Reflections from Restore

Catherine Bridgwood, Restore’s Befriending Co-ordinator writes:

As a Restore staff team, we recently started our week reflecting on Matthew 6:34 ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’

It was helpful as a team to step back and consider how as individuals we seek to take on board that Gospel message. There is a challenge to live in the present and to engage wholly with the small interactions we have each day with one another and with those we meet through our work, when so often our minds can be elsewhere. We feel privileged to have the encounters that we do with those seeking sanctuary in Birmingham and believe we have much to learn from those we meet, investing in each encounter is so valuable.

Reflecting on our own privilege, we considered this passage again. Is it easy for us with secure employment, accommodation and immigration statuses to approach this Gospel passage? No, of course not!

But it did lead us to consider our own position and how the Gospel speaks to us.

At the end of September 2022, 117, 400 people seeking sanctuary were awaiting an initial asylum decision. In this waiting for an asylum claim to be determined, people face such uncertainty. So many lives in limbo. Restore’s work is relational.  Walking alongside people in the midst of uncertainty is central to what we do as staff and volunteer befrienders. It can often feel as if what we have to offer is so little. But sometimes, sitting with that uncertainty can be so powerful.  We might not have the power to change a situation, but we can be there. I have such admiration for the grace with which people hold themselves in uncertainty and have no doubt that God is present in even the darkest of situations that we come across.

So what does this passage mean in this context of major uncertainty?

As a team we reflected on the timelessness of the passage, the encouragement that God is present no matter what the worry or trouble. So, as we reflected on our own challenge to live differently in response to the Gospel, we really called to mind those for whom this challenge takes on a whole different meaning.

Restore’s vision is for a society into which all refugees and asylum seekers are welcomed, valued and integrated. Last year we made 51 befriending matches and at the end of the year had 115 ongoing befriending matches and had hosted 63 different activities for our men’s and women’s groups as well as groups of families.

It’s always great to hear from both our volunteers and those we support about the impact that involvement with Restore has had on them. A volunteer recently wrote:

‘‘I met my befriendee in early 2022 and since then we have become very good friends. I no longer see this as a “volunteering job” but just as if  I am meeting up with my friend for food or a coffee. Some of the things we enjoy doing together are sharing food from each other’s culture, going to the park, for a coffee, or fun things for her daughter such as the cinema. She is always so grateful for my time and I am always happy to help her…. My befriendee is from Iran and there has been a lot of civil unrest there and some truly heart-breaking news. My befriendee misses her family so much and struggles daily with not being there with them. Since meeting me, she has said she feels like she is no longer alone and that I am her family here. I care deeply for my befriendee, and whilst I hope the situation in Iran improves, if it doesn’t, I know that we will always be in each other’s lives.’’

Refugees and asylum seekers have also written of their experiences of being befriended in 2022.

 “My befriender helped me learn more about Birmingham and the laws. She also helped me improve my English. She took me around Birmingham  when I needed to take my mind off things. Moreover, she became a real friend  to me, and I knew if I needed anything she will help me.”

‘‘My befriender helped me and my family for every things in my life in UK, he really became my friend, I‘m so happy by this friendship.’’

‘‘My befriender help a lot, we went through quite hard period of my life and I received really great amount of support from my befriender.’’

Restore also continues to be involved in campaigns calling for a more compassionate, fairer and more just treatment of those seeking sanctuary in the UK. We are members of the Together with Refugees Coalition, which most recently involved a day of action on 14^th February asking people to ‘show their hearts’ for refugees, opposing the proposed government scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, calling for more safe routes for refugees to travel to the UK and allowing asylum seekers to work.

If you’re interested in discovering more about befriending and our next training course in June, keeping in the loop with Restore and getting involved in campaigning for change, please join our mailing list by clicking here.