I sat with a woman from Somalia in her small apartment living room in Nashville. She was one of our older students who had grown up and spent most of her life in a refugee camp in Kenya. She had never been to school, never learned to read in her own language. This woman was [...]
Ok. So there are way more than three things to unlearn when working cross-culturally, but who would read a post called 537 things to unlearn? That’s overwhelming. And that is part of the issue when working cross-culturally, there’s a lot to learn, unlearn, and relearn. But here’s three big ones! 1. The idea that no [...]
Good morning! Welcome! How are you? It’s so good to see you again! These are the things I repeat over and over again the first week of English classes. I love the first week! I love seeing our returning students after the summer break. I love seeing their smiles and excitement to be back in [...]
The biographies of the chefs in The Kitchen without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs featured several common themes. Many of them started cooking by growing up watching or helping loved ones cook in their home kitchens: mothers, grandmothers, and even uncles. Several also hope to pass down their cooking and cultural [...]
Last time, I explored both my familiar grocery store and an unfamiliar one to get all the ingredients to make a few Middle Eastern dishes. Now, let me tell you how those ingredients are being put to use as I (attempt to) cook. This post is not a “how to make” the following dishes, but [...]
Equipped with The Kitchen without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs, I was tasked with creating two to three dishes from different places. Over the next three posts, I explore what it was like to find the ingredients, make the dishes, and experience the reactions toward the food as well as the [...]
Servant Group International is a Christian nonprofit which strives to encourage and equip the body of Christ to love and serve our Middle Eastern neighbors. Our local programs provide a supportive and friendship-based environment to serve refugees and immigrants in Middle Tennessee. Part-time or Full-Time Local Programs Assistant Job Summary – The ministry of Servant [...]
Sew For Hope is a program of SGI which shares the hope and love of Christ through multi-level sewing classes in a supportive and friendship-based environment to encourage, empower and seek employment for refugee women in middle Tennessee. Part-time Employment Specialist Job Summary – The vibrant and growing ministry of Sew for Hope seeks an [...]
Our women’s English classes have been running for over 10 years now! It’s been beautiful to see our student body grow from just a handful in 2013 to having served 114 women in the past school year (and nearly 70 preschool aged children as well!). We ran a book drive last year and have been [...]
Last week one Syrian friend shared with us that her brother was diagnosed with brain cancer. He had been having horrible headaches and dizzy spells for months, and thought it was just the residual effects of the war and shrapnel that had been lodged in his head from a previous injury. When the doctors told my friend [...]
