“We have, what do you call it, a small bit of wheat at the
end of stalk, a grain. We have what you
would call, grains of hope. When I face,
when I am in darkness, even there when I am beaten and tortured every day, I
have hope. I do not stop. That is what keep me alive.”
These words came from the lips of a man who came as a
refugee to Grand Rapids, and they became the title of the play Grains of Hope. Grains of Hope is an ethnographic play
created by Stephanie Sandberg and the Calvin Theater Company. Stephanie and Calvin students interviewed
over 100 people in West Michigan who came here as refugees or work closely with
refugees. From those interviews, she chose
7 stories—7 people—to feature at the center of the play. An 18
year old woman who came to Grand Rapids from Vietnam with her family when she
was three years old. A man who fled
Sudan as a child and when he eventually came to Grand Rapids, all he knew of America
was Mickey Mouse printed on a t-shirt. A
Bhutanese man who spent 15 years of his life living in a refugee camp in Nepal
in a simple bamboo house with dirt floors.
In the play, actors brought each of these characters to life using their
own words from the interviews.
They told of how they came to be in Grand Rapids and what
they have faced since they arrived. Stories
of the difficulties of learning English and finding work. They told stories of struggles to find good
and affordable housing. And they told
stories of friendship and the people who have helped them along the way--middle
school teachers, caseworkers, and doctors, an English tutor who became a
friend, an older woman who became a family’s adopted mother and grandmother.
This play was performed 13 times in various locations around
Grand Rapids over the last few weeks. My
congregation was privileged to host one of the performances last Sunday
evening. We have been active in working
with refugees for many years, and several of the people who appeared in the
play were members of our church who have developed relationships with families
who came as refugees. It was moving to
see their dedication over the years brought to life.
 |
| An actress telling the story of a woman who came from the DR Congo |
As I watched the play, there were points where I was almost
in tears at the stories. Even the people
who I don’t know personally have elements of their stories that are similar to
stories I have heard from people that I know.
These are people that have welcomed me into their homes with various
kinds of chai, fruit, and other snacks.
Who seem glad to have me there, even if much of the conversation around
me is in a language that I don’t understand.
Who have loved me and prayed for my mom when she had surgery last
winter. They are people who have come
through horrific circumstances to a new life in America. And that life isn’t necessarily easier—safer
and with a higher material standard of living, perhaps—but with the new
challenges of DHS who cuts benefits (like food stamps) if you miss a letter or
appointment, a mind-bogglingly complex medical system, and a culture that is
independent to the extreme.
I am so inspired by the people I know who arrived here as
refugees. I have seen Christ in them,
again and again. I am thankful for the
opportunity to get to know so many of them in the past few years. I have seen their hope, even in midst of
despair. I hope some of that has rubbed
off on me. And I hope that I and
churches across North America would offer the friendship that gives hope to
dealing with the transitions. I pray
that we would reflect Christ to our friends, because Jesus is the source of true
hope.
Resources:
Wheat photo by Marilylle Soveran, http://www.flickr.com/photos/86953562@N00/47812279/, used under a Creative Commons License.
Play photo from Calvin College publicity, http://www.calvin.edu/news/archive/grains-of-hope
