From Paperwork to Planning Meals

Julaine Palmer stewards her call to newcomer ministry

BY RENÉE JAMES

THERE WAS NO “road to Damascus” moment for Julaine Palmer when it came to her decades-long ministry to refugees and newcomers to Canada. “It was just always there,” she says, fuelled by her lifelong interest in different countries and missions, and a two-year experience at an international school. Being part of congregations receptive to refugee and newcomer ministry also helped. In fact, since the 1980s, Julaine and her husband George Neil have been involved in refugee sponsorship at every Canadian Baptist church they’ve attended. “We never thought about it,” she declares. “We just did it.”

Obedience and generosity mark Julaine’s ministry – so evident in 1988 when she and George obeyed her sense that

Julaine’s Tips for Welcoming Newcomers

1 Keep on top of the paperwork

There’s a lot of paperwork when sponsoring a refugee!

2 Always be part of a team

It’s so helpful to draw on different talents, gifts and interests.

3 Integrate newcomers Use meals for vocabulary building.

4 Read up on refugee sponsorship rstp.ca (Refugee Sponsorship Training Program) offers a wealth of information. Make it your first go-to resource.

God wanted them to open their home to three Vietnamese siblings who were living in a refugee camp in Malaysia at the time and had been turned down for sponsorship by a family. The youngest was three years old. The children arrived in Canada on January 21, 1988. That day became Airplane Day in the Palmer family; a day on which George, Julaine and the children celebrated their arrival.

At the time of writing this profile, it’s week two of Julaine having opened her home to Rolan, a “kind and thoughtful” young man from the Middle East. A small group of Gilmour Baptist Church congregants and friends put up the funds required for Rolan’s successful sponsorship. Julaine faithfully stickhandled the paperwork and has opened her home to him, probably for a year.

As a former lawyer, Julaine remains undaunted by the realms of paperwork sponsoring a refugee demands. Nor does she shy away from holding the federal government accountable. “The delay in processing applications is shameful,” she declares. “Canada is a country built on immigration but the government hasn’t backed up its talk with adequate funds.”

Sharing her gifts of administration and advocacy is one thing. Having to grow in other areas… quite another. “It’s a big stretch for me after newcomers arrive. I’m more task-oriented and it’s important to spend time with newcomers once they arrive,” she says, “making connections and talking. That’s not my personality or strong suit.” Fair enough, but invite Julaine to share more about the impact of newcomer ministry in her life and her tenderness comes through. “When Roland came to church that first Sunday, I told him not to spend time thanking me for doing the paperwork,” she shares. “I said to him how thankful I was, and the church was, that he was here at last.” Her voice clutches and you can hear the tears.

Julaine’s tears speak to a deep recognition of her place in God’s plan; a sense which translates into her refusal to count the cost of her home-based hospitality. “Newcomers and refugees become your family,” she insists. “You don’t really count the cost. They are your children or grown children and so it all comes naturally.” She’s the first to admit that this is a good thing for her – a naturally frugal person. Opening her home “feels different somehow than supporting someone else’s refugee ministry,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate to live in Canada; to have had a good education, solid job, supportive husband and the resources to share. And the church has always been supportive – pantry showers, furniture donations and more. God works out things like that all the time.”

God works out things. Julaine understands, perhaps better than most, the barriers that may stop someone from getting started opening their homes, and lives, to welcome a stranger. She understands the food barrier – so much of hospitality involves the preparation and offering of food, so what to cook and how are valid concerns. No one wants to get it “wrong.” “Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” she offers.

She also understands the powerful barrier that fear becomes, particularly for those who have not grown up in large cosmopolitan areas. “We can be afraid of the different,” she suggests, “especially when we’ve lived in homogenous towns or neighbourhoods, and our families have lived in those areas for generations. People interpret God’s call to live out the Great Commission as a call to go overseas when perhaps missions can happen right in your community –any place where there are refugee settlement organizations that rely heavily on volunteers.”

Don’t be afraid. God works out things.