HUMPPPP DAYYYYY

Throughout our time here in Georgia the main theme that we have noticed it the importance of just listening. In the refugee community no stories are the same or similar… every story seems unreal because it is hard to fathom that these people actually went through these hardships.
This morning we went to the Clarkston Community Center to help out with there ELS interactive class. It was difficult during these classes because the room was loud and the structure seemed to be a bit all over the place, but in their defense it was LSG's first time holding class at the Community Center. In the  class we first played this game where one person stood on one side of the sheet and another person stood on the opposite side and the sheet would drop and we would have to say the other persons name [I know it sounds confusing….trusting me it was]. This game was good though because it got people out of their comfort zones. Next we played charades of occupations, again it was a little hard for everyone to understand but it was still fun. The most beneficial point of this time was when we were able to separate and talk to a table full of refugees and try to find out what we had it common with them. In this exercise it just showed that it doesn't matter what you go through or where you come from, we aren't as different as we appear. It also opened our eyes because some things that we liked that we wrote down were like sports, types of food, hobbies and for the refugees they wrote church, jobs and being clean. It showed us that they appreciate so much and the every day things that we take for granted like being clean and going to work are things that they look forward to everyday.

The two men in this picture are Farid and Ismail. Farid is from Afghanistan and was a civil engineer. Ismail is from Bhutan and is seriously so smart. He knew everything about colonization, geography, American and World history. They both shared their knowledge with us and taught us things about the U.S. that we didn't even know. The hardest thing was hearing this plethora of knowledge that they hold and because of the language barrier and their lack of status they are going to have to start at square one with entry level jobs which isn't beneficial to them of society because their knowledge isn't being put to use. This seems cynical but it's just really heartbreaking because refugee resettlement is such a great thing and there is so much that is being done for these people but at the same time it doesn't seem like enough.

In the afternoon we were still at the Community Center but this time helping to educate the children on plants and how to identify them and how to use them. These kids were so freaking cute and so eager to be doing something. It was still a little chaotic but rewarding at the same time. After the activity the kids began to warm up to us more and insisted on showing us all the rollie pollies that were in their plants or in the girls case play with our hair (even Josh's hair). Then they tried to teach us some gymnastics…. they insisted on trying to get Josh to do a cartwheel and land in the splits. He crushed it.

We ended the day by attending a slam poetry session by Mike Molina, the after school program director at Clarkston. The slam discussion was focused on listening to others stories, absorbing it, then applying it. It was directed at teachers but it applied to all. We are the keys to creating change in others and in order to do that we need to stop, listen, and understand. It applied perfectly to what we are doing here in Atlanta and afterwards the team seemed to appreciate this trip on a deeper level.

 Here's a video of one of his poems…I hope it works.

 https://www.facebook.com/danne.davidson.5/videos/10205338689363988/?pnref=story

Day Two

After a mixed bag of a night's sleep, we headed to the Clarkston Community Center once again. After a brief orientation with Melanie, our point of contact with Lutheran Services of Georgia, we split into groups of three, and each group visited the home of a refugee family (accompanied by an LSG staff member). Brief but impactful, these meetings are sure to be one of the high points of the trip, and one that will stick in our memories for a long time to come.

Jenny, Torrey, Sam, and LSG staffer Mary Emily met with Rawan, an Iraqi woman with one child. Rawan's husband is still in Iraq, and plans to arrive in the States "soon." Rawan shared her story, and her wedding photos!

Hallie, Josh, Malerie, and Melanie met with Tin Tiang and Sun, a beautiful Burmese couple who have only been in the U.S. for three weeks. They were overwhelmed, but so grateful to be here. They talked a lot about their faith taking them through the difficult and dangerous time in Burma, and then the Malaysian refugee camp they spent several years in.

Celina, E, D'Anne, and LSG case manager Crispin met Mbonekube (sp?), a single, Congolese mother of two, who was delighted for the company. During this meeting, it came up that E and Celina speak Spanish, and now have been given the opportunity to meet a Spanish-speaking family at the airport this Friday, to serve as interpreters, and the welcoming committee. 

We spent the afternoon pulling lots and lots of weeds, and running from giant snakes near the fruit trees of the community center, and had an enormous soul food dinner at the historic Mary Mac's Tea Room. 

A good one.

A.T.L.A.N.T.A.

Day One:

Today we got our first real look at Atlanta. The city itself is really beautiful, especially from the roof of the parking garage where we parked our giant 15 passenger van. We started our day on the 18th floor, where Lutheran Services of Georgia is located. We learned a lot about how we would be spending our week and received a ton of information about refugees.
Then we went to the Clarkston community center where we got a tour of the building. The most interesting part was that this community used to be completely segregated.The history compared to the present of Clarkston is so different, and so incredible. Clarkston community center was once the white segregated high school of Clarkston town, opposing the black school across the train tracks. What was once a place of race separation, is now a place where many different races and cultures come together to thrive. It's a beautiful transition and a powerful story. At one point, the walls of the community center were holding in all white high school students and now over 52 languages are being spoken within the walls. After the tour of the building we went down to the field and walked through the community garden. We helped in the community garden by laying mulch and then we dug a trench. Fillip was the gardener at the community center, who was from France, was so thankful and impressed at how fast we got the work done. Fillip is the one that organizes all the vegetables that will be used and sold at the monthly market. Once we had finished this task, the students for the  Family Literacy Program showed up and we got to spend the next couple of hours with them. Some of us talked with high school students about college and our experience while the rest of us headed outside to play with the elementary students.
Now it was time to head back to the Redeemer House for dinner and to wrap-up the night. We made our own pizza's and sat around eating and sharing stories from the day. Wrapping up the day and hearing everyone's stories about their experience from the day was great.