On Purpose

Purpose has always been a big theme in my life. I grew up in a religious community and later became fascinated with what scientists had to say about why we’re here. In 2022, scientists won the Nobel Prize for showing that tiny particles can remain connected across vast distances – even across time. It suggests the universe may be far more interconnected than we realize, and that some moments in life might happen for reasons we can’t yet see. I believe something amazing – maybe even strange -is happening on purpose, and here’s how it ties into my story.

Back in 2017, I met a gentleman named Garrett Pearson, Executive Director of a small nonprofit called City of Refuge. They ran a cleaning company that employed refugees, and I was working at the University of Missouri on international visas. Someone paired us to explore collaboration. At the time, City of Refuge operated out of a spare back room donated by an insurance agent. It was a pleasant coffee meeting; I didn’t think too deeply about how we shared the same name, let alone similar height/facial features, and we simply kept each other on our radars.

Fast forward to 2021. I was a relationship manager at a bank and still carried a deep passion for the international community. At the City of Refuge golf tournament, I met their new Executive Director, Debbie Beal, and soon after brought her to lunch to discuss future partnerships. Months later, I stepped into that same empty dining room to take a call; it was from Debbie. She asked if I’d consider taking a pay cut to join City of Refuge as Director of Advancement. Get this: I laughed.

It wasn’t a lack of belief – I’d studied abroad in Chile, my mother is from South America, and I’d long advocated for the international community. But taking a pay cut for an organization most of Columbia still hadn’t heard of felt risky. What if I failed? What if it ALL failed? I told her I’d keep an eye out.

Nine months later, no longer in banking, I found myself sitting by the community pool asking myself what I wanted to do next. I called Debbie. Three weeks later, in September 2022, I joined City of Refuge. At the time, only 7 employees worked there, and they were preparing to move – I can’t make this up – into an old bank. 

Fast forward to today. We run over a dozen programs, have 31 staff, over 300 weekly volunteers, and serve 1,600 refugees each year. A lot of hard work, money, and volunteering got us here. But there was also something magical that made where we are possible today. How do you explain one Garrett meeting another similar-looking Garrett who would go on to continue spreading the mission, years later? Why do I continue to ‘end up’ working in banks to accomplish caring for the foreigner? And it doesn’t end with me; loads of our staff and volunteers describe odd and beautiful connections that shouldn’t occur by happenstance. 

You could call these purposeful moments fate, or acts of God, science, or the Universe. But this certainly isn’t random, or chance. Something is transcending time and space where we work. It is beautiful, filled with hope, and yet undoubtedly on purpose. For some reason, on the top of this hill in Columbia, purposeful things happen, and many of you who read this are encouraging it to keep happening. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, I encourage you to. Bring others with you as well! Come along and do something – with great purpose – with us!

Garrett Rucinski
Director of Engagement

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