Christmas Connection Reflections

The impact of the Christmas Connection project has far outlasted the festive season. Upbeat Refugee Integration Worker, Grace, writes about her first experience dropping off Christmas presents to refugee children who would otherwise go without.

Upbeat Communities would like to thank Derby City Mission and all who generously donated Christmas gifts for their amazing effort and generosity.

This past year was our first experience helping with the Christmas Connection project. After making our way to Overdale House, gathering the presents and food packs for each of our families, we had the privilege of meeting each of them on their doorsteps, not only with the gifts that had been pre-packed with them in mind, but also a smile, a friendly face, and as someone who they knew was genuinely interested in how they were doing.

Each response to our arrival was met with surprise and humility in equal parts, often saying we had brought them too much! Even though our dropping off was a very small portion of the preparation and success of this project, each of them was overwhelmed by the generosity that was being extended to them. It was such a privilege to be a part of those moments.

On one particular drop off, there was a mother and her young daughter who answered the door. After we had placed all the shopping and Christmas presents on their front step, said hello and had a chat, we realized we’d only brought the daughter’s brother’s gifts out of the car. The little girl, unaware that there would also be a present for her, had shyly said thank you when she had only seen her brother’s name.

I excused myself for a second to look in our car again, with her peeking out of their door to watch me, wondering what I was up to. When she saw that I was pulling another bag of toys specifically for her out of the back, her hands went straight into the air and she was jumping with excitement! “Mamá, that one’s for ME!” Beaming as we passed her the last bag, she quickly began opening it to see what was inside.

Knowing that there was also something specifically for her, clearly had an impact – both on her, and her parents.

In the same way that would continue to happen at each house we went to, the mother quickly had invited us in to have coffee and a bite to eat after we had explained what were in each of the bags. Due to COVID, this wasn’t possible at the time, but it struck me, each time this invitation was extended at the several houses we visited, that in the very moment we were extending generosity to them, their first thought was to reciprocate that generosity – not only with a smile, but with an extension into their homes, a sacrificing of their time in the middle of their day, and a warm drink of whatever they had in their kitchens.

At Christmas, we often repeat the phrase “it is better to give than to receive,” but it’s easy to only look at this through a financial lens. The families we interacted with throughout the day reminded us that we can also give time, attention, and friendship, which sometimes carries a far more lasting effect.

Ultimately, to have been extended that invitation and welcome in the very moments where that was meant to be our responsibility, we came away from the deliveries unexpectedly just as overjoyed as that first little girl, if not more so.

To support our work welcoming refugees and inviting them into community all year round, you can make a one-off or monthly donation at upbeatcommunities.org/donate