By Roberta Sarraf
Refugee Resettlement Team

In Genesis, the rainbow is a sign of a covenant between God and his people, promising care and protection.

In legal terms, a covenant is a written agreement promising the performance of certain actions.

When Westminster’s Refugee Resettlement Team executed a written agreement to sponsor a family, we made a covenant in both senses of the word. We promised to carry out certain duties required by the resettlement agency, but the unwritten promise was to care for and protect this family.

We maintained confidentiality to protect their identities. We respected their Muslim faith. We didn’t ask prying questions, but showed compassion for what we could only imagine they had endured.

We accomplished the tasks assigned to us. We furnished housing, applied for benefits on their behalf, enrolled the children in school, oversaw their medical care, found employment for the adults, and oriented the family to their new culture.

But we did so much more. In the first month, a group of volunteers stood by at 4:00 a.m.to provide transportation in case the wage earner missed the bus. When the children were sick, we responded to their call for help, no matter the hour. We became “aunties” to the toddler twins. We taught Dad how to drive. We helped the family plant a vegetable garden. We sent the children to summer camp. We celebrated everyone’s birthdays.

While our yearlong legal commitment to the family has expired, the bond of friendship and love remains our covenant with them.

As you read this, the team is in the early weeks of covenanting with a new family. May God bless their journey.