TERRACE welcomed its second and third Syrian families with the second arriving mid-month and the third on Oct. 20.
Terrace Christian Reformed pastor Joel Ringma said the family the church sponsored arrived mid-month and consists of a husband, and wife with three children between the ages of eight and 14.
Two boys are now enrolled at Skeena Middle School and a girl is enrolled at Suwilaawks Community School.
Their arrival was pretty low key as a member of the Terrace Christian Reformed Church Refugee Sponsorship Committee and a member of a Syrian family already here met them at the airport to welcome them.
Prior to coming here, the family had been living in a major city in Turkey for about two years, said Ringma.
He said they are grateful for all that people have done to get them here and were surprised with all the items already waiting for them in their place, including furniture.
“It’s obviously exciting and makes it feel like the world is a global village, helping our fellow humans across the globe,” said Ringma.
“They are so full of gratitude for the opportunity to be here, and to have a place filled with stuff.”
People have been very generous and the community has stepped up to help, he added.
A plan is in place to teach them English with an instructor and the kids will get some English language lessons at school, he said.
The Terrace Christian Reformed Church Refugee Sponsorship Committee has been working with the Terrace Sponsors Syrian Refugee Families group, who brought in the first Syrian family here earlier this summer, and the two groups have shared information and some fundraisers.
The committee knew it had been accepted two or three months ago and would have a family in a while but expected it would take a few weeks or months before the family would arrive, said Ringma.
Then about five or six days before the family arrived, the group learned the family would be on its way, he added.
The third family, sponsored by a private group called a Group of 5, a term used by the federal government, welcomed its Syrian family on Oct. 20.
That family consists of a husband and wife and two young children.