Welcoming The Stranger

​“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” -Deuteronomy 10:18-19

​For my first week at RYM, I was very nervous. I was in a completely new state, with completely new people. I did not know anyone and was anxious about the group I would soon be meeting. The first mission immersion site that I went to, with my group, was the Welcome House. This is a Christian led organization that provides home for refugees and supports them throughout their transition of moving from the country they were born in and lived their whole life, to a place where they knew no one and are alone. They feed and care for the refugees until they are able to get on their feet and support themselves. What surprised me about this place was that, although run by Christians, the refugees do not have to be Christian to reside there. They do not try to push Christianity on them but, instead just showed them love and acceptance.

​While we were there, we did yard work, weeding and laying pine needles on top of the gardens, and cleaned the inside of the house, mopping and sweeping throughout. We could see the gratitude on the residents’ faces for our help which was heartwarming for the entire youth group and myself. We were able to interact and show our faith through our actions. We were able to interact with some of the residents there and found that one of them converted to Christianity during his time there. He said that he wanted to understand why strangers would be so inviting and caring to him without any payment back and so he explored their faith. I thought that this was such an amazing thing that the people at Welcome House were able to express, through their actions, the church’s beliefs in such a way that someone born into another religion would convert into ours.

​I could not help but compare my situation to the refugees. I left my own home in Florida to move to a new place without knowing anyone and I was scared. I just kept thinking about how open my host family was when I first got here and how I felt at home and more at peace because of it. These refugees left their entire life behind in order to seek safety and moved to a new country, leaving everything that was familiar to them. They were welcomed with open arms by this organization which they said is helping them feel more accepted into our country and into a new life for them. We were able to chat with each other for a while and even got a picture together in the end in order to help us remember this encounter forever.

​The Welcome House had me thinking about all of the misconceptions that are currently being discussed about refugees. These people are here legally in order to seek a safe place to continue living out their lives in the best way they can. They are working for a better life than what they were able to receive in their original country which I think is inspiring. As Christians, we should be inviting to those who are seeking safety and should defend those who are defenseless. This is a lesson that I, and the youth group, have discussed and will remember for the rest of our lives.

​Chloe Neusaenger is an intern at Raleigh Youth Mission.  She attends Florida State University