Today marks a milestone in our work with two Afghan refugee families—moving into permanent housing.

Dawn and I are only a small part of a wonderful team of people from our church caring for these families. Other team members help with teaching English, shopping for clothes, filling out paperwork, engaging with the myriad of agencies providing aid, and especially needed—driving one of the moms with a painful tooth to the dentist several times.

Yesterday a group of us moved furniture into the apartments. All went well, except for one couch that despite shoving and twisting (but no cursing—this being a church move) failed to clear the elevator. Back to the truck with that beast. Our quick-thinking coordinator then bought a new, smaller couch, which fit perfectly. She possessed the resources to buy the couch thanks to generous donations from our church family. Many, many people undergird this effort.

Today we stock pantries and refrigerators and do a final cleaning. Then we pick up the families and drive them to their new homes. We’ll share a lunch to celebrate, gesturing as best we can along the way (little English spoken by the Afghans, not yet, anyway).

I know these families appreciate our work for them, but I don’t want to put too much of a shine on the situation. Displaced refugees face years of hard work and assimilation into a new, strange culture. Months and months of language study await. They miss their families and homeland which they left under traumatic circumstances.

However, in the midst of all the mess, today remains a day to celebrate.

David spoke of hope during a difficult time in his life: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

These young people fled a land of death six months ago and now feed their children in safety. I don’t know their future, just as I don’t know yours or mine, but I do know that today, this day, we’ll experience the goodness of the Lord as we share a meal in their new home.

And that’s enough for now.

If you're interested in reading more about how many refugees fled Afghanistan, here's a good article by George Packer in The Atlantic.

Photo by Robinson Greig