As we pulled out of the driveway last night, I asked Marinda if we were crazy for loading our four sleeping kids into the minivan at 11:30 pm to drive to the airport and greet people who we knew very little about: their last name, that they’d had a long day of flights from the other side of the world, and maybe they had some kids. By the time we returned at nearly 2:00 am, the answer was clear – we hadn’t been crazy.
On the way to the airport, Marinda and I both felt a bit nervous and wondering how the night would play out. We were also a little excited after working toward starting this new adventure over the past couple months. The Kasongo* family’s flight had been delayed nearly an hour from the planned arrival time – glad we checked the flight status before leaving home. At dinner earlier in the evening I invited the kids to think of another country they’d like to go to where no one spoke English. They came up with a few ideas, and then talked about what it’d be like to move there, not knowing anyone, and how they’d feel to have someone meet them at the airport.
Upon arriving at the airport, after a few minutes of searching we found Alejandro, the CCS leader and then met several CCS case workers (help the refugee families in various ways). We also met the other people helping mentor this family – Kassidy and Ed. Alejandro shared a print out with their names and information on their ages and genders. Turned out to be a husband and wife of similar ages to Marinda and I with 7 kids ranging from 1 to 15, five girls and two boys. As I had guessed from my internet search their country of origin is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
After waiting for a while – longer than anticipated, I asked Raul who helps them navigate through the airport to the baggage claim area and was surprised to learn that no one does. He noted that sometimes they end up coming out in another terminal. Sometimes, they just sit in the airport for a long time not knowing what to do. Eventually someone from the airport will help find them, often at Alejandro’s request. Anyway, we put a banner with their name out and waited. Eventually, they arrived, carrying some luggage, having jackets/hats/gloves that presumably had been given them by someone, somewhere from the time they left whatever camp/housing situation they had and we learned flew from South Africa to New York City to Salt Lake – some 20+ hours in the air. The baby was secured to Mom’s back with a fabric wrap and looking very cute. All the girls had lovely hair extensions with various colors and threads woven through them. There was relief on the Dad’s face. We were relieved there was a translator to communicate with them. After a quick photo by their sign, taken by Alejandro (I hope we get copies someday) and some introductions, we headed off to find their luggage. It took me a while to figure this out, but there was also a refugee with this family that seemed to be on her own – I don’t think she was a relative, but was with the group. We’ll probably learn more next time we meet them.
There were 5 suitcases of theirs on the luggage carousel. Unfortunately, there was a 6th one missing (it eventually turned up). As we waited, I tried speaking with them and was pleased to find that there was some level of English proficiency – not a ton, but we were able to communicate some. I asked one of the girls (13 or 15 years old) how she felt about moving to America – she said happy with a big sweet smile. As the time dragged on trying to find out about the suitcase, I decided to sit on the floor and call the kids together for a circle game where we sing a song and clap hands from one person to the next in the circle. It was fun – I’m glad my oldest 3 kids participated and their 3 kids from ages 3 to 9 participated. It was fun, helped pass the time, and helped build a little friendship. Eventually the missing luggage was found and we headed off to the parking garage.
Goodbyes were said as they loaded into a couple vans to be taken to their new home – a rental had been arranged for them already by CCS. Alejandro has arranged an introductory meeting on Thursday December 29, which will be at their home. Ed, Kassidy, and us will all be there, along with CCS folks and presumably translator. (Sidenote – the translator last night for CCS had arrived in America about 4 years ago, a refugee himself.)
Our family headed back to our van and drove home. Marinda and I brainstormed a bit and wondered if they might be interested in seeing the Christmas lights downtown at temple square. Maybe on Friday Dec. 30 we’ll try taking them downtown. That will involve bus and/or train excursions with them as we’re encouraged to help them learn the mass transit system. Also, we can’t very well fit their family of 9 and our family of 6 in our van. We processed the experience, pleased with how it turned out and feeling like we had some new friends. We’re looking forward to getting to know them more as they begin their lives in their new home, city, and country. Turned out that leaving home with the kids at 11:30 pm to meet a refugee family as they arrive at their new home was a good thing. I was relieved that the kids managed to be well behaved with minimal grumpiness as they met some new friends.
* Note: names in our blog are changed for people that haven’t given permission to use real names. Similarly, we are not posting identifiable images of those people. This stems from a request CCS made during initial training.