Today I saw a part of Jesus I’d never seen before.
My wife and I are part of a ministry team operating in the Shadowood Apartments, located in the East Charlotte neighborhood of Briar Creek. We are in the heart of the most culturally diverse part of the city, with over 80 nationalities gathered in a one mile radius.
Many of those people are, of course, people who came to the country willfully seeking a better life. But many were displaced from their homeland through political, social, or religious persecution and oppression and have been relocated here. The term we use to describe such a person is a “refugee.”
There are a large number of refugees here in Charlotte, brought here by governmental organizations and religious relief services. They come from all over the world. Some are from countries that we are familiar with, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Others are from places we may not have even heard of: Bhutan, Myanmar, and Eritrea. But they are here now, legally, and as guests of the United States.
They are provided an apartment to live in free of charge for 90 days, and their basic needs are provided. But they know no one. They speak little or no English. Often, they are unable to even read or write in their native language. And the challenges of American society can be overwhelming. Finding employment, filling out forms, figuring out governmental bureaucracies, and getting transportation can all seem like monumental tasks in a situation where your world has been turned upside down. Many come from a land totally unlike anything they encounter here. Many are, no doubt, frightened, lonely, and confused.
Fortunately for them, there are people in Charlotte who want to help. Every Wednesday, at Shadowood Apartments, three different ministries / organizations come together to try to be Jesus to the refugees in the city of Charlotte. Today, for the first time, Susanne and I got to see this in action. I almost wept as I saw Jesus being put on display in a powerful way. For two hours, dozens of men and women came and found answers to the questions they were facing. Mail was read and explained. Medicaid forms were filled out. Computer viruses were detected and destroyed. Clothing and food were provided. And people who were strangers now have new friends.
One of the ethnic groups with a large representation here in Charlotte are the Montagnards, who came here from Vietnam. I first became aware of these very friendly and outgoing people at the church Susanne and I attend, Briar Creek Road Baptist Church. There is a Montagnard congregation that meets in our facility, and I was introduced to some of their leaders a few weeks ago.
The term “Montagnard” is French, and means “people from the mountains.” Although these people come from the Central Highlands of Vietnam, they are not Vietnamese. They are a distinct ethnic group with their own culture. They initially came into contact with the west through Catholic missionaries in the 19th century and were heavily evangelized by Protestants in the 1930’s. Many became Christians.
During the Vietnam War, the Central Highlands were strategically important and the Montegnards allied themselves with the American forces. Thousands fought and died alongside our troops. After the war, about 2000 were able to escape to America, but the vast majority were left behind. Of those that came to the United States, many chose to come to North Carolina in order to be close to the friends they had made in the American military’s special forces.
Since the war, the Vietnamese government has persecuted the Montagnards because of their Christianity and because they helped the Americans during the war. Many have been tortured and imprisoned for their faith. And, while some have died a martyr’s death, some continue to try to make it out of their country and apply for refugee status. Those who succeed are brought to the United States, where North Carolina is still their number one destination. Outside of Greensboro, Charlotte has the largest Montegnard population in the country.
When I first met some of the Montegnard people, I felt a strong kinship. I told them that, just as they had come here from Vietnam’s Central Highlands, two centuries ago my ancestors had come here from the Highlands of Scotland. But my ancestors were able to build a life by hunting and farming off the unspoiled land in the New World. If that world existed today, the Montegnards would probably do just as well as my ancestors did, since in Vietnam, they too had lived off the land. But that is not possible in Charlotte’s world of concrete, steel, and glass. This place is as foreign to them as foreign can be.
But thanks to the help of some people in the city who care about those who are in great need, it’s not quite as foreign as it used to be. I heard someone from Afghanistan describing one of the volunteers who was helping him as “my good friend.” May God send more and more people into the world to be “good friends” to those who desperately need one.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
