[Nevertheless] It's Messy

We've been meeting for over a year, planning for months, preparing for weeks. The lease for the apartment is signed, the apartment furnished with donations, pantry and fridge stocked, medical appointments made, paperwork for Social Security and Department of Social Services at the ready. The refugee family New Start Ministry is resettling was scheduled to arrive yesterday.

And then they didn't. 

They were delayed leaving, so we wait anxiously for them to be on their way. We pray for them, for whatever is holding up their departure to resolve quickly, for God's peace to blanket them - and us. 

We cancel appointments, put other things on hold, and check our email frequently for news. It could be days, or weeks. We hope for days. We can't imagine what they must be going through. 

We can barely wait to welcome these people we've never met into our community and our lives; to help them learn what they need to learn in order to thrive in their new home; but most of all to see them safely on American soil. Safe.

I don't deal well with not knowing what's going to happen or how people are doing. When our "other child," Fynn, was in the emergency department with his parents, my OCD took over and I did a ton of laundry. Since we found out about the delay, I've been cleaning my living room - decluttering, rearranging, and reorganizing. 

As the IRIS Co-sponsorship Program Manual states: "Refugee Resettlement is Rewarding ... and Messy!" Apparently, so is my house.