My Move Out Story: Welcoming Afghan Refugee Families
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As we have come to know and love this family from halfway around the world, we have come to realize that God’s love has no barriers other than the ones we create.
At Kensington, we talk a lot about loving our neighbors down the street and our neighbors halfway around the world. Sometimes that’s not two separate things– our new neighbors are from halfway around the world.
We want to share what a privilege it has been to love Afghan refugee families who have fled the violence in their home country to find refuge right here in the southeast corner of Michigan.
Just over a year ago, Becky Lee, Kensington’s Move Out Director, spearheaded a partnership with local organization Samaritas to resettle Afghan allies and their families. “The vision and mission of Samaritas aligns beautifully with Kensington’s heart to build deeper, more rooted relationships as we move outside our walls into the community. Our hope is always to come alongside and serve with people…honoring their dignity and helping to empower them to be self-sustainable,” shared Becky.
But the ask wasn’t small.
Each Afghan family needed a small army of volunteers to commit to six months of intentional welcome — walking alongside the family, settling them in, and meeting an array of needs.
Paul and Karen Stebbe of Orion campus share their experience:
“In the summer of 2021, we heard daily news reports about the unfolding tragedy in Afghanistan. Our initial reactions were anger at the displays of evil in that part of the world and sadness at how terrible this was going to become for the Afghan people, but our connection was still relatively impersonal…After hearing Kensington would have an opportunity to help Afghanistan refugees, both of our hearts shifted to ‘LET’S DO SOMETHING!’
Our Move Out team of 19 volunteers was created to simply love and care for one refugee family and to serve as ‘human spackle’ to fill in the gaps as needed…in January 2022, we got to know our new friends: father, mother, and 9 awesome kids.
Our team jumped into action…gathering coats, searching for housing/leases/documents, helping to open a bank account, hosting memorable play events like their first sledding experience, helping with English language learning, helping to get the kids enrolled in school, helping with major clean-up in the rental home, collecting bikes, appliances, bunk-beds, window blinds…
Other Move Out teams, other churches, and other people helped us with blessings and expertise we did not possess. First United Methodist Church of Birmingham completely furnished over 14 refugee homes. All came together to show God’s love to one family. To be the Church.
When the family wanted to move out of the hotel they had been living in for 4 months and into their new home before Ramadan began on April 2, that became our goal. Our team worked tirelessly alongside the landlord for three long days cleaning and fixing up the home.
The landlord had inquired, “Why are you doing this?”
We responded, ”This is what we were called to do: to love others.”
He continued asking questions about our church and why we were doing this for a family that we did not know, whose language we did not speak, and whose faith we did not share. He finally said, “I’d like to come see your church.”
On the last night before move-in day, we were talking with an electrician who asked, “Why are you doing this?”
We responded, ”This is what we were called to do: to love others.”
The electrician said “YES! If we all did that the world would not be the mess it is today.”
As we have come to know and love this family from halfway around the world, we have come to realize that God’s love has no barriers other than the ones we create. This experience has given us a new appreciation for what the church could look like: a body of believers Loving God and Loving Others.”
Another volunteer on this Move Out team of 19 shares a personal account of connecting with the mother of this Afghan family:
As I sat with Ir. on their living room floor, I was truly taken by her humanity.
She shared her worry over D.’s pain.
She shared her delight over her kids being allowed to go to school.
She shared the terror she experienced at the hands of the Taliban.
She shared the worry that her siblings are still there.
She shared the sadness of her parents being dead.
She showed me a piece of jewelry D. had found for her awhile ago–looking for me to be taken by its beauty as any “girlfriend” would.
She shared how she came here with only the outfit she was wearing.
She sang songs to baby S. and they had tickle fights.
We talked about how we both lost a ton of hair in pregnancy but how she wished she still could have long hair. We talked about how she was brutally sick through her pregnancies but that she never had a c-section. (To be clear, this was all messy conversation. We fought to understand each other and it was awkward at times. In fact, the only way I got to understanding the c-section thing was by her actually showing me her scar-free belly.)
But as I sat with her there on the floor, I saw so clearly how deeply she longs for friendship and to be known and how heavy the weights that she carries are. ”
If you’d like to engage more deeply in loving your neighbors, check out the many opportunities on Kensington’s Move Out Network at kensingtonchurch.org/moveout