Years had gone by since a young Liberian boy found himself in a refugee camp in Côte d'Ivoire. Unbeknownst to him, God was using that experience to put in motion a most miraculous adoption process.
In this camp, the boy had been on the receiving end of the kindness and compassion of a missionary--John Seaman from the Church of the Nazarene. As this boy grew into a man, he and many others were given the opportunity to come to the United States on refugee status due to the terrible civil war that raged in their homeland. He had become the leader of a group of Liberians that the United Nations resettled in four communities throughout Upstate New York in Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo.
The young man, Dao Kamara, joined about 200 others who were placed in the downtown Buffalo, New York, location. He worked to administrate and care for the needs of his people as they tried to adjust to this mysterious and foreign country.
Their group was composed of people from various Liberian tribes that at one time had fought against each other in their homeland and now needed to become unified in this new land. Barriers of poverty, illiteracy, and their refugee status loomed largely before them. Thankfully, language was a minor barrier since most of the Liberians knew and spoke a form of English.
About 98 percent of the refugees were Christians and it was suggested that they organize into a church to help the spirit of community develop. They began meeting in an inner-city location.
Finding a home
In December 2008, as this process proceeded, Kamara remembered the goodness of the Nazarene missionary from years ago. He began to search for ways to find out more about this church. As a student at the University of Buffalo, he had access to information through the Internet. He located the contact information for the International Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City and made the connection. He was given the telephone number of District Superintendent (Coach) Bill Carr and, after a short discussion, Coach Carr called upon the Amherst Church of the Nazarene, located in a suburb of Buffalo, to come along side and prepare for a possible church adoption!
Now, most adoptions begin with parents expectantly awaiting a call from an adoption agency. The telephone rings and they run to the phone hoping that “their” child will soon arrive.
This God-arranged adoption did not fit such a pattern.
The Amherst church was not anticipating a call, but God, in His mysterious ways, had their pastor less than one mile away from Dao’s apartment, looking for a missing runaway teenager. Only God could have designed such unusual circumstances! Dao and Pastor Pat began meeting together and testing the waters of compatibility of the two groups in anticipation of a future full-fledged adoption into the Church of the Nazarene.
Forming community
Physical needs were the first order of business. Clothing, furniture, and food were gathered by members of the Amherst church and distributed to those in immediate need. As Christmas approached, each of the 89 children under the age of 17 received a wrapped Christmas present while each family unit received a Christmas meal complete with all the fixings. Various churches throughout the Upstate New York District donated choir robes as the New Year began, so that the “Diale choir” (dialect choir) and the “English choir” could be properly outfitted.
Meeting at the Lord’s table was next on the list as the Liberian community longed to participate in communion but, due to a lack of an ordained elder, had refrained from such a service so as not to “partake in an unworthy manner.” Pastor Pat and a team of more than 15 members from the Amherst church began training and overseeing the distribution of communion elements on the first Sunday of each month. A complete communion tray set was purchased and presented to them as a gift from their parent church.
The two congregations have had some interesting opportunities to combine in fellowship. On Wednesday evenings there is an established Women’s Bible Study led by the Amherst pastor’s wife, that some of the Liberian women have begun attending. On Good Friday, the two churches combined with the men of the Buffalo City Mission and had a worship service that left the men of the mission asking for more and more worship!
A new family
As physical and spiritual needs were being met by the Amherst church, the administrative needs were being met by Coach Carr through a series of meetings with the Amherst pastor and the Liberian leadership team. As a result of these meetings, the Liberian church has signed a letter of intent to join the International Church of the Nazarene, stating their agreement with the Articles of Faith and all major theological issues of the church.
Recently, some of the Liberian leaders were invited to attend the Upstate New York District Assembly. The hope is that all involved will see how big a church we are and how big a God we serve!
The adoption is still early in the birthing stage. The entire event will unfold over time. Plans for a new place of worship as well as a compassionate ministry center and multi-cultural community center are in the works. Development of an ESL program for reading and writing purposes for adults and a parochial/home school program to help young people get up to grade level are all being developed. Sunday school and membership classes will begin in the near future. Assistance with pastoral training and attainment of citizenship papers will be facilitated as well as employment counseling and skills development classes.
The Amherst Church of the Nazarene has been blessed with the opportunity to adopt a church that is twice its size in numbers. Raising a “child” is never easy, but with God’s help, using the Amherst Church of the Nazarene as the parent and the Upstate New York District as grandparents the Liberian Church will stand as a model of multicultural blessings.
-- Pat Fleming is pastor of Amherst Church of the Nazarene in Buffalo, New York, and serves as a community chaplain.