1 night on the street

Since 1 Night on the Street, I have continued to meet those who have committed themselves to city ministry, and those whose lives have been blessed because of the church’s response.

Recently, I met Esperance Barinakandi at the English as a Second Language (ESL) class run by Building Hope in the City. As we talked, Esperance began to tell me a story that has been repeated tens of thousands of times in the political/religious/ethnic hurricane that is the continent of Africa.

As we talked, I asked Esperance if she would sit with me sometime and record her story. When we did, I sensed moments as we recorded that I was “coming too close” to events that she did not care to relate at that time…and I backed off. What you cannot see from listening to the audio, were the small tears at the corner of Esperance’s eyes as she talked her way through what we did speak of. Photos by Anna Zimmerman.

As a believer, I often wonder how I would respond to true persecution. I wonder how I would respond to true trials. I invite you to listen to the story of Esperance’s family…persecution…trial…and joy.

Part 1…Refugees…from Burundi to Tanzania

Part 2…Coming to America

Part 3…Today - and Tomorrow

SOME NOTES FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH AMERICA’S “NEW REFUGEES”

Imagine for a moment that you are in the situation that Esperance’s family faced over the last 15 years…how do you think you would respond to -

…leaving the centuries-old home of your family…with nothing but what you could carry?

…facing death because of you tribe, Christian faith…or both?

…spending 11 years living in a tent?

…having to find your own food in a foreign land when the UN missed a delivery to your camp, forgot, or had your delivery hijacked by rebels?

…wondering if God had forgotten you?

Then, suppose the State Department of the United States of America had seen your case, and reacted favorably? Suppose you then had to -

…travel thousands of miles on your first ever ride on an airplane?

…come to a place where the temperature in December is 80 degrees BELOW what you’re used to?

…learn a completely new language and set of customs?

…learn what the following “essentials” of Western society are for - grocery stores, banks, electricity, plumbing, social service agencies, appliances, automobiles…(shall I continue)?

AND WITH ALL OF THAT…LET’S ADD THIS:

You have 180 DAYS to become self-sufficient in this foreign land. After that, your aid from the US Government drops off dramatically.

180 days. Could you do it?

Could you help someone do it?

Visit Building Hope in the City and let them know you would like to help. It’s not about giving cash, making meals, or writing checks…it’s about giving your time. It may be frustrating, and sometimes difficult, but it may be the best chance America’s new immigrants will have to successfully assimilate into American society.

The church on the Building Hope in the City campus is Trinity Lutheran. It was built in 1873…by refugees and immigrants. Those builders were the ones who welcomed our great-grandparents generation to this country…the next wave of immigrant and refugees. 135 years later, the church still stands, and now we are the ones charged with receiving our brothers and sisters who coming to America…may we do it as faithfully as those who came before us.

Next time: some numbers from 2007 on the refugees who have come to the City of Cleveland.

For more information on the situation in Africa these two books have given me a better awareness the first is God Grew Tired of Us by John Bul Dau (there is also a documentary film by the same name) and the second is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah