The first day of our trip started in Clarkston, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Since the late 1980s, the State Department has used Clarkston as a major destination for resettled refugees. We were blessed to meet refugee families and their children, as well as ministry workers that help them build a new life in the United States.
Our day started out at Friends of Refugees, a Christian organization that provides services to Clarkston's resettled refugee community, including jobs training, small business incubation, and education programs. After eating lunch, we attended a session with Susan McDonald, the Friends of Refugees volunteer coordinator, that described the process by which refugees arrive in the United States. We learned about the extensive vetting process necessary to be qualified as a refugee by the UNHCR and State Department, and about the resources that are available to refugee families once they arrive in the United States.
Mid-afternoon, we traveled to a Clarkston apartment complex that is primarily occupied by refugee families. There, we helped with an after-school program that serves 80-100 neighborhood children. The diversity of ethnic backgrounds was astonishing--we met children from Syria, Burundi, Iraq, Nepal, and many other countries. We spent a fun and tiring afternoon helping with homework, reading stories, and playing outside.
We met that evening for dinner and fellowship with a ministry team that focuses on ministering to Muslim refugees and immigrants. The day closed with a brief planning meeting back at our hotel, in preparation for our flights to Greece the next afternoon.
Personal Note (from Will): While in Clarkston, and while writing this post, one thought repeatedly occurred to me: Clarkston, Georgia is what the Kingdom of God will look like. People here are more welcoming and hospitable to each other than almost anyone, despite tremendous ethnic, geographic, and language barriers. Christians in Clarkston are bearing fruit because they understand the value of community. I pray that we can come to embrace this openness in the American church.
Our day started out at Friends of Refugees, a Christian organization that provides services to Clarkston's resettled refugee community, including jobs training, small business incubation, and education programs. After eating lunch, we attended a session with Susan McDonald, the Friends of Refugees volunteer coordinator, that described the process by which refugees arrive in the United States. We learned about the extensive vetting process necessary to be qualified as a refugee by the UNHCR and State Department, and about the resources that are available to refugee families once they arrive in the United States.
Mid-afternoon, we traveled to a Clarkston apartment complex that is primarily occupied by refugee families. There, we helped with an after-school program that serves 80-100 neighborhood children. The diversity of ethnic backgrounds was astonishing--we met children from Syria, Burundi, Iraq, Nepal, and many other countries. We spent a fun and tiring afternoon helping with homework, reading stories, and playing outside.
We met that evening for dinner and fellowship with a ministry team that focuses on ministering to Muslim refugees and immigrants. The day closed with a brief planning meeting back at our hotel, in preparation for our flights to Greece the next afternoon.
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| Planning for tomorrow's flights |
Personal Note (from Will): While in Clarkston, and while writing this post, one thought repeatedly occurred to me: Clarkston, Georgia is what the Kingdom of God will look like. People here are more welcoming and hospitable to each other than almost anyone, despite tremendous ethnic, geographic, and language barriers. Christians in Clarkston are bearing fruit because they understand the value of community. I pray that we can come to embrace this openness in the American church.
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