This guest blog is written by Emily Waterman, the Cultural Orientation Coordinator in our Chicago Office
The early days quickly passing after a refugee arrives here in Chicago sometimes all blur together. It’s a whirlwind of collaboration for our initial resettlement team as we work to establish new arrivals and provide for their immediate needs. And for our clients, these early days are flooded with the many emotions and challenges of learning to build self-sufficient lives in America while navigating the shock that this unfamiliar place is now becoming home.
Even through our days filled with tasks sometimes only distinguished by their case notes, there are moments we share that out stand time; these moments happen when we are present to the shared joy offered to us as we step momentarily into another’s story. If I’ve learned anything from working in refugee resettlement, it’s that refugees are the most resilient, and their lives tell beautiful stories of redemption.
I meet our clients about two weeks after they arrive here in Chicago, and I spend about half of the workday teaching them how to use public transportation. After going over some basics and providing a colorful map of the buses and trains that cover the city, we hang up with our interpreter and tap “start” on Google Maps for our practice adventure.
It’s on this trip that I’m offered a peek into many beautiful stories in the making, stories that are much different than what is often told in the media about these people groups. I watch families joke with each other and children who are giddy on their first ever bus ride. And knowing only very little of each other’s language, we still seek out bits of each other’s stories to be known. In so many ways, we are the same. Unfortunately, our differentness is often represented more loudly than our commonalities.
In this work that we are privileged to do together as staff, volunteers and donors, we have an invitation to extend our welcome, and within this welcome, we have a deeper invitation to see joy and to know redemption. To the depth that we allow ourselves to walk with others where they are at in their stories is the depth that we share in their joy. We don’t stand by unengaged, watching the unfolding journeys of our clients at World Relief. We have the beautiful opportunity to walk with them in their stories, carrying what’s heavy and also celebrating each redemptive moment.
We not only see joy in these stories; we feel an extending joy as we participate in these moments. We all tell stories of redemption, and we reinforce both our own personal stories of redemption and the larger story of Christ redeeming his creation as we engage in the redemptive stories of those around us. That’s where we find lasting joy beyond ourselves.
We all have an invitation within our welcome. Who can you share the joy of welcome with?