You Welcomed Me by Kent Annan

Author:Kent Annan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: activism;refugees;refugee crisis;immigrants;immigrant crisis;immigration;crisis;relief;development;missions;displaced peoples;nonprofit;emigration;immigrant;emigrant;refugee ban;haiti partners;immigration reform;daca;immigration policy;refugee policy;international refugee;welcoming;hospitality;christian refugee;refugee program;refugee relief;refugee ministry;immigration ministry;immigration relief;relief organization;christians and refugee crisis;social justice
ISBN: 9780830873777
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2018-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

Learn Someone Else’s Story

This practice is to spend time with someone who has had a refugee or immigrant experience—so you can hear his or her story.

Is there someone in your life who is an immigrant or refugee who you know a little, but whose story you’ve never really heard? Someone at church? A work colleague? A neighbor a few houses down? If so, see if one of them would be interested. If not, talk with a friend who knows someone and you can do it together.

The invitation, especially in our nation’s climate now, has to be done with care so they don’t think you’re an immigration official or investigating for some reason. For good reason, there is a lack of trust and we need to respect that. But if possible, invite someone and say, “We’ve known each other for a long time, and I know you’re from _____. But I’ve never heard your story. It seems like these days in our country it’s important to get to know each other better. Could I buy you lunch, or would you like to come over to our home for dinner and share your story about where you come from, what your home is like, how you came? If not, I understand, and no problem. But if so, it would be an honor to hear more of your story.”

There can be language barriers, with awkward silences you just sit through, that make it hard to go very deep. There are gender issues, where it’s not appropriate to have some of these conversations between men and women. There can be painful parts of the story that people do or don’t want to talk about. Many refugees suffer from PTSD. It usually takes more effort for less immediate reward than being with friends. All this is part of the listening.

We treat the person as a person made in God’s image every moment, with the deepest respect. We want this practice to be driven by love for them, not by what we’ll get out of it. We listen and see where it goes. And we see whether or not it will happen again. You can complement this practice by reading a more in-depth news story than you normally would or find a documentary that tells an immigrant or refugee story. But in this practice we want to listen to someone’s story in person—for his or her sake and to see where it might lead us.

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