Imagine a teenage boy whose country has been ripped apart by a war that has rocked the world. His family is destitute and eager to get out of a place where they are still being persecuted. The war has brought them nothing but poverty and death. They can’t afford to send everyone though, they can [...]
Chrissie is a mother of 4 and the life of the party. She and her family spent two months in Greece partnering with our refugee friends to feed the hungry, to entertain kids, and to love those dealing with grief and trauma past and present. She's fun, crazy, and a real person. Here are 20 questions [...]
The Towers Fell I was a teenager when the towers fell, the first 9/11. I remember watching it happen on TV and thinking that it all had to be a movie. It couldn’t be real. No way would humans do this to each other. I got caught up in the patriotism that [...]
As humans we spend a lot of time on food. Our team in Greece is no different as they spend a lot of time on food for themselves and others. We've found a few recipes that our teams have really loved. Here's an easy Orzo Salad for you to add to your repertoire! 1. Start with 1lb of [...]
There is nothing like necessity when it comes to communication. The Afghan ladies who gathered at the center for the bi-weekly refugee meeting were gracious about the fact that I struggled miserably to put together a simply sentence in Farsi. As time went on, my pre-programmed, memorized phrases started to come out better as we sat around [...]
Here's a first-hand account from one of our team members one what it's like to serve refugees in Athens. It's been a whirlwind this week. It's hard to reconcile the anxiety and hesitancy I had right before arriving to the joy that seems to course through my soul. It is not a sugar sweet happiness, [...]
The team did a bunch of different things their second day in Athens--shopping, cooking, teaching English lessons. But mostly they walked. Part of the team went out to a couple of squats to play with kids and blew bubbles and hand out stickers. As they were about to leave, one of the members of that squat [...]
By Andy McNeely Today was filled with emotions as so much of the trip has been. Sorrow for the plight of the homeless refugees, joy with our new Syrian friends, and shock at the ability of people to survive. The most recurring emotion I have had over the duration of our trip has been that [...]
“Can I come over and just watch how you live? I’d like to know how you guys live.” said Lydia. At the time, we thought it was a weird request from our student, but sure, why not? So she came over and spent at least a good six hours sitting at our big kitchen table just hanging [...]
I’ll always remember my first Newroz in Kurdistan as the time a Kurd literally gave me the shirt off his back (and his baggy trousers too!). My wife and I were picnicking with the family of one of our students. Among the many cousins, aunts, uncles, and others, there was a grandfather (or perhaps he [...]
