Refugees Find Warm Welcome in Michigan Local Church

One chilly afternoon in the fall of 2021, Karen Yang, a member of the Adventist church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, saw two young men walking toward the bus stop. She recognized one of them as Vincent, a refugee from Rwanda who had been a regular Ann Arbor church attendee, and pulled over to offer a ride. Vincent was with Sherif, who was newly arrived from a Rwandan refugee camp. She took the teens to their temporary home, a hotel, and met the new family. 

When she arrived, the family appeared anxious and worried. Yang decided to invite them to church on Saturday (Sabbath) and offered to take them. They brightened at the invitation and quickly agreed to go. Since most Christians don’t attend church on Saturday, their response seemed unusually favorable.

“Are you Adventists?” Yang asked. 

“Yes!” was their response.

The Ann Arbor church warmly welcomed the family. Other Rwandan families embraced them; the church provided the family with winter clothing, shoes, blankets, and more. Through the generous sponsorship of a church member, the youngest son enrolled in the Ann Arbor Adventist Elementary School.

Yang began to visit the Rwandan family more frequently at the hotel and met other refugees who had noticed the Rwandan Adventist family seemed less distressed. Some of the Afghan refugee families were exasperated, trying to keep their children occupied for a month or two, with nothing for little ones to do in a cramped hotel room.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Daniel Rodriguez, the new pastor of Ann Arbor church, suggested that the congregation provide a meal for the refugee families staying at the hotel. Fifteen Rwandan and 17 Afghan refugees came for the Thanksgiving dinner.

Providentially, God sent translators for each group to help them understand what the pastor said in his short talk and prayer in the school gym. The Afghan families expressed gratefulness that their children could run and play in the gym and shared a speech of thanks at the end. 

Later, a group took the Afghan refugee women to purchase clothing and other things from a second-hand store. Church members took the children to the public library to borrow books and play at the playground. Yang and Rodriguez connected with nearby Plymouth Adventist Community Services to select items the families would need for their new place. An agency in Ann Arbor soon found apartments for the families.

A few events opened the door of trust between Yang and the refugee families. Through machine translation, she was able to take the Rwandan youth and the Afghan men to rake leaves at homes surrounding the Ann Arbor church.

Yang would knock on the door, introduce herself as a member of the Ann Arbor Adventist church and explain that the refugees wanted to rake leaves on a donation basis. The neighbors not only gave generous donations but brought out jackets, suits, winter shoes, hats, gloves, and good wishes for their resettlement. The day was a blessing in many ways: the community became aware of the church’s refugee ministry, and refugees earned money for needed items. Yang took the men out again when it snowed, and offered their services shoveling for donations. 

The refugees were very happy to receive compassion from the community as they served them, along with the side blessing of making some income. She told the refugees that those who live by the Word of God, especially Adventists, want to be a blessing to others, even those not of the same faith.

Yang says, “I rejoice in the refugee ministry. The new Rwandan family started a Bible study twice weekly. We open the Scripture and let the Holy Spirit move. If no translator is available, we use machine translation.

“The seven young people have become enthusiastic and interested in the life of Christ Jesus. They said that their family is praying together every evening for worship now, and Jesus has become real to them.

“The Holy Spirit may not call us to go to Rwanda or Afghanistan as a missionary, but He brought them close to our home to share the love of Jesus and the gospel.” 

The original version of this story was posted by Lake Union Herald.