"Miracles and Fufu Balls:" One Congregation's Resettlement Experience
Sponsors Chuck McCreary and
Carmen Valenzuela of Minnehaha United Church of Christ stand
with Mohammed Bangura and Ishmael Kurome, refugees from Sierra
Leone. The two men, who are cousins, resettled in Minneapolis
with Mr. Kuromes two daughters early this year.
Photo: CWS/Minnesota
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It's Children's Sabbath morning and eight-year old Mariama confidently reads the Call to Confession. When I think back on the first time I saw her, just off the plane from Sierra Leone, I know I am witnessing one of God's miracles. A miracle wrought through the hands of God's people.
From the first day we heard that a refugee family was coming to us at Minnehaha United Church of Christ (Minneapolis), we were very excited. Jen Kilps from Refugee Services, a CWS/IRP affiliate, had done a great job of setting the stage for us. Our questions were answered. The anticipation gripped every one of us. This was a whole congregation affair.
After receiving the disappointing news that the family from Togo we agreed to sponsor was on medical hold, we awaited another sponsorship possibility. The news came quite soon and we embraced the idea of a family that fit the non-traditional profile of Minnehaha UCC: a father, two young daughters (ages 4 and 7) and his male cousin. We learned all we could about a country few of us had heard of before, Sierra Leone. Later we would see the country's civil war on the evening news. Civilians were routinely tortured and dismembered. We learned that the father of our expected family was himself a victim of dismemberment.
With heightened anticipation, our refugee sponsorship committee led the congregation in our "exploration" of Sierra Leone. The children of the congregation taught us the most. They each drew pictures or wrote reports and shared them during the children's sermon time. Adults and children both started to bring in personal and household items for our new family. It seemed that every single one of us was caught up in the excitement of a new family. We had a common purpose, that of extending the extraordinary Minnehaha UCC hospitality to homeless strangers.
The day finally arrived during Holy Week. Ten Minnehaha congregants got to the airport before the arrival time. We had come with winter coats for the two men and the girls. The Minnehaha host family, Jane and Wayne Brass, had warm beds and a private room awaiting the refugee family. We watched as several refugees came through the gate. Then we saw them, our family. They were two thin men, one of them clinging to a small child with his only arm. The other man was holding the hand of a small, thin girl - the other daughter. He grasped two plastic bags that held all their documents.
They had nothing but the clothes on their backs and hope for a new life. Their faces were beyond tired; the girls appeared to be almost in shock, utterly scared. Imagine, going from a refugee camp to a Minnesota airport in the course of a very long day. We smiled, put out our arms and welcomed them to Minnesota. In the face of the world's cruelty, I've sometimes heard people doubt the existence or the whereabouts of God. As I saw the faces of the Minnehaha UCC members with tears freely running, arms outstretched, I knew that God was there. Indeed, God had brought us all to this moment. Six months later, God brought us all to the "miraculous moment" of Mariama leading us in worship.
Mohammed, little Mary, Mariama and Ishmael share in the spirit of the Minnehaha UCC family. We recently had a Sierra Leone dinner with their crucial assistance. Mariama made us fufu balls to eat. Minnehaha congregants love church dinners. Being a part of a church meal is practically a rite of passage for new members. This refugee family was now, more than ever, a part of our community of hospitality.
Pastor Nancy Anderson proclaims, "It has been one of the great gifts to us that Mohammed, Mariama, Mary and Ishmael have become active members in the congregation. They are just a joy to be with."