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Amani had waited more than a decade to rebuild her life. After fleeing the war in Syria, she and her husband spent nine long years in Egypt — raising two children in limbo, uncertain if a safer future would ever come. Finally, in 2022, they arrived in the United States, ready to start again.
Around 6,000 miles away, Alla was serving her church and community in Ukraine when the 2022 invasion changed everything overnight. With her family urging her to flee, she crossed borders, prayed for safety and endured 18 difficult days in U.S. detention.
Two women. Two wars. Two courageous journeys.
Though they never met, their lives would intersect through a single act of hospitality.
A Host Home Filled with Hope
Julie, an empty nester with a busy work schedule, felt called to offer something she had in abundance — a safe, welcoming space in her condo where newcomers could begin to rebuild and renew their lives.
“I just felt like God was saying, ‘How can you use this extra space?’” Julie said, recalling her own housing struggles two decades earlier. Through World Relief’s Host Home program, she began welcoming refugees and other immigrants who needed temporary shelter.
“Julie is an absolute gem. She is one of those women that people feel instantly comfortable around. She is everybody’s grandma,” said Jane Register, a program director with World Relief.
“She has a heart for hosting refugees because she grew up in a military family that moved around a lot. Her parents created a sense of family wherever they went,” added Jane.
You can help create spaces of welcome like this.
Your generosity can help refugees and other immigrants in the U.S. and hot spots of displacement across the world. Will you walk alongside them?
Amani and her family, newly arrived in the U.S. and facing the steep challenge of finding affordable housing with no rental history and limited income, were the first guests in Julie’s host home.
Julie offered more than a room — she offered dignity, shared meals and friendship.
“I had a few worries about moving in with someone I had never met before,” Amani said. “But I approached it with an open mind, and it turned out to be a positive experience of building new connections.”
“Amani really thought of Julie as a mother figure. They built a really sweet bond,” Jane said.
Julie introduced Amani and her family to American culture while they searched for a space of their own, eventually transforming a rough-looking apartment into a beautiful place to live.
With that stability, Amani enrolled her children in school and began the process of getting her cosmetology license. Later she moved her family into their first American apartment.
A Second Newcomer Welcomed
Months later, Julie welcomed Alla into her host home, providing safety and encouragement just when it was needed most.
“I prayed for God to open doors, and he did,” Alla said.
Through a friend, she connected with World Relief and then with Julie. “She taught me it’s okay to receive help and pushed me to keep moving forward,” Alla said.
Julie’s home once again became a sanctuary where God’s presence could be felt through welcome — this time for a woman carrying the weight of separation, loss and hope for renewal.
In the quiet unfolding of their stories, we see the truth of Immanuel — God with us. Not just in the miraculous, but in spare rooms made sacred, in meals shared between strangers and in lives rebuilt one welcome at a time.
When God Connects the Dots
Alla, an event coordinator by profession, is now cultivating her life in the U.S., working as a florist and creating beautiful flower arrangements for weddings and special events.
So when a baby shower needed floral design, Julie knew exactly whom to call. She reached out to Alla — confident she was the perfect person for the task.
The celebration? It was for Amani, who is expecting her third child any day now.
This moment — one woman, once a guest, now creating beauty for another’s milestone — reflects the very heart of a refugee community connection. It’s the kind of transformation that unfolds when volunteers choose to say “yes” to welcome.
“It’s just a nice connect-the-dots story,” Jane said. “We’re connecting the dots that God put together.”
You can be part of that connection.
Help more stories like Amani’s and Alla’s take root and flourish — from shelter to celebration, from survival to belonging.
Your gift makes room for welcome, renewal and the presence of God in the lives of those rebuilding from displacement.
Give today — and be part of a connection that changes everything.