Not only did we have our third child last week, and not only was CareFest 09 last week, but the night before Finn was born and two days before CareFest our next refugee family arrived in Chicago. They were supposed to be here in late March, but one of the kids contracted chicken pox so they could not fly. The timing could not have been worse for me personally, but I have learned the worst time for me is often the best time for God.
The family arrived late Thursday evening. Grandmother, 76, mom and four girls ages 2-8. We knew they did not speak English, we new they were Christian (rare!), and we knew they had been in a refugee camp in Nepal since the 80's, and that is all we knew. Of course you can research a lot.
Our first glimpse of the family was at the baggage claim. They were standing atop the escalator in the security area waiting to come down. Except they did not know how to negotiate the stairs. They had never been on an escalator! After 24 hours of travel, and probably without eating much, their first big obstacle was to get the down the stairs. I was with three people from our team and three Bhutanese who were going to translate for us. We were not sure what to do, we couldn't go up there without being arrested, and yet nobody was stopping to help them down. Grandma was the first to try the stairs. She was able to jump on board but nearly fell. I "caught" here when she reached the bottom. The three older girls were able to jump on ok and we caught them as well. Mom was very tentative and when she finally got on fell backwards onto her 2 year old. That is when of my team sprang up the stairs. A security guard of course appeared out of no where to "help" and I thought to arrest our heroic team member. Mom and baby were ok and we got them home safely. Nobody was arrested.
Culturally this family could not be more different than Americans. They eat everything with their hands, the stand on the toilet when they have to go, they flush diapers down the toilet (not god!) and other things they find normal. All of that is part of adjusting to the new culture.
We were able to furnish their apartment and moved them in last Friday after only being here seven days. We have already connected them to a local Bhutanese church and they really enjoy it.
Yesterday I took the mom and oldest daughter grocery shopping. They had never been in a grocery store. Ever. They were overwhelmed. They were afraid to touch anything. They were embarrassed by the amount of food they had in their cart. They had never had so much food at one time in their lives. The bill was $80. Eight zero. I am embarrassed to say I spent more on Mothers Day Lunch I cooked myself for three moms in my life. That is a blog for another time. The short version, we are rich, richer than can be comprehended until you experience real poverty. The Bhutanese family went from the hell of a refugee camp, oppression, aggression, fear were experienced every day, to downtown Wheaton in one week. Could there be more of a contrast?
Which brings me Michael J. Fox. I like him. Family Ties was one of my favorite shows in the 80's. Secret of My Success one of the funniest movies of the 80's. His battle with Parkinson's is truly inspiring. Which is why he makes me sad. I was so disappointed to watch the TV thing he just did on Hope. What a load of excrement. What caught my attention was the 15 minutes of the show spent in Bhutan. A nation of happiness. Seriously. That is how he saw it. The nation does not care about Gross National Product but Gross National Happiness. Really. It is clever disguise. Promote peace and happiness. A magical, physically beautiful country of harmony and peace. It would only take .21 search on Google to see that is a bunch of bull. Bhutan has generated more refugees than any other country its size. Apparently if you are unhappy with their government you are tortured and imprisoned and everyone one in your people group are expelled from the county. Especially if you are not part of the ethnic majority. The current government has "cleansed" the county of most ethnic minorities. I suppose that is one way to generate "peace". The real reason the people might be happy is because they are not aware of the prison they are in. Gosh it sounds like the Matrix!
Michael, hope will not come from happiness. Hope will not come from President Obama. Hope will not come from forced peace and harmony. Hope can only be found in a place not yet of of this Earth. Yes we will encounter hope here on Earth, in our lifetimes even. But those temporary moments of hope are only a glimpse of the kingdom to come. And unless you find the King who brings true hope, you will never find the Kingdom He reigns over.
