I spent hours waiting for the bus last week.
On warm and sunny days, spending a few minutes at the bus stop doesn’t seem that bad. Waiting in the cold rain, however, is pretty miserable, especially if you have an appointment to which you’re definitely going to arrive late.
I took the bus so often because I was on Lipscomb’s Serve the City missing trip team, working with newly arrived refugees in Nashville. Not only did we learn how to master public transit, but we maneuvered the health system, got library cards, ate a lot of PB&J’s and spent three hours at the DMV.
Our team of nine worked with six refugees from Somalia and Burma. When I first met them, they struck me as lovely and intelligent people who just happened to be displaced from their home countries. We soon learned, though, that each of them went through hell and high water to reach the United States. As the week progressed, I stopped thinking of them as “the refugees” and started thinking of them as Ibrahim, Mohamed, Hassan, Hussein, Aung Gi and LinLing.
It must have happened as we spent hours laughing and talking, playing soccer with an empty plastic water bottle, riding the seesaw at Cumberland Park and learning that the culture gap isn’t so wide after you’ve crossed Nolensville Road on foot during rush hour and survived.
In America, we make memes about “first world problems” and occasionally remember to give $5 to the poor. Yet what we often lack is the ability to see the world through a lens of grateful curiosity — a viewpoint I saw in our refugee friends over and over this week.
I saw it on Hassan’s face when he learned that anyone can go to the emergency room — not just those with high financial or social status.
I saw it when LinLing opened a sleeve of Smarties candy that she had been given and glowed when she took the first bite.
I saw it in Ibrahim’s teary eyes when he thanked us at the end of the week for all the time and effort we spent showing them the resources Nashville has to offer.
Yet I am the one who is thankful to them for blessing me with their gracious and hospitable hearts this week. Because of them, I got to see Nashville through the eyes of a newcomer, and I realized how blessed I am to live here.