A Day in the Life of Refugee Resettlement

What an adventure! The past two days have been filled with mission and detective work, and Jill Coughlin has become the master of this. This weekend, through much trial and error, Jill was able to figure out that Po Lone was very upset because he lost his backpack during his journey here. After Michelle had given Jill a CD with the pictures that we took of the family's arrival at the airport and their first glimpse of their new apartment, Jill was able to see that Po Lone had the backpack when he arrived at Terminal 4, but he didn't have it as we were leaving the airport.

That resulted in a phone call to Sky Harbor Airport, where Jill processed the necessary paperwork for Lost and Found. In the meantime, we placed frantic calls to Lutheran Social Ministries to see if perhaps their case worker had picked it up or if Po Lone had left it in their van. On Tuesday morning, we got the word from Sky Harbor Airport that they had a backpack that fit the description, so Joe drove to Sky Harbor to identify it and pick it up. Going through the backpack, he found what looked to be Burmese books, some dirty laundry, and lo and behold, some pictures of Po Lone and family and friends that were obviously precious to him. When Joe and Michelle returned the backpack to Po Lone on Tuesday evening, he was so overwhelmed with joy, we thought he was going to weep.

While at the apartment, we asked if they needed anything, and Po Lone translated for Ah Mee to tell us that they needed vegetables and fish "pace". We couldn't figure out what he was saying, so we asked him to write it, and he wrote "fish path." Because we had no idea what vegetables they needed, and no clue what fish path might be, we took Po Lone to Fry's and walked up and down every aisle, letting Po Lone choose the things the family needed. We never did find fish path, and he was very disappointed.

So today, we contacted Lutheran Social Ministries to try to figure out what they were looking for. Donna told us that it's fish paste, and it can be found in Oriental markets. This evening, Jill went to the apartment, armed with her new knowledge that fish paste in Burmese is a word that sounds like "gnaw boo". Ya Min and Mya Min were able to help Jill figure out that fish paste comes in a can, so Jill explained that she would buy 2 and bring them the next time she came.

Off to the oriental market she went, only to discovered that fish paste comes with a number of choices, including crab and shrimp. She decides that shrimp is a good choice, so picks up 2 cans of that. This made sense that Po Lone would write "path" because to the non-English speaker you might not hear the "s" sound. As she's scanning the aisle one more time, what do you think she finds? Fish pate, so now she's thinking, "is this what they meant?". So she got one of those too, and will bring them to them on Friday. She was never able to establish how much of the stuff a person would use or what they used it for, but it's definitely a learning process.

Jill's reaction to all this: "I feel like I don't know what I'm doing sometimes, yet it's fun and I don't mind. I know I wouldn't be doing these things if I wasn't involved, so thank you again for that."

If you'd like to join Jill on this bold, daring, reckless adventure of bringing Grace to a refugee family, email michelle@faceofgrace.org and we'll put you in touch with Jill. The fun never stops!!!!

Two Days After Arrival

Jill & Jacinda have been following up with the family, and they were happy to discover that the family is already making more friends! The apartment was full of people, just as we have often encountered with the Lams (the family we sponsored from Burma last year).

Ah Gate and Po Lone were wearing the shirts Jill had picked out and they looked very nice. The girls looked very pretty as they were wearing some of the clothes from the Kvittam-Barr girls.

Jill set up the time for Don and Yuqin to go clothes shopping with the family on Saturday. To help them to understand when they'd come for them, she drew a picture of a clock and Jacinda drew a July calendar.

Jacinda brought a music player, much to the delight of the girls. She tried to get them to know it was to share; I'm sure they all will.

Po Lone is actually doing better with English today. Although Jill's Burmese pronunciation always seems to be different (we think she has an accent from NoSa's area, because he's the one that has been helping her with her Burmese), everyone has been perfectly happy to help her. They were pleased when she said "good-bye" the way they taught her, although they did confirm that she also knew how to say it another way. Now she must practice both ways.

Although Ah Gate doesn't speak (he was partially paralyzed by a stroke 5 years ago), he seems very aware of all that is going on, so that is good.

Big Day for Ah Gate's Family

On Tuesday afternoon, July 8, Ah Gate, Ah Mee and their three children arrived at Sky Harbor Airport after two days of journeying from the refugee camp in Thailand. They were greeted at the airport by the case worker from Lutheran Social Ministries, and by Jill Coughlin and Joe & Michelle Halonen from Grace.
After loading their 5 bags of belongings into our vehicles, we drove them to their new home. What a wondrous thing to behold as we watched them walk through the door of their apartment and look around to see all that had been prepared for them. Ah Mee was so overcome with emotion that her eyes continually filled with tears. Ah Gate, who suffered a stroke about 5 years ago, was obviously exhausted from his journey. When Po Lone helped him from his wheelchair onto the very cushy couch, Po Lone was so comfortable that he quickly fell asleep, even though he was sitting up.
Mya Min and Ya Min were giggly as they explored their new home, and were especially delighted with the bunk beds they would be sleeping in. Even though we couldn't understand the language, we knew they were each putting dibs on the top bunk.
Po Lone, who recently turned 18, has obviously taken on the role as leader for his family. He listened intently to all the instructions that were given about how to turn on and off the lights, how to regulate the air conditioner, how to use the vacuum cleaner and microwave and rice cooker and stove, and how to use the telephone.
It was fun watching Jill as she spoke a few words of Burmese with the family, and Ah Mee was deeply touched by Jill's desire to communicate.
Jacinda and Tayler Sartorius brought a roasted chicken, and together with Jill, they provided refreshments and dinner for the family's first dinner in America.
In these pictures, you can see Jill trying to communicate with the family using her Burmese word book, and you can see Jacinda showing Ya Min how to turn the living room lamp on and off. What a fun first day in America!

Preparing for the Ah Gate Family - July 2008

Jill Coughlin is heading up the team of volunteers who will be working with Ah Gate, Ah Mee and their family when they arrive this month. A lot of time, effort and amazing generosity of Gracer's has gone into the preparations for their arrival. Mike & Kim Ricker drove many miles throughout the valley to pick up furniture, and Jill & Ron and Michelle & Joe spent many hours sorting through the donations and getting the apartment ready.