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.

And we're off!

We are off (almost)!  The first ever Atlanta Alternaitve Break Leadership Experience (ABLE) team is checked in and waiting patiently at PDX to head to Atlanta this afternoon. Our flight is delayed 45 minutes but the team is taking time to watch the rain, play games, grab lunch, and do some initial fun bonding through the assignment of nicknames! Our Flight is Southwest 532 if you want to track our progress. 

After arriving in Atlanta late tonight, the team will settle in and rest up for our first day of service tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be spending our morning with our main community partner - Lutheran Services of Georgia - learning about their organization and the families they work with. In the afternoon, after lunch, the team will head to Clarkston Community Center to spend time with students from refugee families in an after school program.  Our team is anticipating a full week of meeting new people, exploring a new community, getting to know each other, and really digging into what the concept of "neighbor" truly can be!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we head off shortly!  See you later PDX!