Finding Home Again: A New Resource for Refugees and Their New Communities
As Christians, we are called to care for our immigrant and refugee neighbors, and there are many ways to do that. In this post, we are highlighting one of those ways through a new resource created by Immigrants, Internationals, and Refugees (IIR) and Family Life. The following is a reflection by Donna Kushner (Immigrant, International and Refugee National Leader at Cru) on this new resource:
We all watched with heartbreak as Afghans and Ukrainians fled their countries over the past couple years. As my colleagues and I learned of the huge numbers of Afghans who would soon be arriving to the U.S., we wanted to reach out and offer a resource that would be of tangible help to newly arrived families. We had been hosting small workshops for refugee and immigrant families and saw that the content was helpful to parents trying to navigate their new lives here. However, it was not a resource that was available beyond our small team.
As we thought about this project and did some research, we noticed there were a lot of materials for people who served refugees, but not a lot created for refugees themselves. We felt that what was needed was a small group study that was relevant, simple, accessible and compassionate. Something that could be experienced in community. A resource that agencies, churches and even individuals could share with newly arrived families. With the help of Family Life we decided to move the workshop content, with a lot of changes, into a digital format that could be used by anyone with a heart to connect with their new neighbors.
It was our hope that being part of a small group study would give our new neighbors a way to share and process their experiences, to have a voice, and to receive helpful tools as they process all that they have experienced in this monumental transition. We also wanted to share the content broadly, so we decided to create both faith-based and non-faith-based versions.
After talking about the first topic, transition, one beautiful Afghan woman shared with us that though she was not used to sharing her feelings, she was glad for the opportunity. She shared that her heavy heart felt lighter. That is why we wrote Finding Home Again—it’s a way to come alongside and journey with our refugee friends as they navigate transition, grief, trauma, belonging and figure out how to live as family in their new home.
It is our hope and prayer that many will find ways to engage their refugee and immigrant friends with this study. We are confident that deeper connections of friendship will be built as a result, and that will contribute to our new neighbors truly finding home again.
Download “Finding Home Again” now!
