For the summer of 2006, I accepted a Short-Term Domestic Internship (SIP) position through the National Episcopal Church which would place me in Concord, New Hampshire.  Specifically, I would be working with the Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Program (IRRP), sponsored through Lutheran Social Services of Northern New England (LSS NNE).  To be honest, I did not have a clear idea about what I would be doing, the phrase “refugee resettlement” being a bit vague.  In addition, I was completely unfamiliar with New England.  I have lived in or visited many regions in the United States, but I had never been to New England.  So, after a lengthy drive across the country from Colorado (where I attend graduate school) to New Hampshire, I arrived in Concord at the end of May to start my internship at LSS.  I was greeted warmly by a genial Episcopal couple who adopted me into their home for the summer, Liz and Doug Black.  Like surrogate parents, they showed me generosity, kindness, and love by being supportive of me during my time in Concord, as well as providing a roof over my head.

            The internship was to last for two months, but I was apprehensive about the position at first.  The first week or so was very slow, as I spent most of my time in the office.  I did not actually meet any of LSS’s resettled refugees for over a week.  I have to admit that I was a bit frustrated.  Little did I know that work would soon pick up.  My primary responsibility for the summer would be assisting the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes offered to refugees through Lutheran Social Services.  For more than six weeks, I was an assistant and teacher of ESOL classes – offered in two 2-hour class periods, three days a week.  For the first few weeks, I was simply assisting the primary teacher of the ESOL class and watching the refugee children that would come with their mothers to learn English.  Some people came with considerable backgrounds in English, while others came without any.  It was truly difficult fashioning a class that catered to everyone’s language needs.  Most recently, I have been able to lead and teach my own classes for those refugees who came with moderate fluency in English.  It has truly been wonderful to feed them information and knowledge – as well as to know that they are enjoying the learning experience.

            The other part of my job has been to acquaint myself with the process of refugee resettlement.  There is so much that goes into the process of resettling refugees.  I had the privilege this summer of becoming very familiar with the preparatory process for each refugee that is resettled in the United States.  Not only does LSS provide housing for refugees when they arrive and rent for the first few months, the program is also responsible for providing refugees with basic furniture items (i.e. beds, kitchen table, chairs, sofas, etc.), basic household items (i.e. pots and pans, plates, cups, shower curtains, cleaning supplies, etc.), and some food to start them off for their first few days.

            I have also been present at a few (late-night) airport pickups for refugees who are taking their first steps into their new communities and homes.  Sometimes these refugees are greeted at the airport by family members who have lived here for a few months or even years.  It has truly been a blessing to observe these long-sundered family members reunited with each other.  After their arrival, refugees undergo a series of orientations (provided by LSS Case Managers) about their new life in America, covering topics such as: life and customs, federal programs for aid that they can qualify for, employment, and public transportation.  The refugees apply for social security cards as soon as they arrive in the United States – and after the necessary 4-6 weeks to receive their cards – most are extremely eager to begin working.  Luckily, LSS gives refugees assistance with finding a job, going in for job interviews, and networking to make sure refugees can get to work (without cars) and without complications (such as child care).  One of the most inspiring things I have observed all summer is the desire that most refugees possess to start working as SOON as possible.  One young man from Sierra Leone was taking on a second job after being in the United States for only four months!  In my time here, I have met refugees from all over Africa (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe) and Europe (Croatia, Bosnia, Krasnodar Krev).  They each come with their own heritages and cultures, and it has been wonderful to meet them all.

            This internship has been an interesting one from start to finish, and giving an adequate description to my experience would run pages on end, but to summarize the experience, I would like to offer three particularly exciting and fulfilling moments to characterize my summer.  The first experience occurred on June 17, three days before the official World Refugee Day, at the Concord Public Library.  On this Saturday, between 40-50 refugees gathered in the library with the staff of IRRP and members of the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) to celebrate World Refugee Day.  After a few introductory talks, we were regaled by one of our refugee clients with folk stories and song from Liberia – all translated into French, Swahili, and English (from Liberian English).  Following this, we were blessed by a large and incredibly fun African drum seminar by a local drum company, driven by the energy and rhythm of the many refugee children in attendance.  Nearly everyone there – including yours truly – was swept up into the beat of the drums and danced together.  At the end of the celebration, free books were given to refugee children by CLiF, and a reception was enjoyed by all.  As the primary planner of this event – creating announcement flyers, sending out invitations to refugees and community leaders, arranging transportation for the refugees, shopping for and cooking most of the food offered at the reception – I was excited to see it come together so well.

            The second wonderful event that occurred this summer happened while I was conducting an orientation about the public bus system of Concord to one of our new arrivals.  The man, a refugee from Equatorial Guinea (Africa), did not speak much English, so I was naturally nervous about how the orientation would go.  When we started walking to the bus stop to begin the orientation, however, he figured out that I spoke Spanish.  Little did I know that Equatorial Guinea was one of the few African countries that had been a Spanish colony, and so naturally, the people of Equatorial Guinea still learn Spanish in their schools.  So, in a fortuitous turn of events, I gave the entire bus orientation in Spanish – quite a feat considering that I have not had such a lengthy conversation in Spanish for years.  He was very grateful to speak one of his mother tongues, something that he had been unable to do for nearly eight years while he was in a refugee camp in (non Spanish-speaking) Cameroon.

            The final experience that has characterized my time here in Concord has been the time that I have spent with a few of our refugee families farming plots of land generously donated to LSS from a local independent school just outside of Concord.  The occasions in which I left behind the city to journey to the farm with two Somali Bantu families – one mother with four children and another mother with six children – were truly remarkable experiences.  Often times, I would spend all of my time with the children, playing games with them and keeping them entertained – sometimes by introducing them to farm animals such as cows, goats, and chickens!  But, on a few occasions, I helped the refugee mothers with weeding, watering, and tending their crops.  It was fun rubbing elbows with these women who had seen so much in their lives already.  In those moments, I realized that starting life anew in another country is a lot like farming vegetables.  After being sown into the earth, the seeds are filled with the promise of becoming full-grown fruits and vegetables, just as the promise of a new life looms in front of every refugee that comes to the United States.  In order to develop mature fruits and vegetables, each seed needs tending, watering, and sunlight to grow.  In the same way, each refugee must tend to their resources and take care to mature in their time here, but they also need the support of the world around them (from agencies like LSS and also from voluntary support from their local communities).  Above all, the refugees must learn and perfect their English, become self-sufficient through finding jobs, and they must remember that they are a part of this world, blessed with dignity and self-respect.  We community members and American citizens should remember their sacrifices and effort, giving them honor with our respect.

            For me, this internship has had a tremendous impact on my spiritual life.  To begin with, I have learned anew how life is transitory and unpredictable.  God has a plan for each and every one of us, and we must be willing and able to adapt ourselves to the changes and complications that arise in each of our lives.  The gratitude to be alive that each refugee brings with them to their new country is extremely inspirational, and encourages me to overcome my adversities with a positive attitude and a belief in a future that is given by a loving God.  In addition, this internship has taught me to value what I have and what I have been given.  I have been extremely blessed in my life to have a loving family, supportive friends, and enough money to live comfortably.  Yet, I do not always stop to remember from whence these things have come to me – from a loving and giving God.  Being around refugees who have had nearly everything snatched away from them, only to be forced to rebuild in a new country has influenced me to be more thankful not only for what I have (in material goods) but also for the people I value in my life.  Finally, this internship has solidified even more significantly my faith in the crux of the Gospel message to love one another.  When Christ commands us to reach out to those in need, He means it.  Serving those who are restarting their lives in a foreign country after horrific events has taught me that I have not been doing enough to love and serve my neighbor.  It is my responsibility and privilege to love and respect all of the people that cross my path in my own faith journey.  Serving refugees has influenced my prayer for all people: that we may all embrace the command to love one another, as God has loved us.