Today is June 3rd.
.... and that means that today myself and some friends took a few of the Turkish Women (& their children) we work with @ World Relief to Seattle (as they live in Kent, WA; 45 min. outside of the City) for a day out!
When we arrived at one of the apartment complexes we found our friend Nadir who then took us to his apartment where his wife Zakkiya & their 4 children were. We thought we were just picking them up but they made us sit down, they turned on music, and next thing we know we're being fed tons of food and given our choice of coffee, water, or cola! Zakkiya had a permanent smile on. I think she was excited to go to Seattle. It was very sweet.
We took them to Gasworks Park and they brought Turkish food to feed us! We also took them to Seattle Center to see the Space Needle and we went on a few rides at the carnival there. We took a bazillion pictures and had a really great time!
I am constantly overwhelmed by the hospitality of these people!!! It seems like everytime we try to bless them we end up more blessed by them! I cannot express how much I love seeing them each week and how inspired I am by all that they have been faced with in coming to America. English is a terribly difficult language to learn, especially for people their age. Not only that, but the culture is just so different and they miss their family back in Russia so much. I wonder how it must feel to watch their children become "Americanized", I wonder how it feels to be stared at, I wonder if they're sad a lot of the time. Mayura was sad today - she said she was homesick. Even I remember being in Thailand and getting to the point where I was sick of using their money, eating their food, speaking their language and longed for the familiarity of home. But they don't get to go home because they're refugees. I can't imagine how the reality of that must feel. They have never "fit in" anywhere, not even in their "home" (Russia) because they're Turkish and Russia didn't accept them either. The government takes care of them only for a certain time and then they have to provide for their families, and I'm sure that some of them had already retired back in Russia. Now they have to work for a living all over again! ... and still they're some of the most thankful people I've ever met.
sheesh...writing this I realize how much I care about them and desire their happiness, to make them feel loved and like they belong.
posted by Amanda @ 8:21 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Dear: Even more than the pictures, I was blown away with your feelings for these people. It made me feel like I would like to know them also. It was kind of you and the other people who helped in taking your friends into Seattle for the day. Isn't it amazing how blessed we are when we want to bless others. I hope that you can continue teaching these people even into September. I am sure it would be really difficult for them not seeing you and the others that are teaching them English. You can tell they are from another country by the way they dress, but they are just like us, they need to be loved and cared for and they need friends.
We are really looking forward to you coming home in a week. Love you, Mom
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