Staff Reflections
It Takes a Village
It was 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon when we got the call. A woman in the Congolese community had contracted COVID-19 — the first of what would turn out to be many cases for the Congolese living in the Quad Cities area. My mind raced with questions as we worked to determine the best…
Read MoreTreasures in the Dark
COVID-19 is proving to be a deep, dark season. It was March 16th when we closed our office and began working remotely. The virus hadn’t yet hit the Fox Valley area so although our team was preparing, we weren’t really sure for what. We began praying, as individuals and as a team, for the refugee…
Read MoreThe Good News Report
“We are all going through an incredibly trying time. But through all the anxiety, through all the confusion, through all the isolation, through all the Tiger King, somehow the human spirit found a way to break through and blow us all away.” — John Krasinksi The world is crumbling… or so it would seem. Everywhere…
Read MoreScarcity, Immigration and Having Enough
In the human world, abundance does not happen automatically. It is created when we have the sense to choose community, to come together to celebrate and share our common store. — Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
Read MoreHere to Stay
A little over a week ago, we received some very sad news. Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to the federal government announcing that he would halt all future refugee resettlement to the state of Texas – an authority given to states in a recent executive order.
Read MoreI Survived the Vietnam War to Become a Proud American
I was born in southern Vietnam in 1953. I grew up just like any other boy in my country and had a happy childhood.
Read MoreTake a Number
People around the world are fleeing violence, oppression and poverty. I visited Tijuana in early October to get a firsthand look at what asylum seekers experience when they reach our border.
Read MoreVoices From the Field: DR Congo
Yesterday was International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, a serious injury that can occur from complications in childbirth. The World Health Organization used this day to call on the international community to significantly raise awareness and intensify actions towards ending obstetric fistula.
Read MoreHome Is Where Your Heart Is
In celebration of International day of Families, we honor and recognize the hundreds of church leaders, volunteers and staff that sacrificially give their time and energy to our Families for Life program and, more importantly, to the men, women and children whose lives have been changed through the volunteers’, leaders’ and staff’s love in action.
Read MoreWhat’s going on at the border?
The following is a reflection written by John Miller, Immigration Specialist at World Relief Seattle. He is accredited by the Department of Justice to practice immigration law. Things have felt a little different for me since I’ve been back from Mexico. It’s hard now to read these ideologically-charged news stories about “The Wall” and “The…
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