Day 1: We arrived about 12:30 and had Little Ceasars Pizza. We then listened to a few people give us some information about Antioch Church and the ministries that they are involved in here in Louisville. We heard from one couple who have devoted their lives to the Somali people and are involved with and live among the Somali refugees in Louisville. As I remember, there are 106 different spoken languages among the kids in the school system and there are around 45 different people groups represented in Louisville, many of whom are refugees. Behind the church building there are numerous apartments among which we walked and observed various peoples living their lives here in America. We then took a trip to a Somalian mall where we saw about 12 different shops selling a lot of different things like traditional dress attire, various food items and home goods. All the women, as you might imagine, are dressed from head to foot covering everything but their faces. The men were dressed pretty much like any other man in America. We then were served a meal in the Somali Mall, buffet style, but not. It was a buffet, but they served us and plated the food which included GOAT, yes, Goat meat. It is kind of like gamey beef.
We then returned to the church to debrief what we had done and then we went to our host homes for the night.
Day 2: Bright and early at the church at 8am for breakfast (cold leftover pizza for me). We then talked about how Jesus fled his home and went to Egypt and in reality was a refugee for part of his life. Not many of us had ever thought about that. There are about 1500 refugees living in the immediate area surrounding where we are staying.
Just for your info, a refugee is someone who has been pretty much forced to flee their country due to many circumstances including war or disaster. An immigrant is someone who chooses to leave their country in order to better their lives.
later on in the day, we visited an organization called Catholic Charities. They personally help about 900 refugees each year in Louisville and begin to teach them english, find them jobs, find housing and provide basic housing necessities. They also welcome refugees at the airport and make them feel as welcome as possible to America. We listened to one of their directors describe the flight of a refugee away from their country into refugee camps and then to America. He described how each refugee has 3-6 months of government help and then they are expected within that time to find a job and begin to be self-sufficient. Just think about as we see Americans struggle in these times getting and holding down jobs, how hard it must be for someone who barely speaks english and does not understand the culture.
We also heard from, (L), a 17 year old Iraqi young woman who came to America 2 years ago. She is married--which is not unusual for the Iraqi culture--and has become part of the church we are serving at this week. It was just an amazing story which even probably brought some tears to some of our eyes (it did mine, but don't tell anyone :) when she was talking about how hard it is to enter school and deal with other students, really none of which have befriended her. She said it is very difficult with American kids who just don't understand her and her culture. She also said it is extremely difficult being a Christian in American High School because she is very open with her faith and beliefs.
From there we went to Americana, which is an old elementary school which has been turned into a ministry where people can get food and clothing. We cooked and organized and served and ate with many many kids from Kenya. They are very willing to tell you their story and have fun with you and even joke around. One kid was 12 years old and joking about how he had a Ferrari and the 12 year old was making fun of a 16 year old who failed the drivers test. Another kid then said to the 12 year old, "you don't have a Ferrari, you don't even have a dollar to go to McDonalds and feed yourself." Just to let you know, he was telling the truth.
We cleaned up the mess and wiped off tables and then walked and prayed around the neighborhood.
Please pray for us as we continue more ministry tonight.
Brett
Mmmm- goat! Now that is something you can't get at the Dairy Queen! I'll let you try a donkey burger someday!! Wow- you guys are learning so much about the people around us. Imagine if you landed in a high school in some foreign land where you didn't even speak the language - wow. I hope you can come back home and look at the people you see at school and on the streets with different eyes. Proud of you guys - keep up the good work!
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