I walked into the DMV with my friend Brianna, peering through the ocean of faces to see if I could find who we were looking for.
To my right, a seated cattle-call of people waited for their numbers to be bellowed from behind the counter. To my left, another fifty or more people waited. Brianna spotted Emran's* two young sons, smiled and waved, and we quickly made our way over to them.
She asked, "Where's your dad?"
They stared back at her blankly.
That language barrier sure could be difficult.
"Where's Emran?"
They both shrugged their shoulders as we glanced around to see if we could locate him. The older son pointed straight in front of him, and when we followed his line of sight, we saw his mother talking to a DMV employee. We walked over, and Brianna asked what was going on. Emran's wife speaks pretty much zero English, so she was confused as to why her ID application wasn't being approved. We quickly discovered that the immigration office had actually incorrectly misspelled her last name on her green card, which meant her new last name was no longer going to be "Abraham*" but "Abrahm" and it did not match the name on her ID application. She would need to submit a new form with an additional $21 fee. Maybe not a big deal to many people, but for this refugee family living on an incredibly fixed income, that's like a week's worth of food.
I offered to cover the difference, but didn't feel comfortable doing so without Emran's permission. By this point, we had discovered that he was taking his driver's permit test, so we decided to wait to talk to him before we made the decision.
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A few months ago, I started mulling over the idea of writing a blog post about a refugee family. I really wanted to show that behind the politics of the issue are real people, with real needs and real stories. I wanted to show that this isn't just a political issue; it is a human issue.
I wasn't really sure how that would look, or who I would contact to find a family willing to be interviewed. One day, I was scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook, and saw a post from a friend talking about an organization she is partnering with called World Relief. World Relief's mission is to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable. They help refugees and immigrants from all countries resettle and rebuild their lives. They connect people in the church with refugee families, getting them started with welcome kits, apartment set-up, and relationship.
Regardless of what you believe about bringing refugees into our country, the fact is, they are here. And now that they are, as Christians, we are called to help them. Jesus said when we welcome a stranger, we welcome Him {Matthew 25:35}. As the World Relief website states, "Refugees are uniquely vulnerable individuals who have fled persecution. Our biblical faith compels us to respond to their plight with compassion and hospitality."
My friend arranged a meeting between me, her, and a World Relief worker named Brianna to see if a partnership would be doable. Brianna explained to me how World Relief works, and when I asked if she knew of a family that would be willing to be interviewed and have their story shared, she said she had just the family in mind. She was going to meet with them a few days later, helping them at the DMV and a local clinic where they would receive their immunizations. I was invited along to shadow her and meet the family to see if they would be a good fit.
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After waiting about an hour, Emran came out of the testing room with a smile on his face. He had passed his test. Brianna introduced the two of us, and I immediately knew I would like him. He had wrinkles around his eyes. Not just age wrinkles, smile wrinkles. That meant he smiled. A lot.
The next hour was spent waiting some more, and then finishing up the paperwork and obtaining their ID photos and Emran's temporary driver's permit. It was about 11:30 when we left. The family had a 1:00 appointment at a local clinic dedicated to providing medical services for refugees, but Emran and his wife weren't having any part of just moving on to their next appointment until they at least fed Brianna and I a snack and some tea.
Emran and his younger son rode with me, while his wife and older son went with Brianna. They needed to stop at an Afghan market on the way home to pick up some food staples. By the time we were done there, it was about noon. That meant we had a 1/2 hour to get back to their apartment, make tea and enjoy each other's company before they had to go to their next appointment.
Their apartment isn't in the best area of town. You can imagine with the limited assistance they are receiving, their options are few. We walked into their small one-bedroom home, removed our shoes, and sat down on the living room floor as Emran's wife hurried to put together some food and tea to serve us. Brianna asked if there was anything she could do to help, and Emran's wife laughed, shaking her head no. The room was dark, with a stream of natural light flowing in from the sliding glass door next to the couch. Emran's wife brought out some cake, Naan, biscuits and tea. Normally, I would turn down an offer of sugar-laden desserts that I knew would make my joints hurt later, but knowing what a sacrifice these people were giving, sharing their food generously with me, I couldn't say no. I nibbled on some cake, took a bite of Naan, and enjoyed the green tea that was perfectly sweetened with sugar by Emran himself.
We sat while Emran showed me photos of Afghanistan and shared his story of being an English translator for the U.S. military. He told of the day he was scouting a location for a new school the Americans were going to build for Afghani children, and how his car was hit by a roadside bomb, breaking both his legs, and virtually shattering his feet.
See part two of this story HERE.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
**At Emran's request, images of his wife have not been publicly shared.
This article was written by Shanti Landon, and originally appeared on Life Made Full. Shanti is a certified life coach and the creator of the popular food + lifestyle blog, Life Made Full. She is mom to five kids and the author of two ebooks: 30 Days to a Life Made Full and 10 Minute Prep Freezer Meals. Shanti started her blog in 2012 after her husband, Chris, was diagnosed with celiac disease, and their family switched to a mostly Paleo diet. Shanti loves running, coffee, pretty much anything chocolate, and watching funny dog videos on Facebook. Oh, and she lets her dog get away with more than she allows her kids. You can catch up with her (and keep tabs on her freakin’ adorable Labradoodle puppy Huck) on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest as well as YouTube."