurant, the owner even made us traditional Beef Tibs for the group simply as a gesture of helping us explore the community!  Each person we met wanted to share as much of their culture as we had time to hear about.  It was truly humbling and eye opening to re-learn the meaning of true community through each individual we met.  Despite being from different cultures and speaking different languages, each person we met genuinely wanted to welcome us and new refugees with open arms and do everything possible to make life successful.

After the amazing but spontaneous lunchtime tour, we headed back for a second afternoon with the students at Clarkston Community Center.  Our team was welcomed with smiles and excitement and many of the students we met on Monday remembered our names and greeted us with enthusiasm!  Throughout the afternoon, basketball games were played, nicknames were assigned (Bella Gaga and Taylor Lopez to name a few), homework was completed, and friendships were deepened.  Our students were challenged again by the students' energy level but were able to keep up with students for most of the afternoon until everyone's sugar crash hit from lunchtime snacks.

Taco Tuesday was properly celebrated by our dinner crew and a game of Pass the Pigs celebrated the end of a second long day.  After dinner, our team had a great discussion about the meaning of community and hospitality and how we can take the feelings we've experienced back to Portland after the week commences.

Tomorrow, our team will spend time with LSG helping in an ESL Employment class with resumes and getting email accounts setup in the morning, check out the MLK historic site over lunch, and spend time with the Clarkston Community Center in the Community Garden and with the students again.    We are so grateful for your thoughts and prayers and are grateful that the storms held off for our day.  Hopefully they will hold off again tomorrow as we plan to venture into Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta for a Wednesday Wind Down concert series after dinner.  

Daily Haikus by Karissa

Karissa, one of our team members has been/will be writing a daily Haiku to encapsulate our time in Atlanta.

Day 1: Sunday

clouds float us through time

to Zeus we are audience

silver lines in the dark

Day 2: Monday

Sleepy eyes 'open'

hearts ready to play with kids

exhaustion sets in

Day 3: Tuesday

humbling stories

unexpected adventures

strong relationships

Weather update

We have been told the most severe weather that is sweeping across the south has headed east of us and we will not be affected :) 

Day 1: Kick-starting our week!

After a long, bumpy ride through a lightning storm and a late-night visit to Waffle House, the Atlanta Team settled in at 3am to our housing and took a brief nap before kick-starting our first day of service at Lutheran Services of Georgia.

 Melanie, the Program Manager at Lutheran Services of Georgia gave us a warm welcome (complete with coffee, bagels, and a welcome sign) and the team spent the morning learning about the organization, refugees in the Atlanta area, and may facts about refugee resettlement in general.  Did you know that the average refugee can remain in a refugee camp for 8-10 years before being resettled?  This was one of the many facts that our team learned this morning before heading to a local favorite - Chick Fil A - for lunch. Melanie also introduced our students to many of the Lutheran Services of Georgia staff who we will be working alongside throughout the week through employment classes where we will help recently resettled adults craft resumes and learn to create professional emails, help set up an apartment for one of the 48 refugees who will be arriving to LSG within the next 14 days, and spend time with seniors who have resettled with their families.  The team did a great job pushing through jet-lag and minimal sleep while immersing themselves in final preparations for working with refugee families.

The Team Kicking Off Monday

After taking an initial team photo, the team headed off to lunch and then to Clarkston Community Center to meet the children we will be spending most of our afternoons with.  Michael, the After School Program Director at Clarkston Community Center, introduced us to Rebecca, who would be co-coordinating the after-school program this week.  Many of the kids are taking standardized tests this week, so homework is minimal.  This, we were told, would allow our group to spend more time getting to know the kids through outside activities and special end-of-the-year projects such as preparing for the Science Fair.    It was a beautiful day so the group was able to spend the first hour of our time with the students outside playing basketball, kickball, red-rover, and even creating secret hideouts!  During this time, many of our team members got to know the students on an individual level and made great connections over favorite games and classes.  

Joel teaching students about Basketball

More Basketball

Ladies engaged in an intense game of Red Rover

After spending some time outside, any students who DID have homework came inside with some of our team to finish it up before any more games were played.  Students needed help on a variety of subjects from math to science to computers to just simply practicing their reading skills.  Our team was tired, but up for challenge of helping students focus while many of their peers remained outside.  During our time of evening reflection, many of our team members discussed how helping with homework challenged them in unexpected ways such as having to watch some of the students experience internal disappointment or frustration or watching students light up about homework in a way that can become lost as school goes on!  Overall, it was a tiring and testing afternoon but one that really helped kick off our week! 

 

  

After a long day of meeting many new people, learning new names, and exploring a new community, the team stopped into Our Way Cafe, a local Southern restaurant for some comfort food.  Our Way Cafe is just outside of Clarkston and features great Southern staples and local artwork which really hit the spot after a busy day!  

Tomorrow (Tuesday) the team will meet with Lutheran Services of Georgia to tour a refugee community in Clarkston - meeting with several families to hear their stories - before heading to a mid-day visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic site and another packed afternoon with the kids at the Clarkston Community Center.  We've been told the weather will shift and the rains will come, but hopefully the storms will hold off.   Keep us in your prayers as we get our first full night of rest and enter into our next full day of service.  Pray for strength both physically and mentally for our team as well as for open hearts and open minds as we meet with families who have resettled in the Clarkston area from locations such as Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iraq, and other countries throughout the day tomorrow.