At 6:45 AM, we journeyed to the lower level of the Center. Jesse met us and introduced us to a refugee simulator. We placed ourselves into the story of families who were in the process of being displaced from their homes by conflict and violence. The simulation was complete with sound effects, adjusted lighting, and tokens to trade personal property in exchange for food and a safe passage across a river.
After we completed the activity, Jesse gave us a presentation that explained the reality of millions of people across the globe who who are unable to to live in their homes. The trues stories of families who are affected by displacement affected us deeply, and the activity helped us to better appreciate the tragedy of unwanted displacement and to respond with sober empathy.
From the refugee simulation, we moved into a chronic poverty simulator. We were divided into four teams. Each team worked together to make paper bags out of sheets of paper and flour glue which would be sold in exchange for currency that kept rent, food, and medical bills paid. Some groups were able to do well. Other groups succumbed to events beyond their control and were driven into deep, inescapable debt. This activity helped us to better visualize some of the difficult environmental factors that make escaping chromic poverty difficult for many people.
We spent time in prayer and then began to pack lunches to share with homeless people. Each parcel contained a sandwich, a cookie, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water.
Many people without homes live in New York City. We set out in groups of three with lunches in hand, seeking these people along the streets, in parks, and in subway stations to pray with and to bless with food.
After returning to the Center and dining on pizza, we had our last event for the day: an activity to illustrate certain factors in cross-cultural communication. We split into two teams: anthropologists and people of an unknown culture. The anthropologists were given the challenging task of learning how to effectively communicate with a new culture. This activity abounded with perplexed looks and much laughter and reminded us to suspend judgement and communicate with curiosity and graciousness when engaging with people of a culture that we don’t understand.
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