Some of us are about to welcome Afghan refugees for the first time. The first time for us, and the first time for them. The location of your hometown has a lot to do with whether or not you have the privilege of welcoming strangers. Some cities are resettlement cities for the United Nations. And while I haven’t been at an airport or arrival facility to receive the displaced, I’ve learned from those who have. The wisdom of women who care for the sojourners is worth passing on as refugees begin to arrive in strange places.
Receiving refugees is not new work. It’s as old as the story of evacuation from Eden and recovery after the Flood. As a child of the 70’s in the suburbs of Washington DC, I remember meeting “boat people” people from Cambodia. I didn’t know anything about Cambodia or the boats or the people. Since then, I visited the jail cells and killing fields they fled, where so many others lost their lives, unable to flee. There is much to learn when refugees come.
Since then, I’ve learned from Carol, who led the welcome of the displaced in her city. I’ve learned from Stephanie, who serves refugees washed up on Mediterranean islands from Middle Eastern wars. And I’ve learned from Lorena, offering refuge to teenagers traveling with only memories of families left or lost.
“A refugee arrives in their country of refuge with a complicated mixture of emotions… A sense of LOSS over all they were forced to leave behind. RELIEF that they don’t have to run anymore. FEAR about who they will encounter and if will they be accepted or rejected. A sense of HOPE that maybe all has not been lost and they will again build a life and a future for themselves and their family.” - Stephanie
These women model the essentials of welcoming refugees, whether or not we greet them at the airport, set up an apartment, take them a meal, pass them at the park, or teach them English. These three women practice three biblical values towards strangers.
3 Values to Welcome Afghan Refugees
Kindness
Do unto others as you would have them doing to you. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,” (Matthew 7:12a). A day may come when I am the refugee. Any human being, regardless of culture or country of origin, wants to be safe. I’ve watched Stephanie interact with refugees with a smile, the grasp of her hand, and the knowledge of their first names. She treats people with respect and value. They trust her in return. She treats them like she would want to be treated.
Hospitality
Lorena welcomes refugees with sacrificial hospitality. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,” so she organizes others with compassionate hearts like hers, and together they serve tea and soup and kindness. They meet practical needs for the hungry, homeless, and unhealthy. They give safe sanctuary to those who are vulnerable and likely to be exploited as they travel to destinations unknown.
Generosity
Finally, women a lot like me probably laid awake making decisions about what they would take when they fled their homes. They may have had a bag full of precious things. Or just necessary things. But when the moment came and they stood at the gate or the plane or the vehicle or the boat, most were forced to leave their bag behind. When their kids were scared or bored or cold, they only had memories of what they could have used to meet the needs.
God cares about those needs, and He wants us to care too. “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt,” (Deuteronomy 10:18, 19). Women like Carol gather resources from people like me who have an extra pot and pan, three sets of towels, two sets of sheets, and shoes I only wore once.
When new people flow suddenly into your neighborhood, it has an impact. It may bring challenges, problems to solve, and questions to answer. Each person decides if she will be kind, hospitable, and generous to strangers.
You may be like me. I don’t know Arabic, wear a head covering, or know if or when I may meet an Afghan refugee. But I know I would’ve done everything in my power to escape the killing fields of Cambodia or the streets of Kabul. So I have something in common with women waking up refugees from what we will all remember from August 2021.
With God’s help, I’m preparing to be kind, hospitable, and generous. That may begin in the comments I share on social media, my conversations with my neighbor, my choices in my giving, or the content of my praying. Join me? Stephanie, Carol, and Lorena show us how. May God be glorified as we open our hearts to “sojourners” like He opens His heart to us.
Uplift Stephanie’s work here.
Help refugees Lorena serves here.
Support the work Carol began here.
