Making strides with Jordan and J
For privacy purposes, some names have been shortened. Zooming In Ten months ago, Jordan was preparing to meet his 16-year-old mentee and his family for the very first time over Zoom. Unsure of what to expect, he joined the call and listened as our Youth Mentoring Program Coordinator translated and relayed the family’s hopes for…
Read MoreAn Update on How the H.O.M.E. Program Is Serving Asylum Seekers Throughout Chicagoland
The following update is from Hannah Thompson, World Relief Chicagoland’s Immigrant Family Services Volunteer Coordinator who works with staff and community volunteers in the H.O.M.E. program for asylum seekers. What is H.O.M.E.? World Relief Chicagoland created the H.O.M.E. program with the knowledge that asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable immigrants. Like refugees, asylum seekers…
Read MoreExpect A Miracle: Reimagining Our Lives in the New Year
Though the new year may be upon us, many of us are still moving through the immense amount of change we’ve experienced over the last two years. Today, Karen Gonzalez encourages us to see change as God’s vehicle for renewing and reimagining our lives. We invite you to read or listen to Karen’s message below,…
Read MoreSomething New: A Devotional for 2022
by Gaby Keim, Changemaker Team Lead With a very unpredictable year behind us, we step forward into 2022. We may find ourselves yet again in the unpredictability, but we can have confidence that God is about to do something new just as he has done for generations before. What could that “something new” be for…
Read MoreReflections on 2021 from Executive Director Susan Sperry
The following letter is from Susan Sperry, World Relief Chicagoland’s Executive Director, who oversees World Relief’s work across three offices in Aurora, Chicago (Albany Park), and DuPage County (Carol Stream) and shared her leadership reflections at the close of 2021. Read more of Susan’s thoughts by following her on Twitter! To all of World Relief…
Read MoreStories of the Season: Former Refugee Serves on Two Reserves
Ehblu recently graduated Spokane Police Department’s reserve training. This is his story. “My name’s Ehblu. I was a refugee. I came here in 2008, to Spokane, with my family. I was eighteen years old when I got here. “Before I came here, I was born and raised in a refugee camp. My family, they were…
Read MoreStories of the Season: Mustaba’s Restaurant
This Christmas season, we’re celebrating the accomplishments of former refugees in our community. This is the story of Mustaba and Tantuni Restaurant. “I’ve been in the United States five years and 2 months. I came to the US when I was 19 years old, and I started as a student in high school. Everyone told…
Read MoreThe Christmas Story and Asylum-Seekers
After the wise men left, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary, his mother. Why? Because Herod was searching for the newborn to kill him (Matthew 2:1-23). The story of Christ’s birth gives us a picture of the holy family fleeing, hiding, and seeking…
Read MoreWelcoming Afghans in San Diego
Since August, World Relief has welcomed and resettled over 1,000 Afghans who had been evacuated out of Kabul. Today, over 34,000 Afghans remain on eight U.S. military bases awaiting their chance at a new life in the U.S. World Relief is diligently preparing to resettle up to 7,000 of these brave individuals between now and…
Read More4 Ways to Read, Watch, and Listen to Powerful Immigrant and Refugee Stories
At World Relief, we love to bring you inspiring and meaningful stories about the immigrants and refugees arriving in Chicagoland. Yet we are all part of an even bigger story – of migration, change, poverty, and global factors that impact all of us. To give you insight into this bigger story, we put together this…
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