Summer with Refugee Support
Since Newcomer’s Camp at the beginning of July, refugee support has been busy with events all throughout the summer! It’s been so good continuing to build relationships and I’d love to share some of what’s going on with our wider Tenth community.
Each week, we hold our weekly Sunday afternoon events. Whether it be a barbeque in Trout Lake, a waterpark day at Granville Island, or joining Journey Home’s picnic in New Westminster, Sundays have been a time of connection, food and fun. Newcomers and volunteers alike enjoyed the time spent in the sun!
These Sunday events will be continuing weekly through until the Labour Day weekend in September, and I look forward to further times of connection and laughter. We have some soccer games, music nights and park walks planned for the rest of the summer, as well as a Newcomer’s camp reunion near the end of August. I am especially looking forward to the reunion because so many friendships created at camp have persisted through the summer!
There are also other events happening in the community, led by some of our amazing volunteers. Rosaline Oh, who leads a newcomer’s ladies adventure group, is hosting several beach days for newcomer women. Bringing kayaks and paddleboards to Jericho Beach. It has been so much fun for them, and such a great opportunity for some of them women to try new things in a safe and welcoming environment.
Isn’t the great outdoors such a great place for connection? There’s also been a group of Newcomer men that have been meeting for walks, hikes and usually ice cream! Alongside volunteer Wayne Ostrowercha, these have been times to build and deepen friendships and explore the beautiful area that we live in! We are hoping to have some more of these throughout the summer!
We had a special event called Just Bags earlier this month. In partnership with some Tenth Missionaries from China, we spent time making beautiful handmade wallets and earrings. This is part of the Business as Mission component of our Justice Journeys initiative led by Ana Velazquez. The next Just Bags event will be September 9th, stay tuned for details.
As you can see, the summer has been full for refugee support. What a joy it has been for me to walk alongside the incredible team that we have and our newcomer friends. If you would like to get involved in this ministry at Tenth, please email me at refugeesupport@tenth.ca and I’d love to get in touch with you!