Projects for the Type-A’s Among Us (Including Me!)
Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Under: Italy
- One church desires to use space in their facility to create a welcome center for the asylum seekers who are being housed temporarily in hotels in their area. There are members at this church who have specialized skills, i.e. medical and legal, they can offer at this center. And, this church already has experience connecting with people in need, including refugees, through their outreach program to the homeless community who has been living outside the nearby train station.
- An association of churches in Pescara maintains a Christian bookstore that also sells music and artwork. They hope to offer assistance and education programs for refugees at least two days/week. This could also be a place where refugees can sell their art and crafts.
- In the Abruzzo region there are workers called “Ghost Migrants”. These people are basically enslaved farm workers who are only permitted by their bosses to tend the field at night to limit their exposure. They are housed in warehouses with little-to-no connection to the outside world. The church community we met with has a doctor in the area who can offer them medical services and there is a desire to use an abandoned church to plant a church among that community and assist them with their various needs. This is the most ambitious of the three programs and requires a great deal of networking over the coming year.
In : Italy
Tags: faith italy refugees churches support
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Kaylee founded Refugee Connect in 2008. John joined the work in 2011 as we investigated the refugee situation in Europe. But our faith and cross-cultural journeys have been a work-in-progress for many years. Much of this blog reflects that. ************************************************ We met in Austin, TX, while volunteering at a serving event at Gateway Church and have been married since 2002. Marriage, parenting and ministry all require a great deal of intentionality, humility and true reliance on God for strength, wisdom, and grace. It is a journey we are grateful to be on together. Ultimately, what matters to us is building into meaningful relationships in ways that, to the best of our ability and by God's grace, demonstrate the love and hope Jesus freely offers to us all. ************************************************ We bring both business and ministry backgrounds into our current work. John started a business in his 20's and helped build several other businesses. He has also served with churches in a variety of roles including as an assistant pastor, director of community development, and missions board member. Kaylee left her marketing career to become the global missions director for our home church in Austin, TX, then founded a local refugee ministry, and became TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in order to prepare for our work overseas. We have led short-term teams domestically and internationally, and served with a variety of cross-cultural ministries. In 2008, we sensed a call to build into the church in Europe, which was also around the time when God broke Kaylee’s heart for refugees. Since then, God has continued to weave together this heart for refugees, desire to serve alongside the church, and focus on His call to Europe.