Cedars, April 2018

April 2018 8 THE GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS: CONNECTION by Zach Krauss and Alex Hentschel M any refugees have been torn from their homes, had their lives dev- astated by war, or made an ardu- ous journey to a new place with only their lives intact. This is why Americans find it difficult to truly understand the plight of a refugee. However, there are students at Cedar- ville who are learning advocacy and have had the opportunity to work with refugees both in the United States and abroad. In ad- dition, Cedarville’s international students and missionary kids (MK’s) can sometimes empathize with refugees due to experienc- ing their own level of cross-cultural discon- nect. Brian Campbell, junior music education major at Cedarville, is both a missionary kid and a refugee. His family lived in Cote D’Ivo- ire during his early life and had to be evac- uated twice due to civil unrest before con- tinuing missionary work in Senegal, another west African country. He said that his unique experience helps him better understand the journey of a refugee. “It really is hard[er] than most Ameri- cans can truly understand,” Campbell said. “We don’t often understand how desperate things are. In Senegal, they have these large fishing boats, and sometimes things get so desperate that groups of Senegalese try to take the boats all the way from Senegal to France.” Freshman Christina Macris is a mis- sionary kid from Uganda. Her family runs a clinic that helps those in need in the com- munity, including refugees. She said that the influx of refugees coming from South Sudan has given her a new perspective on the crisis. “Seeing the needs that people have made it really come alive. The word ‘refugee’ isn’t just a term that we hear: each of them are people just like us,” she said. Over the past summer, Macris had the opportunity to spend a day ministering to refugees in Lebanon. She was able to spend a lot of time showing love to refugee children and hearing the stories of other refugees. Macris specifically mentioned spend- ing time with a woman named Lydia who demonstrated kindness to both Macris and her friend. “She took care of us and called my friend and I her daughters,” Macris said. “She’s such a beautiful person to have experienced so much hardship and still being such a kind person. That made it very real for me.” Macris also mentioned that the refugee crisis, while devastating, is a unique oppor- tunity for ministry. “We can minister to these people — sometimes without even leaving our coun- try — as the refugees come in,” she said. “It’s a great way to show Christ’s love.” Campbell said, at times, the best way to show gospel love to refugees is to build relationships. “I think it’s important to make sure you’re a friend to someone before anything else,” he said. “There’s a sense of grief that they’re likely going through, and having a friend is something that can help them to open up to you and get to know them as a person rather than quickly jump into ex- plaining the gospel right away.” Priscilla Songate is a sophomore nurs- ing student who has been able to minister to refugees in the U.S. Songate’s family has been working with Burmese refugees in Texas for about two years. “Through my ministry, I met some of the smartest kids,” Songate said. “Some of these people come to America and are so qualified, but because of their situation they have to resort to doing odd jobs. At their core, they are our equals.” Being from a different country doesn’t necessarily mean that the MK’s or interna- tional students know what refugees are go- ing through, but some have said that it has helped them to understand how difficult it is to build a life somewhere completely new. Some members of Cedarville’s faculty and staff have experience with facilitating cross-cultural transition of international students and missionary kids, which refu- Different Types of Disconnect Missionary kids and international students share what they’ve learned from ministering to refugees Photo provided by Christina Macris Christina Macris ministered with refugee children in Lebanon last summer.