EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Gatjeak Gew was 7 years old when the Sudanese Civil War struck South Sudan and his family decided to flee the country. For months, he, his mom, and three siblings stayed in a refugee camp in Kenya with other South Sudanese families who also fled the turmoil. They waited there to receive their immigrant visas.

One night as the family sat quietly in their camp, a local rebel group attacked the refugees. Confused, shocked, and terribly afraid, the family ran for their lives. Gatjeak remembers seeing people die. Trying to escape the savage, murderous rebels, the family ran until they reached a nearby United Nations aid station about a half mile away.

Culture Shock

After months of waiting, the family finally received their immigrant visas. They settled in the Midwest, a common area for many South Sudanese refugees. From age 7 to 14, Gatjeak lived in Omaha, Nebraska. When he turned 15, his family moved to Minnesota.

The Midwest soon became home for Gatjeak. His family found decent-paying jobs and lived close to many other Sudanese families. They were grateful and happy, but that did not mean living in the United States was always easy. Gatjeak struggled with significant inconsistencies between American culture and his native culture, called Nuer.

“There were certainly difficulties growing up,” Gatjeak says. “Reconciling the disparities between American culture and Nuer culture was difficult for me. I was suddenly immersed in a new world and still hadn’t fully understood the place I came from.”

Despite the differences, Gatjeak found comfort in his forever home with Christ. “I knew my place in God’s Kingdom despite not always feeling I knew where I belonged in this world,” he says.

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