“The investment we make, as a country and as a church, will be paid back many times over.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

When Parkway Road Pentecostal Church first contemplated sponsoring a refugee family, they had no idea how much work is involved. Like many Canadians, they were moved by the suffering they saw and wanted to help.

“For me, it started with the picture of Alan Kurdi on the beach,” says associate pastor Eric Versluis. “I have a son who was three-years-old at the time, so there was a real connection. Obviously it connected with others from the church, as well. We had no idea what it costs [to sponsor a refugee family] or what the process is, but as we researched it we realized we could do this.”

Within five weeks they had pledges for all the money and volunteers they needed. By early November they were paired with a family and, a few weeks later, they learned their family would arrive by New Year.

Versluis says it was hard planning for every possibility. The only information they had about the family was their names, ages, and country of origin.

“The paperwork and fundraising are the easy part,” Versluis states. “It is more, ‘Where will they live? Do we have translators? How do we get them into an English class? What doctors do they go see? Can we find a bank with Arabic services?’”

“The church made us feel welcome and comfortable. We did not have to worry about anything.”

The church took a risk and rented an apartment before the family arrived. With help from a Lebanese immigrant they furnished the house, stocking the fridge a couple days before the family landed.

“It helped so much to have someone who emigrated from Lebanon. When we stocked the apartment we let them get all the right foods—we would have just been guessing.”

The family arrived less than four months after Parkway began talking about the refugee crisis.

“We sponsored a family of three. It is a young couple, Omar and Amar, and they have a baby, Hamoudi, who turned one-year-old in March.”

Omar and Amar celebrate Hamoudi’s first birthday in their new apartment. Photo courtesy of Parkway Road Pentecostal Church.

One of the first things that struck Omar and Amar was how different things are in Canada than what they are used to.

Through a translator, Omar told Spur Ottawa, “It took some time to adjust, but [the church] made us feel welcome and comfortable. They gave us full moral and financial support. We did not have to worry about anything.”

Omar says making refugees feel welcomed and taken care of is one of the most significant ways sponsors can support a new family.

The biggest challenge Omar and Amar faced in their first weeks was finding their way around the city. Parkway worked hard arranging rides and helping Omar and Amar with OC Transpo, but two unforeseen problems made things harder: Amar arrived with a broken ankle and the cell phones Parkway provided did not have data plans.

“That’s one thing we probably did wrong,” Versluis says. “We weren’t thinking that they need to go online to check what things mean or access the bus system. Not every store has Wi-Fi, so we quickly decided to set them up with data.”

What impresses Versluis most about the family is their drive to make a new life in Canada.

“Being involved in this process is one of the things that makes you feel alive.”

“You hear people saying that refugees will be a drain on the system,” he says, “but from what I’ve seen, the initial investment we make, as a country and as a church, will be paid back many times over. They have such motivation to integrate and contribute to society.

“We are thrilled we were able to do this. Being involved in this process is one of the things that makes you feel alive. This is what we are supposed to do—give our time and energy to help somebody else. Absolutely, it has been worth it.”