This is a long story… over three years long. But I want to share it all with you because it has been a life-changing experience for me, and for the people I’ve been connected to through City of Refuge. This winter marks a year for me as the coordinator of our Buddy Program. Every time
The Language of Friendship December is a month of reflection, and this week, I took a moment to pause my work and look around the artisan center. There is creative chaos all around me. An unfinished project still sits next to a sewing machine because the Afghan woman stopped to help a girl from Myanmar
I’m not sure if you know this, but if you don’t… City of Refuge is a local non-profit that works with people from all over the world. People from all over the world that now live in mid-Missouri. 40 countries. At least 23 different languages. And it is beautiful. And while the future feels foggy
It’s fall, y’all! Truly, my favorite time of year. The dipping temperatures, changing leaves, cozy meals and football! Autumn also means the start of a new school year. This fall marked the second semester of City Preschool! We opened our doors to 18 energetic three, four and five-year-olds from across the world and across town.
“I want to blow out the candle!” “NO! You did it yesterday, it’s my turn!” Screamed at the top of their lungs around the kitchen island, these are the arguments of our four children, and each one wants to blow out the family-devotional candle. Guess what the devotion was about today? “Love your neighbor.” I tried
Have you ever been in a place where you were forced to be truly dependent? A place where you had no autonomy or choice over where you slept, what you ate, what job you worked? A place where, simultaneously, people drove on the other side of the road, said hello in a different language, and
Read below from Jenn Burkholz, our Youth Empowerment Specialist, about how your support is changing young lives in our city! Recently, I hung a large, colorful paper “quilt” on the wall in my office. Elementary, middle and high school students in the Homework Helpers and Youth Impact Group created squares, which were then creatively arranged
Remember when we got a driving simulator and were able to more proactively start teaching people how to drive? 6 folks have now gotten their driver’s licenses and are more on their way towards independence. Remember when we opened up City Boutique and how that provided space for refugee women to gather, create, and sell?
As most of you know, our Global Artisan program aunched less than a year ago. Since then, it has grown exponentially. Check out what Stefanie Nichols, our Artisan Empowerment Specialist, has to say about this endeavor and the global impact it makes. One of our Global Artisans looked at me with her eyes shining in
Our Care Coordinators have the privilege and primary responsibility of handling some of the most urgent and complex matters within the refugee communities we serve. At City of Refuge, we don’t generally use words like “case manager” or “client” to describe our staff or those participating in our programs or services. “Friend” has always been
