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Clarkston Ministry Team 2010 Report:
REFUGEE: A person outside of his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Since the early 1990’s, international agencies have resettled nearly 50,000 refugees here in Clarkston, Georgia, only eight miles from Westminster Church. The city of Clarkston is now home to one of the most diverse populations in the entire country. The high school enrolls students from over 50 countries, and Clarkston International Bible Church hosts fifteen different ethnic congregations. Visitors drive by the local mosque, Hindu temple, and international food markets. Some of the world’s most vulnerable people come to our own backyard: Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, Sudan, Vietnam, Nigeria… families fleeing war-torn countries and years lived in crowded refugee camps. It’s a story covered on the pages of the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, while the book Outcasts United has become required reading at many of the country’s colleges and universities. (Universal Studios even won a bidding war for the movie rights to the story of the local refugee soccer team.)
Westminster’s interest in a Clarkton project began in 2009 with Ginny and Kristine, two church members working full-time with refugee families. We’d sponsored Christmas parties, donated food,
and prayed for work opportunities. Our first “missions trip” then came together last summer, and was our first real attempt to immerse ourselves in loving and welcoming world neighbors. After a successful launch in 2009, we were eager to do something similar this year. So, again, our Missions committee encouraged a second "trip" and a team from Westminster partnered with other churches and organizations to bus 120 children out to Camp Westminster. Alongside friends from Grace Presbyterian Church in Chelsea, Alabama, we moved to Conyers for a week that promised to be interesting. With the incredible help of Camp Westminster staff and Friends of Refugees, a nonprofit organization operating in Clarkston, we were able to provide children in grades 1-8 an opportunity to ride horses, climb walls, catch fish, and learn to swim. The hope for our team from Westminster was that we’d be challenged to continue to show real hospitality to our new Refugee friends, even as the week ended. Since August, many of our team members have continued to volunteer and serve in the Clarkston area. And while the physical needs are many, our greatest hope is for our new world friends to meet and know Jesus.