In this second installment of Mennonite Mission Network’s Here With Purpose webinar series, moderator Lane Miller, regional director for Africa and Europe, joins panelists Joseph and Rachel Givens, Barbara West and Kathy Howell to share stories of accompaniment, hope and resilience walking alongside people on the move in Calais, France.
Joseph and Rachel Givens are Mission Network workers in Calais, accompanying volunteers with the Maria Skobtsova Housing Association and wider community in Calais, France. The Association offers temporary shelter to people migrating from the Middle East and Africa, primarily, who are seeking refuge en route to England.
Barbara West and Kathy Howell have served as volunteers with the Maria Skobtsova House multiple times through Mission Network’s SOOP (Service Opportunities with Our Partners) service program.
In the above video excerpt, Howell reflected on how seeing children back at home in her day-to-day life reminds her of the children that she spent time with at the Maria Skobtsova House: children who love to laugh, play and explore in similar ways, even if the situations they are living in are quite different.
The stories Howell reads in the newspaper of people attempting to seek asylum in the United States also remind her of the women and children seeking shelter at the Maria Skobtsova House, who also travel great distances in search of a place to call home.
Her time serving in Calais reminds her that, “there is always more to the story than you know. And that we as humans long to care for each other and help where we can.”
“The biggest surprise for me was the joy,” said West.
In spite of stress and the uncertainty of the future for the residents at the Maria Skobtsova House, West was struck by the joy shared in birthday celebrations, holidays, and day-to-day activities.
“It’s just an amazing example to have people be practicing joy and humor in these circumstances,” she said.
A typical day at the Maria Skobtsova House was “not typical,” recalled Howell. “You don’t know what you’re going to find.”
While each day brought unique joys and challenges, there were a few constants. Laundry. The evening community meal. Time for prayer and song. Howell and West had put careful thought into which songs they could teach the children at the house that would be both easy to learn and encouraging. They were delighted when they would hear the children singing some version of a song they had taught them earlier at prayer time.
“To know that they were taking that gift with them from their time at the house, that was rich and meaningful,” Howell said.
