Hi Friends,
This last month I had a chance to spend time with some of my Rohingya refugee friends by going to one of their friend’s homes for dinner. Here’s how it happened and what I learned:
I was on my way to visit a Rohingya friend who I make a point to see every week. As I was approaching her house, I realized two of my other Rohingya friends were also there. They excitedly told me they were going to another friend’s house for a party, and without skipping a beat they asked me to go with them. Sporadic invitations like these aren’t uncommon with our refugee friends, so I decided to join them. Before I knew it, I was walking with my friends to a neighboring apartment complex and ended up in a home with five Rohingya women and all their children. It was honestly the best. I loved the opportunity to see my Rohingya friends together as a group because it was fun seeing all of them in community interacting with each other.
However, one interesting aspect of being with my friends was they were all speaking their native language of Rohingya, and after awhile it hit me that I was in a room where I had no idea what was being said, and I also wasn’t really contributing anything to the conversations these women were having. These facts could’ve made me discouraged, yet something that prevented me from feeling that way was my Rohingya friend kept holding my hand and occasionally turned to me saying, “Dora, I’m sorry. We are talking Rohingya, and you don't understand.” I smiled at her and genuinely said, “It’s okay. I love being here with all of you.”
It was in that moment I realized even though I didn’t speak or understand Rohingya, my friends (for some reason) still wanted me to be with them. Something about just being with them spoke volumes to them even though I couldn’t say a word. I was reminded that being present and doing everything I could to stay engaged with what was happening in the room was a significant way to reflect Jesus’ love to these women. This story contintues to encourage me to keep showing up and engaging with the people Jesus places in my path because there's a 110% chance He's doing something behind the scenes with that.