Syria

Something happened this summer that changed our family’s life. We met and became close friends with an amazing family of Syrian refugees who had just arrived to Texas. They spoke no English. We spoke no Arabic. They had experienced unfathomable violence and upheaval, and came to the U.S. desperately seeking the safety and freedom we take for granted every day. In so many ways we had nothing in common. But a bond was forged and our lives and worldview are changed for good.

So, allow me to step away from my regularly scheduled programming (btw- I promise I will catch up on posting about Christmas and spring break and kid updates and summer vacation soon… I’m behind but I’m not giving up!) and take the opportunity to share about something that has become very near and dear to my heart.

I have to admit that I was very uninformed about what was happening in Syria and the refugee crisis. So I’ve had to play a bit of catch up and want to share what I learned in case anyone else also needs catching up. That’s part 1 of this little Syria series: The Issue. Part 2 will be The Church. That is, how we as God’s people have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility here. Part 3 will be Our Family. Why and how we got involved, and how you and your family can get involved.

I don’t really know how to explain where all this is coming from other than to say that God placed a love for this Syrian family deep within my heart, and it’s driven me to get informed about what forced them (and countless others) to leave their home, to love them, to serve them, and to advocate for them and their fellow Syrians who have faced so much violence and despair and are trying to rebuild their lives in places that have offered them shelter and freedom but sometimes also blast them with some afwul anti-Muslim and anti-refugee rhetoric.

Here we go!

Part 1: The Issue

Part 2: The Church

Part 3: Our Family

Syria, Part 1: The Issue

Why are people fleeing Syria?

Syria—a country a quarter of the size of Texas but with a similar population—is in the middle of a five-year civil war that’s killed more than 500,000 people and caused 11 million to leave their homes.  Yes, 11 million people—a.k.a. more than half the country—have been displaced.

What is the war about?
In 2011, a series of pro-democracy movements sprung up across the authoritarian regimes (strong central power, limited political freedom) in the Middle East. While this revolutionary wave toppled the authoritarian regimes in some countries, Syrian president (slash quasi-dictator) Assad refused to stand down and responded to the demonstrations with a massive crackdown, killing and torturing the protestors. This prompted the protestors to form groups and arm themselves against the president. The violence escalated into a full-blown civil war. Matters were made worse when ISIS, a militaristic jihadist group, used the opportunity and entered the chaos with the goal of building a totalitarian Islamic empire. It became one of the most violent and successful religious extremist organizations on earth.

The Syrian population was trapped between the government regime, rebel groups, and religious extremists (like ISIS). All sides of the war have been committing horrible war crimes using chemical weapons, mass executions, torture on a large scale, and repeated deadly attacks on civilians. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed. A third of the Syrian people have been displaced within the country, dodging terrorist groups like ISIS or Assad’s barrel bombs. An additional five million Syrians have fled the country, the majority of them residing in or around refugee camps in neighboring countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, etc.).

Why is it a refugee “crisis”?
The U.N. and World Food Program were not prepared for this massive number of refugees. As a result, many refugee camps are crowded and undersupplied, subjecting people to cold, hunger, and disease. As the civil war raged on, many Syrians began to lose hope that things would improve in their homeland and began to seek asylum in Europe or other countries further away. These countries were also not prepared for the sudden influx of refugees. Enormous pressure was put on border states that were already in trouble. In particular, Greece was already in an economic crisis on scale with the Great Depression and was not able to take care of so many people at once, leading to terrible scenes of desperation. You may recall the photo that made global headlines in September 2015 of the 3 year-old Syrian boy whose body washed ashore after drowning when a small raft heading for Greece capsized, shedding light on the plight of Syrian refugees trying to get to safe countries.

What role does the U.S. play?
On the military side:
The U.S. has accused President Assad of responsibility for widespread atrocities and says he must go. But it agrees on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war and the formation of a transitional administration. The U.S. supports Syria's main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, and provides limited military assistance to "moderate" rebels. Since September 2014, the U.S. has been conducting air strikes on ISIS in Syria as part of an international coalition against the jihadist group. In September 2016 the U.S. and Russia (who is on team Assad) recently brokered a ceasefire in Syria, but it quickly fell apart.

On the humanitarian side:
U.S.-pledged humanitarian assistance for those affected by the war in Syria has reached nearly $5.6 billion since the start of the crisis in 2011. According to the U.S. State department, the Syrian conflict remains the largest and most complex humanitarian emergency of our time. Through this humanitarian funding, the U.S. is providing emergency food, shelter, safe drinking water, medical care, humanitarian protection services, and other urgent relief to millions of people suffering inside Syria and the more than 4.8 million refugees from Syria in the neighboring countries.

The U.S. has pledged more aid money for the Syrian conflict than any other country. Which makes sense since the U.S. has the largest economy in the world. When looking at Syrian humanitarian aid as a percent of GDP, the U.S. remains in the top 10 but falls to #9, trailing countries like Kuwait, Norway, the UK, Canada and Australia.

On the refugee acceptance side:
The U.S. has taken in 10,000 Syrian refugees (as of 8/16). Nearly 80% were women and children. As a point of comparison, Germany has taken in 400,000+, Serbia 314,000, Sweden 100,000+, and Hungary 75,000+. Canada has taken in 30,000+, Australia has taken in 12,000, and the UK has taken in just under 10,000.

The vast majority of Syrian refugees—4.5 million—reside in neighboring countries: Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. According to the U.N., about 10% of these refugees are highly vulnerable (particularly families with children) and in need of resettlement outside these overcrowded refugee areas. The U.N. aims to resettle these 450,000 vulnerable refugees to better areas by the end of 2018. The U.N. refugee agency is urging countries worldwide to take in these Syrians for resettlement. Earlier this year they asked the U.S.to consider accepting 32,369 Syrian refugees for resettlement. The Obama administration announced in September that it plans to increase the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. in the upcoming year by 30%, with 40,000 refugees coming from the Near East/South Asia, which includes Syria.

I’ll wrap up with this—it's awful what is happening in Syria, and from talking (via Google translate) with this family we've gotten to know, it's even worse that what can be portrayed by these facts and figures. My heart absolutely breaks over what they and their fellow Syrians have endured. In part 2 I'll talk a bit about what we—the Church—can do to respond and help.

Sources: BBC.com. CNN.com, The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

Photo cred: Freedom House, Flickr.com.

Syria, Part 2: The Church

So, we’re in the midst of the largest humanitarian emergency of our time. How are we, the Church, to respond?

It’s an election year and America’s response to the refugee crisis is a politically-charged issue, particularly when it comes to admitting Syrians into the U.S. There is a lot of talk of national security. But that doesn’t change the question. How are we, the Church, to respond?

Let’s start by hearing what worldwide church leaders are saying.

The U.S. Baptist Church

“Scripture calls for and expects God’s people to minister to the sojourner (Exodus 22:21-24, 23:9-12; Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:17-22, 24:17-22, 26:5-13; Psalm 146:8-9; Matthew 25:35-40). We encourage Southern Baptists to minister care, compassion, and the Gospel to refugees who come to the United States. We encourage Southern Baptist churches and families to welcome and adopt refugees into their churches and homes as a means to demonstrate to the nations that our God longs for every tribe, tongue, and nation to be welcomed at His throne (Revelation 5:9, 7:9-12; Psalms 68:5; James 1:27; Leviticus 25:35, 19: 33–34). We affirm that refugees are people loved by God, made in His image, and that Christian love should be extended to them as special objects of God’s mercy in a world that has displaced them from their homelands.” –excerpt from the Southern Baptist Convention 2016 Resolution on Refugee Ministry

“It’s not unusual that we have politicians timid in the face of fear. But the task of the church is a different one. The church is called to see the image of God in all people and to minister Christ’s presence to all people. That’s what churches are doing.” –Russell D Moore, SBC president of the group’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

The U.S. Catholic Church

“I am disturbed by calls from both federal and state officials for an end to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States. These refugees are fleeing terror themselves—violence like we have witnessed in Paris. They are extremely vulnerable families, women, and children who are fleeing for their lives. We cannot and should not blame them for the actions of a terrorist organization. Moreover, refugees to this country must pass security checks and multiple interviews before entering the United States—more than any other arrival to the United States. It can take two years for a refugee to pass through the whole vetting process. We can look at strengthening the already stringent screening program, but we should continue to welcome those in desperate need. Instead of using this tragedy to scapegoat all refugees, I call upon our public officials to work together to end the Syrian conflict peacefully so the close to 4 million Syrian refugees can return to their country and rebuild their homes. Until that goal is achieved, we must work with the world community to provide safe haven to vulnerable and deserving refugees who are simply attempting to survive. As a great nation, the United States must show leadership during this crisis and bring nations together to protect those in danger and bring an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.” –Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration

The Anglican Church worldwide

New Zealand: “We aspire to serve the ‘last, lost and least.’ We cannot have this as a core part of our identity and not respond to this overwhelming human tragedy in a practical way. As a country we have been criticized for not doing enough to respond to the refugee crisis. We want to say loudly and clearly, as the Anglican Church of New Zealand, that we are prepared to help in a practical way.” –Archbishop Justin Duckworth

Australia: “One of the most significant characteristics of a civilized society is the way it treats those who are the most vulnerable .In our own country we have sought to address the needs of children, the intellectually or physically disabled, and the aged, all of whom suffer a disadvantage that is not common to the ordinary working Australian. However, as our world is larger than Australia, so our vision for vulnerable persons ought to be larger. Our TV screens have been awash with images of desperate people fleeing the war torn areas of Syria and Iraq. While it has been pleasing to see the way in which Germany’s Chancellor has responded to this humanitarian crisis with an open invitation to settle within her borders, not all countries have shown the same kind of generosity. However, the crisis is too great to be ignored – too great even for Europe to solve on its own.” –Archbishop Glenn Davies

England: “As national and local responses develop we will be delighted to work with willing communities and civic leaders to offer sanctuary and welcome to any refugees who are admitted to our area, including providing accommodation. There is a real and urgent need to act locally in the face of a global challenge, and respond to the U.N.’s plea for resettlement. This would be in keeping with the finest Christian tradition of championing human dignity and offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution.” –Joint statement from four bishops in the Church of England

We see a common thread here, a consensus that as Christians we are to care for these displaced people. I echo all the sentiments above and am proud that the Church is taking a stand against the anti-refugee and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the news and advocating for the warm welcome of refugees.

I think compassion versus fear is at the crux of how any government or institution or individual chooses to respond to the idea of welcoming Syrian refugees into our country or group or home. I believe as Christians we are called to let compassion reign, and that’s woven throughout scripture.

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. We love because [God] first loved us.” (1 John 4: 18a-19)

In terms of fear, I have two thoughts.

One is that I think much of the talk of Syrian refugees being a risk or threat is overblown. My opinion here is based on what I know about the U.S. refugee screening process (here is an overview and a fact sheet; also, I think this article largely debunks the notion that the Paris attack should make us concerned that ISIS agents may pose as refugees as a way to enter the U.S.), what I know about the demographics of the refugees chosen to be resettled here (that is, they are the ones deemed by the UN to be the most vulnerable—mostly women and children, but also the sick or elderly), and finally, what I know firsthand from getting to know some of these refugees here in Texas.

My other thought is that we cannot guarantee that no Syrian refugee entering the U.S. will ever inflict harm or engage in terrorism, just like there are hardly any guarantees in life, BUT DESPITE THAT, I think we should welcome this desperate people group anyway. I push back on the notion that the U.S. should pursue absolute security at all costs. Mainly, the “at all costs” part. Turning our backs on this people group in dire need of refuge is too high a cost. Christian author Andy Crouch has a great book called Strong and Weak in which he argues that vulnerability is a crucial component of a flourishing life. To have power (authority) without risk (vulnerability) leads to exploitation.

“Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living—withdrawing into safety or grasping for power. True flourishing travels down an unexpected path: being both strong and weak. We see this unlikely mixture in the best leaders—people who use their authority for the benefit of others, while also showing extraordinary willingness to face and embrace suffering. We see it in Jesus, who wielded tremendous power yet also exposed himself to hunger, ridicule, torture and death.” –Andy Crouch

I also want to share an excerpt from a book on Christianity’s response to the small pox epidemic in Rome in 165 BC, written by atheist scholar Rodney Stark. I think it sets a powerful precedent for the appropriate Christian response to humanitarian crises, and was what prompted Christianity’s rapid growth in the Roman Empire.

In 165 BC, a devastating epidemic swept through the Roman Empire. Some medical historians suspect that it was the first appearance of smallpox in the West. During the fifteen-year duration of the epidemic, from a quarter to a third of the empire’s population died from it.

Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, wrote:

Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead.

Having noted at length how the Christian community nursed the sick and dying, he wrote:

The heathen behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease, they pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease.

He claimed: “It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Only look,” they say, ‘look how they love one another!’”

I [author Rodney Stark] believe that it was the religion’s particular doctrines that permitted Christianity to be among the most sweeping and successful revitalization movements in history. And it was the way these doctrines took on actual flesh, the way they directed organizational actions and individual behavior, that led to the rise of Christianity.

Excerpted from The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious force in the Western World in a Few Centuries by Rodney Stark

So that’s my take on love and compassion versus fear and vulnerability. I think we have a responsibility to follow Jesus’ example of caring for the poor, the lowly, the oppressed.

But another very important topic I want to cover is that the Church showing love, compassion, and hospitality to Syrians, specifically those who are Muslims, is an unexpected and unprecedented opportunity. The Syrian civil war is horrific. But what was intended for evil, God can redeem. God is calling many of these displaced people to himself. This fits into a much larger story of how God has incontrovertibly been moving among Muslims over the past decade.

In a brief overview of history since the beginning of Islam, author David Garrison notes, “In Islam’s first 12 centuries we found no voluntary conversions to the Christian religion. Not until the end of the 19th century, twelve and a half centuries after the death of Muhammad, did we find the first voluntary movements of Muslims to Christ that numbered at least 1,000 baptisms….But then, in the final two decades of the 20th century, there was a surge of 11 additional movements….In only the first 12 years of the 21st century, an additional 69 movements to Christ of at least 1,000 baptized Muslim-background believers or 100 new worshipping fellowships have appeared….Something is happening – something historic, something unprecedented.”

We have friends in Jordan and Germany working with Syrian refugees and witnessing firsthand how God is calling out to this people group. I asked one of these friends to share a little about this, and here’s what he wrote:

“Today we live in unprecedented times. Never before in recorded history have there been over 65 million displaced people due to violence or persecution. In 2015, each minute 24 people were forced to flee from their homes. Today one in every 113 people in the world is either an asylum seeker, internally displaced or a refugee. The main global engine to the number of displaced persons today is the Syrian crisis and the ongoing conflict in the region. Since 2011, more than 1 out of every 2 Syrians have had to flee their homes and every day the number grows.

These unprecedented times also puts before the church an unprecedented opportunity. Never before have so many people been forced to migrate from their homes. This thrusts many hard to reach people groups out of their homelands and into new locations. In these new locations the church has the opportunity to share in word and deed the Good News about Christ. Here in Germany we are finding every day people who are not only accessible to the love of Christ for the very first time but also open and receptive to it because of what they have experienced. For one refugee they put it like this, “I didn’t just flee Syria and the violence, I fled Islam.”

Many of those we talk to who end up coming to faith in Christ had some type of dream or vision of Jesus appearing to them first. One young man I am discipling had a series of three visions while still living in Syria. This is a young man who spent the first 14 years of his life growing up in very conservative Muslim country. He was a devout believer. In the three dreams over three weeks each time Jesus came to him and said, “Follow me and do the right. Follow me and go the right way.” In the final and last dream Jesus said to him, “I am not just a prophet but the Son of God.” Then “T” saw himself on the cross, being nailed there until Jesus spoke to him and made it clear He had died for him and in his place. He quickly turned to an online source and started reading the Bible, studying it and comparing it against the Quran and their book. It wasn’t until he was here in Germany that one of the security guards at the camp gave him a Bible. The fifth day we were here I was blessed to see him baptized, and have been discipling him for the last three months. He is now learning to share his faith with other Arabic speakers, study the Bible and see how he is potentially a leader and catalyst to reach his own peoples.

This above story about “T” is just one of many, many stories we either have had personally contact with or have heard from others in our community. In many ways we are seeing the book of Acts once again in present time as the Holy Spirit blows and works in the hearts of these people.”

I’ll add that our friends in Jordan echo this exact sentiment, including story after story (after story!) of God using dreams and visions (which are very common in Muslim culture) to reveal Himself to Muslims and direct them to the saving grace provided through Jesus.

It’s a remarkable time we are in. So much pain and suffering. But so much room to offer love and care and hospitality and hope to a people group traditionally closed off to us. And in cases where God is at work among them—an opportunity to provide discipleship and point them to the one true God—the God of abundant love and grace, who cares for them far more than we ever could, and who sent his son to die on a cross to save them.

Next up, I’ll talk about some ways for the church to get involved and how our family is trying to play a practical, loving, and active role in this work God is doing.

I’ll leave you with this simple prayer that the Church of England has issued for the refugee crisis:

Heavenly Father, you are the source of all goodness, generosity and love.

We thank you for opening the hearts of many to those who are fleeing for their lives.

Help us now to open our arms in welcome, and reach out our hands in support. That the desperate may find new hope, and lives torn apart be restored.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, Our Lord, who fled persecution at His birth and at His last triumphed over death.

Amen

Syria, Part 3: Our Family

At the beginning of this year our lives reached an equilibrium of sorts; Samuel had turned one and finally decided to start sleeping through the night, and we emerged from the fog of having two children in a two-year span. It hit me that I wanted to step back into the work of actively seeking to further the kingdom of God in my daily life, and in the life of our family. Sure we had our hands full with our kids and our jobs and our involvement at our church. But I was tired of using that as an excuse. I was tired of collapsing in on ourselves and our busyness and our kids’ needs and failing at living intentionally to serve and love the lonely, the sick, the broken, the hungry, and the oppressed among us. I had a lot of things stirring in my heart, then I happened up on this Francis Chan video that put words to exactly what I had been feeling.  It’s worth 4 minutes of your time to watch.

We looked into some different things to get involved with but doors kept closing. Then our church got word from a couple of missionaries we support in Jordan that a wonderful Muslim family of 8 from Syria had just been granted asylum in the U.S. and would soon arrive in our city as refugees. This couple in Jordan had come to know this family very well over the past two years through a weekly Bible Study and wanted to be sure they were cared for during this very difficult transition to a new country.  This family had endured the unimaginable for the last four years, and now they were headed to a place with no friends, no family, and no one who spoke their language.

Our church had “adopted” a Syrian refugee family of 10 last year through an amazing organization called Gateway of Grace, and as a small church it was going to be as stretch to take on another. The first family really got the “A” team…several people had flexible schedules, no children, experience with refugees, etc. But we knew we couldn’t say no to helping this second family, so we scrounged up a “B” team…mostly consisting of those of us with kids, no related experience, and no idea what we are doing. But we made room in our lives and stepped off the cliff. This sudden door that God had opened changed the whole trajectory of our family’s year and hopefully more to come.

The details of this family’s story are not mine to tell, but in a nutshell their home was bombed so they left with what they could carry and walked 200 miles to Jordan, where they registered as refugees and lived among thousands and thousands of other Syrians for four years. The children were not able to attend school and the father could not legally work. The mother has very severe burns from the bombing of their home, and longs to know whether her five brothers who were detained by the government are even still alive. In sum, this family has been through hell. Yet, I’ve never seen joy or hospitality like this family exudes. Resilient and brave doesn’t even begin to capture their spirit. It has genuinely been one of my greatest honors to know them.

I don’t really know what direction to take this post from here, but I guess I just want to say that the Syrian civil war seems a world away and impossible to help, but we can start by letting love prevail over fear in our own communities. Syrian refugees coming to the U.S. need love, support, and hospitality from us, and I want to share some ways to do just that. And I especially want to share our experience with other families, who may think (like we did) that having children puts you on the sidelines from stuff like this. As it turns out, children are the absolute best asset when befriending Syrian refugees because—guess what?—they have children. LOTS of children. Language barriers seem to be basically nonexistent among children playing together. And nothing breaks down awkward silence and cultural barriers like your three year old proudly farting audibly or dropping his pants to pee before closing the bathroom door, or your one year old trying on the whole family’s shoes or asking them for a banana every five minutes.

Here are several ways to get involved:

1. If you are in the DFW area, get your church connected with Gateway of Grace. Put a team together and Gateway can match you with a refugee family to “adopt.” It’ll be a wild ride with culture and language differences and it’ll be heartbreaking as you get to know these families and what they’ve endured already and the long road ahead, BUT it’ll change your life for the better and you’ll learn right off the bat that the human desire for community is absolutely universal. You’ll be the friend they so desperately need, and they’ll be the friend you didn’t even know you needed. And it’ll shape the way you view refugees and Muslims, because instead of those labels you’ll know them by name and see that we are far more alike than different. I could go on and on about this, but I’ll leave it at that.

If you aren’t in the DFW area, you can get connected with refugees arriving in your community through World Relief, Refugee Services of Texas, Bethany Christian Services, or this list of Refugee Resettlement Partners. Or you can search online and find organizations welcoming refugees in your area.

2. If you are in the DFW area and want to jump in right away, I am trying to find someone willing to help out the Iraqi nextdoor neighbors to the Syrian family we know. They are also refugees, with five beautiful elementary-age children, and arrived last March. Their main need is just a few American friends, people they could call on occasionally to help them navigate life here in the U.S. (Recent examples: they got a note from the apartment complex saying they are now accepting online payments only, the husband got a speeding ticket, the mother got a note from the school that she didn’t understand, etc.)  Things that are fairly simple to us but incredibly daunting if you are brand new to this country. They also occasionally need a few material things, like nighttime pull-ups for their younger children, and the mother would love for someone to practice English with her. I am trying to do all these things but honestly I need help. Let me know if you can step in and get to know this family! PLEASE :) The father speaks conversational English and we are working hard to get him a job at Oncor because he has 10 years of experience in Iraq as an electrical engineer, but currently works as an auto mechanic because he doesn’t know the job system here. We’ve spent quite a bit of time with them and my heart longs to see them get back on their feet here. Can you help? Call/text/Instagram/comment and let me know!

3. We'd love your help getting the word out about Kholoud’s home sewing shop: www.KholoudSews.wordpress.com. Kholoud is the mother in the Syrian family, and she’d been telling us for quite some time that she would like to sell her sewing to earn money to help her family.  A few of us from our team brainstormed how to make that happen and in October launched her shop. Her items make for great Christmas gifts and great reminders in people’s homes to pray for Syria and pray for displaced people like this wonderful family. She’s made about $100/week so far—which is incredible—but orders will dwindle unless people keep sharing about her shop (word of mouth, Facebook/Instagram (@KholoudSews), etc.). This would be especially helpful early next year when she launches some new products. You can follow her shop on Instagram or Facebook to know when that happens. 

4. Tell your congressman, state representative, governor, etc. that you want to welcome Syrian refugees. I believe our Texas politicians have it wrong. They call them a threat to our national security. But they serve the interests of their constituents—so let’s speak out as those constituents that what we actually want is for Texas (and the U.S.) to continue its long history of helping refugees and to demonstrate courage and hospitality by welcoming refugee families looking to rebuild their lives in peace.

Texas Governor Greg Abbot: http://interfaithtexas.org/urgent-take-action-alert/

President and Congress: https://wewelcomerefugees.com/advocate/

You can also get involved with the crisis abroad, from home:

1. Support people who are helping refugees abroad. You may know someone or perhaps your church has sent someone (or a team) overseas to get involved on the ground level in the Middle East or along the migrant path through Europe. Pray for them. Support them financially. If you don’t know anyone, allow me to introduce you to some dear friends of ours from our church who moved their family of four to Germany to serve the thousands of Syrian refugees there. For safety/privacy I can’t post their flyer online, but I’d love to put you in touch with them to hear about the work they are doing there.

2. These friends who are now in Germany—their oldest daughter started Just Something Little, a movement of writing letters to refugees so that they know they are loved and not forgotten. What a great way to get your children involved! [I’m proud of you, Tate J]

Here are a few other resources for how to get involved:

Syrian Circle (co-founded by some friends of ours)

World Relief: Rally My Congregation

We Welcome Refugees

I’ll leave you with some pictures… which are pretty random and odd because they are mostly just of our kids… I don’t want post pictures of our refugee friends’ faces online without their permission and asking them about it seems really trivial at the moment! But I figured these pictures would at least give a glimpse of what involvement with refugees looks like. But first here’s a batch of some great pictures of our Syrian/Iraqi friends from the Gateway of Grace Thanksgiving feast (taken by a photographer at the event, and they gave consent to sharing publicly).

[Photo credit: Prewitt Studios]

One of the coolest part of my year: accompanying Kholoud taking her two youngest children to their first day of school, ever. They were our boys' ages when they had to leave home. They enrolled in 2nd and 3rd grades and their favorite part of school is having anything that's just theirs with their name on it :)

The older children insist on carrying our kids everywhere we go, and they don't mind the ride!

Playground fun. 

 We had the A's (Syrian family) and their Iraqi neighbors over for dinner last fall and the kids all loved the trampoline.

 Beckett on multiple occasions has drawn something and said it's for Miss Kholoud or one of the A's. He loves spending time with them and especially the youngest A and the Iraqi neighbors who have two boys in early elementary school that he LOVES to play with.

 The A kids span elementary, middle, and high school, so we have a team member serve as liaison for each school. I'm the elementary one, so the teachers contact me about various things (progress, concerns, info about an upcoming field trip, etc.) and I use Google Translate to pass word on to Kholoud. Kholoud asked me to come with her to the parent-teacher conferences and the boys kept themselves busy disorganizing all the math manipulatives ;)

The boys and I spend an afternoon a week hanging out at the A's apartment and the kids have become great buddies. They take care of our boys so incredibly well. They know their favorite snacks and their favorite games to play and love them like their own.

 We introduced the A's and their neighbors to pumpkin carving for Halloween and they had a blast. Eleven kids with tiny knives... what could possibly go wrong?!?

 Beckett is so happy to have some older boys to play baseball with!

 Hitting up JoAnn's for some fabric for Kholoud's shop.

 iPhone games for the win.

 Watching SpongeBob in Arabic, and I don't think Beckett even noticed it wasn't English.

 The A's are always feeding us and Sam is just a total disaster when he's not in a highchair (and even then, really).

 I'll end with reposting a picture and caption I shared on Instagram a few weeks ago after spending an afternoon feasting at the A's neighbors' house.

Our president-elect and Texas political leaders call Muslim refugees national security risks, public safety threats, and Trojan horses. I call them brave, resilient, loving, and hospitable. My kids just call them friends. We are so lucky to have them here.

Family Photos, Winter 2015

We try to have family pictures taken once a year around the boys' birthdays.  Kolby likes to whine about paying a professional photographer when I can take pictures myself, but it's the one time a year I actually get to be IN the pictures with my kids and I really cherish that!  This year it was a really, really cold and windy day but we made the best of it and I'm so glad to have these!

 

 

 

His response to us yelling "look AT the camera... with your EYES, buddy" for the umpteenth time.

 

 

  Playing a little imaginary baseball 

 

[Photo credit: AHOCK Photography]