Day Three: Success!

Today we woke up feeling a little sleepy but excited for what the day would bring! In the morning, we returned to Lutheran Services of Georgia and spent a few hours in an ESL class with several refugee adults (and a couple of adorable kids!) playing games and speaking English with the clients. Some of the clients came from countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and others. We talked about our similarities and differences, listened to the refugees share where they came from, and played two rounds of Simon Says in which a 9 year old from the DRC proved to be the true champion! It was a great experience for us all to meet such a diverse group of people and converse with them.

We had a nice lunch break before heading back to the after school program, so we took advantage of being in downtown Atlanta. It soon became the hunt for some good chicken for lunch! Some people ventured into Georgia State University and found a Chick Fil-A, while another group found Gus' Famous Fried Chicken. The rest of the time was spent exploring different parts of downtown Atlanta and taking in all the city has to offer.

This afternoon, we returned to Inspire and got to see the refugee students once again. We worked with them on making "boats" out of straws and tape. The objective was to be able to make a boat that could hold 25 pennies and float in a bucket of water for at least 10 seconds. It was fun to see what they came up with! We then spent the rest of the time helping students with homework, and leading small groups of students in "Reader's Theater" in which they practiced lines in a play and performed it for the group. All in all, it was another wonderful day! We are learning a lot about everything that refugees have to do and learn when they come to the United States. Until next time!

Day two: A breakthrough day!

Today the team met with a group of representatives from Lutheran Services of Georgia (LSG) at The Rock of Ages Lutheran Church who took our team to meet with refugee families from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria and Nepal. These families generously welcomed us into their homes with open arms, and warm hospitality. LSG staff served as translators for our team as English language skills varied but were mostly limited for our hosts as they have all very recently found refuge in America. Highlights from the visits included sharing Syrian coffee and open cross-cultural dialogue, learning some french from Congolese refugee Mama Susanne, and drinking tea in the home of Nepalese refugees who were so friendly, it was like we'd already met.

We had a phenomenal buffet lunch of international foods such as lamb stew, samosas and lentils at the Dekalb Farmers Market, an African market not too far from our accommodations. After we refreshed and some of us napped, we spent the afternoon back at the Inspire program where we played ultimate frisbee, elbow and octopus tag and did a fun and interactive geometry lesson with the kids. Today some of the more quiet kids really came out of their shells.

After Waffle House dinner, we shared stories and reflections about the day and took advantage of our private basketball court at the Rehoboth Baptist Church where we are staying. Looking forward to another awesome day of service tomorrow!

Day One: Welcome to Atlanta!

Day One-Morning: Everyone finally settled and got some much needed sleep and got excited for the next day's activities. Some people woke up early, went for a run, other shot some hoops, and it was time for breakfast before we took off. Our first stop of the morning was a training downtown Atlanta at the Lutheran Services of Georgia (LSG) offices. Our host for the day, Melanie, trained our group about refugee services offered by LSG, struggles faced by refugees prior to resettling, the process of resettlement, and what life after resettlement looks like. Our group learned about how our volunteer

work directly contributes to the services being provided.

Day One-Afternoon: After our visit to LSG, we had resting time in between. We visited a park closer to our next service area, where we had our lunch and enjoyed exploring nature and playing on the playground. Then we were off to our next activity area with the INSPIRE program, led by Natalie, which serves middle school refugee students. We  helped run after school activities including homework help, soccer, frisbee, enrichment activities and art activities. The day started well, and ended great! We met and learned from refugee kids from Pakistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Burma. They met and learned from us representing Burundi/Oregonian, California, Congo DR/Oregonian, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and North Dakota. We also talked about college and the Concordia experience. Now time to head back, eat some dinner, play some basketball, and relax!