On Friday I began one of the craziest adventures I've ever been on-I moved in with a family of 9 refugees from Somalia! I drove with my family from Michigan to drop my sister off at college in Iowa, then continued on to Minneapolis where I planned to train with SALT, as I've mentioned before. The day we left Michigan, the director of SALT called me the crazy idea of meeting this family at the airport on Friday and moving in with them to help them adjust, give me a chance to learn Somali culture and language, and be a witness to them in the meantime! It sounded like an awesome idea to me so after my parents dropped me off in Minneapolis and we said goodbye, I drove to the airport to meet the family along with others from the ministry World Relief that welcomes refugees in the Twin Cities and a church in the area that 'adopted' this family during their transition.
This incredible family flew from Nairobi, Kenya through Londond, New York, Chicago, and finally made it to Minneapolis days later, miraculously never missing a flight or losing a child! haha! As they came down the stairs to the baggage claim, our group all said "Soodhawaada!" "welcome" in Somali! It took a while to get them all in the van with their bags, wearing seat belts and the 2 year old in a car seat, which she hated; she screamed the whole way to their apartment! When we finally got to their 4 bedroom apartment in the city, we sat outside for a while talking through a translator, and they asked the father how he felt about having me live with them. He asked some questions but ended up saying they needed a few days as a family to think about it, which sounded like a polite 'no' to me. So we spent the next couple of hours getting them set up in the apartment and explaining the basics of houses in America, like how to turn on the stove, how to use the toilet and shower, where to put trash (not on the floor), what a smoke detector is and what to do if it goes off, the importance of locking doors, and on and on. Eventually there was just too much information for them to absorb, so Mike and I were getting ready to leave when the father asked the translator if I was single. Praise God the answer is yes! haha! After that was cleared up, the father said as long as I didn't bring over any strange men, I could stay! Hooray!
So I said goodbye to Mike and helped arrange the beds and get the rest of their things in the right places. I share a room with the oldest daughter who is 18, and so far it's been a blast! They're discovering one thing after another that's new or interesting. I walked into the kitchen where one of the daughters was making a meal and realized she was using a butcher knife to open cans, so I found the can opener and we had a family gathering over how to open cans! The same thing happened when they found the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, deodorant, tooth paste, tea bags, the rice cooker, coffee pot, and freezer (almost every food has been frozen since that lesson, just to see HOW frozen it will get!). Things I would never have realized are new are totally foreign to them. We've had multiple lessons on money and what each coin and bill is worth in dollars, then in comparison to Kenyan shillings. When we went to the grocery store there was almost nothing familiar to them, but they were excited to try potato chips, strawberry ice cream, and cantaloupe.
There are obviously some challenges to living with this family, first of all just the fact that they don't know me and we're living in a small space. Also, although I've been able to use the Swahili I learned while in Kenya to talk to the older girls, communication is difficult. Neither side is fluent in Swahili, I don't speak Somali and they don't speak English! Sometimes we can talk for 10 or 25 minutes with no miscommunication or frustration, then others it seems like nothing I say makes sense and nothing I try works. Privacy is pretty much nonexistent in the apartment, which hasn't been an issue so far, but I know there will be times I need to get away for a while, and I'm still working out how to have time to pray and read my Bible. I am so extremely thankful for the family from the church that has adopted this Somali family! They have welcomed me into their home and told me to think of myself as living in both places so that there is somewhere I can escape to if need be. They are very generous, understanding and encouraging and I feel like God has placed them in the situation as an answer to prayer for support for me.
Please continue to pray that I will be filled with wisdom, patience, compassion and the energy I need to keep focused. It is exhausting to constantly translate everything into my limited Swahili and stay aware of the way I'm perceived and undercurrents in the family so that I don't offend them or confuse them. I want to be a powerful witness of the love of Christ, but it's hard to love consistently. Thank you so much for praying and I'll try to keep you updated!
This incredible family flew from Nairobi, Kenya through Londond, New York, Chicago, and finally made it to Minneapolis days later, miraculously never missing a flight or losing a child! haha! As they came down the stairs to the baggage claim, our group all said "Soodhawaada!" "welcome" in Somali! It took a while to get them all in the van with their bags, wearing seat belts and the 2 year old in a car seat, which she hated; she screamed the whole way to their apartment! When we finally got to their 4 bedroom apartment in the city, we sat outside for a while talking through a translator, and they asked the father how he felt about having me live with them. He asked some questions but ended up saying they needed a few days as a family to think about it, which sounded like a polite 'no' to me. So we spent the next couple of hours getting them set up in the apartment and explaining the basics of houses in America, like how to turn on the stove, how to use the toilet and shower, where to put trash (not on the floor), what a smoke detector is and what to do if it goes off, the importance of locking doors, and on and on. Eventually there was just too much information for them to absorb, so Mike and I were getting ready to leave when the father asked the translator if I was single. Praise God the answer is yes! haha! After that was cleared up, the father said as long as I didn't bring over any strange men, I could stay! Hooray!
So I said goodbye to Mike and helped arrange the beds and get the rest of their things in the right places. I share a room with the oldest daughter who is 18, and so far it's been a blast! They're discovering one thing after another that's new or interesting. I walked into the kitchen where one of the daughters was making a meal and realized she was using a butcher knife to open cans, so I found the can opener and we had a family gathering over how to open cans! The same thing happened when they found the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, deodorant, tooth paste, tea bags, the rice cooker, coffee pot, and freezer (almost every food has been frozen since that lesson, just to see HOW frozen it will get!). Things I would never have realized are new are totally foreign to them. We've had multiple lessons on money and what each coin and bill is worth in dollars, then in comparison to Kenyan shillings. When we went to the grocery store there was almost nothing familiar to them, but they were excited to try potato chips, strawberry ice cream, and cantaloupe.
There are obviously some challenges to living with this family, first of all just the fact that they don't know me and we're living in a small space. Also, although I've been able to use the Swahili I learned while in Kenya to talk to the older girls, communication is difficult. Neither side is fluent in Swahili, I don't speak Somali and they don't speak English! Sometimes we can talk for 10 or 25 minutes with no miscommunication or frustration, then others it seems like nothing I say makes sense and nothing I try works. Privacy is pretty much nonexistent in the apartment, which hasn't been an issue so far, but I know there will be times I need to get away for a while, and I'm still working out how to have time to pray and read my Bible. I am so extremely thankful for the family from the church that has adopted this Somali family! They have welcomed me into their home and told me to think of myself as living in both places so that there is somewhere I can escape to if need be. They are very generous, understanding and encouraging and I feel like God has placed them in the situation as an answer to prayer for support for me.
Please continue to pray that I will be filled with wisdom, patience, compassion and the energy I need to keep focused. It is exhausting to constantly translate everything into my limited Swahili and stay aware of the way I'm perceived and undercurrents in the family so that I don't offend them or confuse them. I want to be a powerful witness of the love of Christ, but it's hard to love consistently. Thank you so much for praying and I'll try to keep you updated!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Laura, this is crazy and awesome and amazing and so stinkin' hard!!! I'm so excited for you, so PROUD of you, and so tired of not talking to you! But, I understand a little better now. Please try not to forget me though :) Man, I will most definitely be praying for you sista! this is such an awesome challenge and blessing all wrapped up into one big ol' family :)
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