Atlanta 2017

Hello family and friends! We have made it to Atlanta after a long day of travel. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we have our orientation and begin working with the Inspire after school program tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers and support as we share this service experience together! -Alyssa

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! 

May the Fourth [day] Be With Us

Today was a more relaxing day. We had the chance to so some sightseeing so we went to the Martin Luther King Historic Site and the Georgia Aquarium.

The MLK Historic Site was incredibly fascinating, to say the least. We started at the walk through museum that took us all through the journey of segregation in the south. Watching it all evolve through MLK's history really made the whole thing more real. We then traveled to MLK's childhood home and took a tour that took us through each room of the house. To finish it off we traveled to the the burial site  and Ebenezer Baptist church. Walking through these four historical sites brought to life what we have all learned while growing up. It made MLK's journey seem more real, and it truly was a beautiful site to discover. We were able to reflect on the progress that our nation has made but we also realize that there is still so much that needs to be done. Walking through this site showed us that it is possible for great change to happen.

The Georgia Aquarium was so freaking awesome. WE SAW A WHALE SHARK! and a lot more sea animals. We also got the chance to see a dolphin show. It was nice to be reminded how small we are. The Aquarium was also a stress reliever. A lot of us were waiting for that final grade to get put in and finally be able to not have any focus be on school and with the grades being due yesterday the aquarium was some peace to go along with it.

Later that day we did the same thing but with a different group of kids and this time it was out in the garden so it was way more organized. These kids are so bright and friendly. They just want to have someone to play with or to just hold someones hand.
While playing with the kids this guy, Gregory, came up to us and just started chatting. We learned that he was from Congo and wanted to practice his English.  Through conversation we were able to learn that he enjoyed to play basketball and wanted to eventually go to college to study accounting. Gregory was a prime example of what it meant to be a member of Clarkston, where all are welcome. He did not need anything from us, he simply just wanted to talk and we were eager to listen. While the four girls were talking to him, the others were all playing four square. Gregory had never played, so we threw him right into the game, and he loved it!
While talking to Gregory a wind came and blew some papers around and so Torrey and Hallie went and ran to go pick them up and ended up meeting Marwan, who was from Baghdad. He showed them his wood workshop and shared his passion with them. He went around explaining all the different things that he could build and what tools do what. Then he offered to show them how to paint but we had to leave. He makes mostly kitchen furniture and you can find that at bestwoodmakers.com

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.