A Desire for Home

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, October 1, 2015 Under: Faith
John and I have had quite an interesting journey since giving up our apartment in Jersey City in early June. We spent this summer living at my Pop's place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to save funds so we could begin to prepare for ministry in Italy. In late August, we began what will be at least 10 week road trip, of which we are 5 weeks into. These travels have taken us to see family in the north east and mid west. We've gotten to see two of our three sons at their respective colleges. We are talking with churches and groups as we begin to build our support base. We spent several weeks staying in a lovely home of a gracious host family in Minneapolis while we got to know better our Minneapolis-based organization, International Association for Refugees (IAFR). And we participated in IAFR's yearly team retreat where we gained insight and connections. At the end of the retreat while our IAFR colleagues rightly felt encouraged as the time together was so valuable, I instead felt a longing for home. The challenge? Right now, John and I don't have a home. This gave me just a sliver of a sense for what displaced people must feel...a longing for a place that, at least right now, doesn't actually exist. Wow. What a spiritual and emotional thing it is to have this longing.

For me, I know my earthly home is wherever John is. And, I believe that I also already and forever live in a parallel spiritual home through my relationship with Jesus, and my Creator and Father, God. This does give me hope and rest. However, if I am truly honest, I still long for a physical place on Earth to call home and I wonder frequently where that will be and when we will have that. 

This need for a physical home seems to me to be something we are wired with by our Creator. I am not longing for material things. I am not longing for a mailing address. Instead, I am longing for a place that is mine: safe, familiar, and consistent. Although I love our travels and believe in our work, this desire does not leave me. I answer it with prayer and continue our journey by faith, but I sense that this desire for a home will nudge at me until God provides insight into where we will "lay our heads" in this interim period while we build a team and support base to go to Italy. 

I appreciate this opportunity to just sit with that yet unanswered desire, as it gives me one small connection point with what the refugee and asylum seekers we're called to serve must experience 10-fold daily. I'm grateful that by stepping out of my comfort zone, I may be able to better relate at least in some small way. But, if I am honest, I am also grateful that it is only in a very, very small way that I can relate. Because I know that each day I am safe, I am able to access food and clothing, and I am welcomed into the homes of family, friends and host-families along our journey. Asylum seekers and refugees, for the most part, do not get that blessing. This is why, I believe, we must respond and be a sort of home to them along their journey! 

In : Faith 


Tags: resettle  displaced  faith  jesus  refugees 

Blog Authors


John and Kaylee Kolditz 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.

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