Posts Tagged ‘Volunteer’

In tumultuous times it can be tempting to feel helpless. What can one person do against an onslaught of existential circumstances and fears? Sometimes, it simply requires asking God for direction and purpose. His plans may not be clear initially, but with a leap of faith, beautiful things can happen. This is true for our amazing volunteer Cindy, who through many small leaps of faith and unrelenting prayer, has become a catalyst of hope for refugees in Memphis.

Born and raised in the 901, Cindy was first introduced to local refugees in early 2017 when friend Vickey Smith (a World Relief volunteer) called asking if she could bring three Muslim Afghan women to a concert Cindy was performing at. Around the same time, as she was reading through her One-Year-Bible, Cindy realized how often God calls us to assist the orphans and foreigners. Inspired, she began searching for ways to reach out in Memphis. Soon after, she learned more about World Relief through Vickey and reached out to inquire about our volunteer orientation. Unsure of how next to become involved, she began asking God for guidance. “’Show me if, and how, you want me to help with World Relief.’ I prayed this for a year and then they opened (ESL classes) down the street from my house,” she recalls.

She felt clarity in that moment and became involved with us through our Jobs Readiness English classes. She began fostering relationships with clients through providing transportation. After a client’s English tutor was diagnosed with cancer, Cindy stepped in to help. When our Connect Language Center opened, she continued supporting students through transportation, but also earned her ConnecTEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate through our program. As she got to know the ladies she was driving and interacting with in ESL classes, Cindy went beyond her volunteer commitments to regularly check on families she was befriending. Connect Language Center Operations Manager Bailey Longserre shared that because of Cindy’s faithful friendliness, she “has turned into someone these women truly see as a friend they can count on. So much more than just a ride, but the person they call for connection. Cindy’s peaceful presence I know has been a gift for so many women!”

Earlier this winter, Cindy championed our “Resilient” sewing career training course by generating client interest among the refugee ladies she had befriended. With the Covid-19 outbreak, the in-person sewing classes are temporarily on hold, but for Cindy, it was just another opportunity to trust God.

When the Safer-At-Home orders went into effect, Cindy committed the women in this sewing program to prayer. One night, she found a YouTube video explaining how to sew facemasks to help protect against the virus. She shared this video and by the next day, two of her refugee friends in the program were hard at work sewing masks for themselves, their families, and others. She shared that the women lit up at the opportunity to sew these masks and have greatly enjoyed doing so over the past several weeks. Cindy has also helped deliver these masks to those who have asked for them. Through her faithfulness, Cindy has stimulated a meaningful at-home activity that has blessed hundreds of people across this city.

When asked for reflections about her volunteering experiences with us, Cindy shared the following: “What God is doing in my life with these refugees, it has been the hugest joy in my life. I’ve known the Lord since I was 26 and have had a lot of ups and downs since then. But this has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.”

In a time of bleak circumstances and increasing uncertainties, knowing we have ultimate security in God and his divine plan is a comfort we should never take for granted. Thankfully, we have people like Cindy who have shown us beautiful things that come by prayerfully looking for the path the Lord has invited us to follow. Her willingness to search for refugee neighbors to welcome and serve have brought about transformation in both her life and theirs. 

By Nathan Spencer

(Read another volunteer spotlight story HERE.)

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Join World Relief Memphis HERE as we respond to the local impact of the COVID19 Crisis, equipping and coordinating volunteers and churches (like Cindy) seeking to love their neighbors by responding to urgent refugee and immigrant community needs. Want to learn more about volunteering? Learn about our current volunteer opportunities HERE. 

 Being willing to change our perspectives and opinions is never easy, even when a person wants to be open to discerning God’s will. Human nature pushes against His pulling, yet it is possible for the callousness of our hearts to regain their softly supple state, showering others in compassion and love. In anticipation of Volunteer Appreciation Week, I was able to capture the story of one of our incredible volunteers: Rodney. His story demonstrates how the penetrating love of God can pulverize our preexisting perceptions and plans for our own lives, pulling us along His perfectly designed path. Sometimes, all it takes is a little push in order to respond.

Rodney began volunteering for World Relief Memphis in Spring 2019, but prior to this, was unsure of his level of comfort with refugees and immigrants in this country. “Well, I kinda got to the point to where (I felt), we need to stop people from coming into the US because they are coming in illegally, and you’d see the big headlines saying that an illegal alien broke into someone’s house or you hear something about MS13 without context. You get to the point where you start to put people into the same category.”

He recalled first having cause to question this when WRM’s ministry partner David Frazier spoke at Rodney’s church, First Evangelical Church. “My son heard (him) speak. There was a little questioning of what he believed about refugees and should the wall be built? When James came and told me what (David Frazier) had said, I invited him to come to my Sunday school class to speak on that. And he really pulled back and showed me the facts about who refugees really are and what processes in terms of vetting and stuff like that that they do go through.”

From there, David recommended he take our two introductory orientation programs at World Relief. These classes, coupled with encouragement from David, peeled back Rodney’s views and revealed who forcibly displaced immigrants truly were.

“The first thing that really got to me was the young lady who led the first class. She gave out index cards and we wrote different things on them like clothes, or house, or something like that. Then you had to go through and eliminate what was less important than other things until you got down (to just a little). Then you realize, this is what these refugees have had to do. They’ve had to give up things in order to (strive for) a better life or escape danger where they were. It just made me think, what would I have to give up? It gave me a respect for people who have made the choices they have made and opened my eyes up to the fact that the people that are here are not trying to – as my son puts it – stay in their own groups. They are trying to learn English, trying to assimilate, and trying to get jobs. These aren’t people coming just to get something, they’re coming to learn: they are coming to contribute.”

After the classes, Rodney immediately felt compelled to begin his journey as a volunteer. Starting on Wednesday nights at the Connect Language Center’s Café English conversation sessions (pictured above), he began to make connections and experience the beautiful personalities of our refugee and immigrant program participants in person. He described fondly how he began to laugh and joke with the people there and felt a palpable sense of shared humanity and love for each other. Tugged by the weight of God’s planning, he signed up for Thursday nights as well, immersing himself further into the lives of these new neighbors.

This is only the beginning of Rodney’s volunteer story, but already serves as a stark reminder of the love and compassion God calls us to have towards all people. After being pushed by a man he respected, God’s path opened clearly for Rodney to step through. And he still continues to step deeper into even stronger new relationships! (To read Part 2, click HERE)

By Nathan Spencer

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Join World Relief Memphis HERE as we respond to the local impact of the COVID19 Crisis, equipping and coordinating volunteers and churches (like Rodney and First Evan) seeking to love their neighbors by responding to urgent refugee and immigrant community needs. 

This is the second of a two-part installment. Read Part One of Rodney’s story HERE.

Freshly immersed in Café English, Rodney quickly fostered friendships with our English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Shortly after this routine was established, he was approached by Mobilization Director Karen Spencer to potentially fill the need of Roadrunner: volunteer drivers who transport our refugee and immigrant program clients to and from ESL classes and a variety of necessary appointments. Without hesitation, Rodney said yes! Shortly after being trained, he began driving World Relief’s 15-passenger van on the ESL route three days per week. According to Rodney, this was simply the next step God planned for him to take after he asked for his heart to be opened. Through his time transporting program participants, new perspectives about immigrants and refugees have been reinforced, he has made life long memories, and fostered friendships that will forever impact his life.

Rodney readily shared some of his fondest and impactful memories so far.

“One of the first groups of ladies I was driving home (from ESL classes) came close to my 29th wedding anniversary. So I asked them to teach me how to say ‘I love you’ in Swahili, which is ‘nakupenda.’ It was a way to reach out to them with things from my life and incorprate it into theirs. And they just laughed more than anything and loved it. Later on, when they started leaving (the van), we would say ‘nakupenda’ to each other as a sign of our friendship.”

This is a small glimpse into the joy Rodney brings to our friends when he picks them up from classes. As I have witnessed personally, our clients light up when they see him because of his concerted effort to learn their names and help them work on their English by basic, but meaningful conversations about their lives.

These relationships fostered along his routes have now quickly extended into his regular life and beyond the reaches of our programs. Rodney met the Mto brothers when he took them home one week. After exchanging basic formalities, he asked questions in following drives about their lives: who was married, what were their hobbies, etc. As they grew more comfortable around each other, one of the brothers approached Rodney with a question.

“Close to the end of (their class cycle), one of them said, ‘I want to learn how to drive’. And so I said, ‘okay.’ I went over [to the Connect Language Center], I talked to Richard (WRM’s Education Director), who gave me some books and helped me get them ready to pass their permit test before they could start driving. They practiced and practiced and practiced. Afterwards, I invited them out to my house for some chili. Two came, and I got to know them better. They have now gotten jobs, so they are no longer attending ESL classes. However, they have become friends with me and my son – who is 18 years old.”

Just a couple months ago, Rodney took them out to Incredible Pizza to drive go-karts so they could safely practice driving! While this might seem trivial, this meant the world to the Mto brothers and is a big step towards integration for them as new residents in Memphis.

Before we closed our conversation I had a few final questions, the first being why he was so willing to serve beyond his initial volunteer commitment. His response was truly inspiring and humbling for me.

“For me, this whole thing has been about being open to God working in my life. In the last two years I have just been praying a prayer that I would hunger and thirst after righteousness, that I would open myself up to God and to new opportunites. So, when he said something about driving, there was the human instinct (in me) that said ‘maybe this is going too far.’ But I said, ‘God, I asked you to make me open so, okay.’ I will continue this friendship as long as God wants me to. Patrick [one of the brothers] just texted me the other day – and my nickname is Big Rod, but he can’t remember Rod, so he just calls me ‘Big’ – and said, ‘Yo… Big, I’m ready to drive!’ And like always, I say ‘okay!’”

(During the COVID19 social distancing measures and our temporary office closure, Rodney continues to serve by picking up and delivering groceries for some of our more vulnerably impacted families. And he still checks regularly with the friends he has made through Cafe English and driving! Listen to brother Lusungu Mto thank “Big Rod” in our Volunteer Appreciation video HERE.)

At World Relief we often talk about the opportunity for mutual transformation. Rodney experienced a significant mindset shift and can attest to personal transformation in just under a year. Because of his willingness to take a leap of faith, he has been blessed by being a source of positivity and friendly welcome for many of our program participants. Although he is not traveling abroad, he describes his work here as being a missionary from home.

“The thing that has gotten me more than anything else, is that there are missionaries that are called by God and go to a certain country. I’m being a missionary here. I’ve met people from Columbia, Venezuela, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I’ve learned these people’s names, I’ve gotten to talk to them, find out about their familes, what they like to cook, etc. Its something that I’ve really enjoyed and it’s ever expanding.”

While of course, bringing God’s love to other parts of the world is critically important, what happens when God is bringing the world to you? Do you push them aside, unwilling to allow them in or see them? Or do you spread God’s love and Gospel, ministering to the nations on your own front doorstep?

Finally, I asked Rodney what he would say to anyone reading this who could be subscribing to his previous way of thinking, or who is on the fence about potentially volunteering for World Relief. He responded candidly.

“It is not so much that you have the ‘skills’ when you come to this job. It is that you open yourself up to God and say, ‘Take everything that I am, and use me for you glory in this position.’ So, it’s all about being open to God. I am reading a book in my men’s Bible study (at First Evan) called Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. He says in it, ‘What are the things that you’re involved in in your life? Look at your life and ask yourself if the things you’re doing are making much of Jesus.’ We have an opportunity (here). He has let us know Him and then by being involved with other people, our lives can echo this: ‘Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.’ That is what it is all about to me. Be open, and let God use you to be who he created you to be.”

Volunteering is a sacrifice. It is willingly giving up time you could have to yourself or with your family to go into the world and serve. It is about applying discipleship. Not everyone has the opportunity to serve internationally. But we all have a chance to make a difference where we live, and Rodney’s story is a needed reminder of our call to love and serve. He is an example we should all strive to follow.

By Nathan Spencer

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Join World Relief Memphis HERE as we respond to the local impact of the COVID19 Crisis, equipping and coordinating volunteers and churches (like Rodney and First Evan) seeking to love their neighbors by responding to urgent refugee and immigrant community needs. 

“What is friendship to you?”

Tigi looks at me for a moment while she thinks about the answer. She seems anxious that she may not be able to express herself fully in English, but she finds the right words.

“Friendship means helping each other when it is good news or bad news. [It means] sharing with your friends, and helping them. Even when there is nothing else to do, you can pray for your friend.”

Tigi has lived in the U.S. for almost three years now. Her husband has a steady job, they have had a baby here, and she is eager to start working again herself. They are involved in a small church with other Africans in the city. Tigi and her family have been building a joyful, humble life for themselves here. It took many people to help them get to where they are today. One of these people is Tigi’s friend Joy.

“I loved Joy on the first day [that I met her].”

Joy didn’t know what exactly to expect the first time she met Tigi and her family. She’d had experience volunteering with foreign-born people, and she knew she loved being around people from other cultures, but being a part of a Good Neighbor team was a bigger commitment. After hearing about World Relief while at her church’s missions conference, Joy said that “the seed was planted. I knew God was calling me to reach the world in Memphis.” Joy was at the airport when Tigi and her family landed in the U.S.

“The first thing I remember about meeting Tigi and her husband is that their smiles were just contagious. I started going to their house once a week to practice English, and they just welcomed me and my family right into their home.”

Joy and Tigi’s relationship grew over time. Soon, they were doing more together than practicing English. Joy recounts some of the fun things they’ve done together: “One time, we took Tigi’s family out for smoothies, which they thought were too sweet. But we also introduced them to Chick-fil-A, which they like a lot!”

It took time for Joy and Tigi’s friendship to grow, though. In addition to the language barrier, they faced other challenges. Tigi remembers when they first arrived in America, before she began staying home with her daughter: “At first, I was working and pregnant, and Joy came to my house. I worked night and she worked in the day, so it was hard to see each other. But it got better when I stopped working. She always asked how I was and how the baby was.”

For Joy, it has been hard at times to relate to Tigi and her experience: “One time, a few months into our relationship, Tigi was upset because she hadn’t gotten to talk to her mom in a long time, who isn’t in America. Before that, I didn’t realize how much she had truly left behind.”

But despite challenges in their unlikely friendship, Tigi and Joy and their families grew closer. They celebrated holidays together. Joy’s own mother was in the delivery room when Tigi delivered her child, which earned Joy’s mom the affectionate nickname “The Doctor” from Tigi and her husband Ibisa. Joy’s dad taught Ibisa how to drive. And the learning has been mutual, according to Joy. “I have learned a lot from them, especially about resilience, joy, and their love for the Lord.” When I asked her what her favorite thing about Joy is, Tigi said, “She likes all my food, which makes me feel loved.”

But the most inspiring part of Tigi and Joy’s story is what happened when Joy got married. In May 2017, Joy and Tigi had known each other for a year and a half, and Joy was deciding who she would invite to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. “I asked myself, ‘Who am I closest to? Which relationships in my life are flourishing?’ It wasn’t even a question, of course I had to ask Tigi!”

To ask Tigi to be in her wedding, Joy gave her a set of earrings shaped like little knots, with a card that said, “Will you help me tie the knot?” which Joy soon learned was an American idiom. “I had to explain what ‘tie the knot’ meant, but once Tigi understood what I was asking, she agreed and was very excited.”

It was Tigi’s first American wedding, and it did not disappoint: “It was very pretty, and I liked my dress. It was mostly the same as an Ethiopian wedding, but it was different because there was no dancing. That is okay, because sometimes there is too much dancing in Africa!”

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When Joy first signed up to volunteer with World Relief, she wasn’t expecting to meet one of her future bridesmaids, and when Tigi was assigned to come to America with her family, she probably wasn’t expecting to be in an American wedding so soon. But their story is a testament to the amazing things that can happen when people are willing to get out of their comfort zone and come alongside the vulnerable.

Both Joy and Tigi had words of advice to anyone who might be hesitant to volunteer with refugees. Tigi said, “If it was me, meeting someone from a new place, and a new culture, I would be scared. Joy wasn’t. So don’t be scared. They [refugees] are the same as you. Maybe they have a different culture, language, or color, but that is a gift from God.”

Joy said, “I would say to them [someone fearful of volunteering] that God’s heart is for the nations. It is a mutual learning experience, but refugees are very gracious. They are friends. This whole thing has been a beautiful surprise, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Tigi is family now.”

By Noah Rinehart, Rhodes College Bonner Scholar Intern

In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week we have been sharing a series of inspiring stories, capturing how are volunteers and immigrant friends together are #loveinaction. If you would like to learn more about volunteering with World Relief, email our Volunteer Coordinator cbrinkley@wr.org. 

“The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.” Isaiah 62:2

As we enter Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are sharing inspiring stories of relationships between World Relief Memphis volunteers and our refugee and immigrant community. We’re confident you’ll agree with us, our volunteers are #LoveInAction!

When refugees first arrive at the airport, it is often after a long travel journey of several flights and multiple days. This would be enough to leave the average person weary. But for refugees, this is really the end of a much longer journey, that usually includes fleeing home at the point of death, waiting for years in an underfunded, overcrowded refugee camp, and then spending a minimum of eighteen months applying for resettlement to a Western nation like the United States. Bien Fait, one of our former clients at World Relief Memphis, remembers this feeling: “Our flight was two days, we were very tired, you know flying for two days, it was a very, very big issue, because we have taken five flights. All the people, my children, were tired. Myself, I was tired. My wife, was very tired. But when we reach the airport of Memphis, we say, ‘Thank you, God.’”

Finally arriving to the airport in their new city marks the end of long, arduous journey for refugee families, but the beginning of a new one to build a life in America. And that journey requires the help and commitment of people like Melissa Peeler.

Bien Fait remembers when he met Melissa for the first time: “We met with Melissa Peeler and Michael on August 24, 2016. She came there [the airport], she received us, she was introducing herself to us. She say, ‘I am Melissa Peeler, I will be your volunteer, to show you everything in America, until you will know about America. And I will never give up, I will be with you everyday, everytime. If you have some questions, if you need some help, call me.’” He also remembers being struck by such a strong statement from someone who he didn’t even know, telling us, “It was the first time to make friends with a white man, to know American people. When she was coming and saying, ‘I will be your volunteer, your friend,’ I was scared, thinking, ‘Why will this white man be my best friend, my volunteer? What is going on?’”

Melissa remembers that day in the airport, too, and how she felt meeting Bien Fait for the first time: “You know, I honestly do not remember saying those exact words to Bien Fait that night, but I absolutely remember thinking that to myself before I committed to being on a good neighbor team and ever knew his name. I knew this was going to be a pretty big ‘volunteer thing’ and I took it seriously…I think I was so overwhelmed seeing them walk off the plane so late that very first night, and was just overcome with the raw emotion of their circumstance and how young and unsure Josephine and Bien Fait and the kids were – and just wanting to say something reassuring to Bien Fait. My heart leaps at the thought that he remembers that I said something that translated to, ‘I was committed to him and his family’ that night.”

Melissa’s promise was not in vain. She taught Bien Fait and his family many things. He humorously recalled the first time that Melissa showed him how to use a slow cooker: “She said, ‘Because you are in America, you should learn how to cook American food!’ She came with a pot, that had power for cooking, and she put all the stuff in this pot, and she said, ‘You have to wait one hour and twenty minutes, and then the food will be ready and you can eat it!’ We said, ‘What?! In Africa, we don’t cook like this! In Africa, we cook on the fire, and you put the pot over the fire, we need to see that something is boiling. How do you cook like this?’ and she said, ‘This is a good way to cook in America! People will leave the pot, and then go to church, and when they come back, they find that the food is already cooked, and eat it.’ I said, ‘Okay!’ She showed us, and we tried to get experience to cook this food.”

Melissa remembers those first few weeks being marked by difficulty: “In the very beginning, we were very much a needed helper – a driver, an appointment maker and taker, a school registrar and uniform finder, for what seemed like more than a few pretty intense weeks…but the more time we spent with each other, the more comfortable we got with each other and things naturally grew into a genuine fondness for each other.” Eventually, Bien Fait’s family was celebrating holidays with the Peelers. “Melissa’s was the first American home to visit. She invited us there. We went there with my whole family. The first day was for Thanksgiving Day. She said, ‘Please, I need all of you to come to my house! Thanksgiving Day we have to share together!’ So we went there, she provided some very, very, very sweet food, very good food, which we shared together with Michael and the children. After that, she said, ‘If anyone has something he wants to tell, because it is Thanksgiving Day, we have to say something, to say thank you to God, for what He did for you.’ It was our first time [to celebrate Thanksgiving]; in Africa we didn’t know about Thanksgiving…This was the first time, we found this in America. It’s good, it’s good!”

Bien Fait’s family has learned much about American culture from Melissa, but the Peelers have also learned a lot. “There are more small and medium things than I could ever say, but two of the most important things I’ve learned from the Mfaume’s is Faithfulness and Resilience. If you had asked me two years ago if I really understood what those words meant and if I had those qualities I would have honestly told you I did! I felt very faithful and comfortable in my faith walk and had overcome enough difficulties at the time to say I had built up quite a resiliency. MY WORD…it’s honestly laughable as I say that now, knowing the depths of the Faithfulness and Resiliency the Mfaume’s have. The devout trust and faithfulness the Mfaume’s have in God and his control in their lives is inspiring. I mean like big “I” Inspirational. They are grateful for every little blessing in their lives and talk about that openly and intentionally. They honestly put and continue to put their future in God’s hands daily.  The patriarch of the family, Patient, had endured a pretty gruesome war injury and lost an eye that caused him terrible headaches and shooting pains down his neck. I never knew how much it hurt him until I accompanied him to the surgery consultation about repairing it. With the help of a translator, I learned the story of the ambush and fleeing with his young family and all the difficulties and pain the eye injury had caused and continued to cause him. But I never knew Patient without a smile on his face; he was the gentlest husband and father and walked around enduring this horrific physical pain without whining about it or even mentioning it for six months. The day of his surgery, I realized that Patient didn’t really understand how unlikely it was that any of the things one the waivers he signed (saying all the possible complications that could result, including death) might actually happen. Just as he was being rolled back to surgery he asked if he could take just a moment and pray! It was a long and beautiful prayer we had translated. He asked for blessings on all the doctors and nurses in the hospital, and he thanked everyone there and prayed for me and his family, and that God’s will be done with his life–as in, if he didn’t make it through the surgery, that I would keep helping his family and that God would take care of them. It was so incredibly moving! There was not a dry eye in pre-op that day at Regional One, I can tell you for sure. I promise it was the dearest prayer I have ever heard in my life! That’s faithfulness and resilience all rolled into one story and that’s one example of hundreds I’ve witnessed with refugees.”

Volunteers are crucial to the work that World Relief does. Bien Fait reflected on how differently things might have turned out without Melissa: “My life was very difficult without Melissa. When my wife was pregnant, she did a lot for us. Each appointment, she came and took my wife to these appointments. I work, so she was by herself here. If she had a problem, who was she going to call? I would call Melissa, she would come quickly and take care of her. Without Melissa, my life would be very difficult in America.”

Bien Fait was so moved by his relationship with Melissa and her family that he decided to name his newborn daughter Melissa, in honor of his first American friend. He told us, “Because of the mercy she showed to my family, I say, ‘I have to give your name to my little baby. When they went to the hospital for the ultrasound, they said she would bear a baby girl. The same day, I said her name would be Melissa. To show to her how much we love her. How much we say thank you for the things she has done for us. Some people in my family, they ask, ‘Why did you call your daughter Melissa? What does it mean?’ I would say, ‘I did this because a woman with this name did many things for me when I was new to America. It was a white woman who did everything for me. She helped me with everything. For keeping this name in my mind, I will name my little baby Melissa.’ They say, ‘Okay.’ Because they need to know the meaning, and where this name came from. It is not a family name. It is a new name.”

Melissa remembers how she felt when Bien Fait told her of his decision. “I could not believe it, and I immediately burst out into tears and said it was just too much! I have to say, it’s the greatest, sweetest honor I’ve ever received in my life. My three daughters are completely jealous and think that I love Baby Melissa the most now. I have to say she is really beautiful and the happiest little baby you’ve ever been around!”

Melissa and Bien Fait’s story is not necessarily typical, but it is a testament to the life-changing possibilities that emerge when people are willing to get out of their comfort zone and love someone who is very different than themselves. We asked Melissa and Bien Fait what they might say to someone who is unsure about refugees in America.

Bief Fait said, “American people have to leave this idea [being fearful of refugees]. Because, if you need to live better in a new country, you have to meet with the people who live in this country. Because those people, they will teach you how they live in their country. If they leave you, you will be everyday afraid of the rules, afraid of the new laws, but we meet with American people, and they need to be our friends. Because they know how to teach people about culture, and rules, and the laws, and when they teach you, you will be able to live without being afraid of anything. They have to come to help the African families, because we need them. We need to be with them. If they leave us, they do wrong. If the people say, ‘We cannot meet with an African family,’ we have to pray for them. Because that is not Christian. When a Christian sees someone who needs help, he has to help, without seeing the color, without seeing where this person is coming from, because the Bible says we have to help each one, without thinking about the race or the color.”

Melissa responded as well, saying, “First and foremost, STAY INFORMED and understand the truth about the refugee crisis in the world, and arm yourself with actual facts to proactively share with others or if you hear or read misinformation! Get on e-mail lists and advocacy texts, and follow refugee agencies on social media to keep up with current events and know what and who to PRAY for. Go to a volunteer training at World Relief Memphis- even if you don’t end up committing to a Good Neighbor team, there are lots of ways to donate money or goods or services that are greatly needed, as well. SHARE STORIES with others about what you know about refugees. It is almost impossible for even the most hardened folks to hate a maimed grandfather that fled his war-torn homeland and works from 3 in the afternoon until 11:00PM because no one else wants that shift and he just wants to feed his family and save enough money for his green card. There is SO much misinformation and misplaced distrust right now towards refugees. The truth and goodness of their stories deserve to be told, too!”

– By Noah Rinehart, Rhodes College, Bonner Scholar Intern

Photos by Emily Frazier Creative and Peeler family