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Welcoming Afghans
I have the joy of teaching English to refugees and new immigrants. Returning to the classroom thrills me and gives me the privilege of meeting Afghans who have come to this country quite recently. Last week I spoke to some of these when I gave them English placement tests. I asked one of our conversation questions to evaluate their abilities, “What is the most difficult thing about living in America?” Even if they had English ability to answer, the recently arrived Afghan students would be stumped and would finally quizzically reply something like this, “There’s nothing difficult about living in America. It’s safe here.” Of course, they will face challenges,…
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More Scary Bridges
A couple of years ago I wrote a post called Crossing Scary Bridges http://beyondordinarywomen.org/crossing-scary-bridges/ about following God despite fear. As I reread that post today, I wondered how prepared I am to cross scary bridges to love my neighbors as myself. Am I ready to care for the immigrant who is unlike me? Will I sacrifice any riches and stuff for others? Will I befriend those who think and live differently? Will I take the time needed to understand the differing perspectives of people of other races, backgrounds, and weaknesses by going out of my way to build friendships? Our hate-filled world feeds our fears instead of our faith. God promises to…
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Immigrants Among Us – Praying for the Stranger
Whatever your political opinion is of illegal aliens, immigrants or legal foreigners, the fact is there is an invitation in their presence. Let me explain what happened last Sunday. My husband was due back Sunday afternoon to DFW from Turkey via Frankfurt, Germany. While waiting for him at the International Terminal I observed the various groups of people arriving many obviously from other countries. Some had family or friends waiting for them; some connected to a person holding a sign with their name on it; some looked like they knew exactly where to go as if this is a repeated experience. Three Africans loaded with luggage approached the welcome visitors’…
