Browsing Archive: December, 2015

Why February in Italy?

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, December 18, 2015, In : Italy 

As we enter into a holiday season that celebrates hope and new opportunities, we’d like to invite you to join us in bringing this to thousands who currently are struggling just to survive. The next immediate phase of our journey to serve refugees alongside the churches in Italy is a trip this February to participate in the Refugee Highway Partnership Roundtable and travel to several towns to visit with churches and refugees who have a need for our assistance. This trip will last 2-3 weeks a...


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"Mommy, Is It OK to Be Friends with a Muslim?"

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, In : Response 
This is what I suppose our children are soon to be asking… if we’re lucky. The conversation might go something like: “There’s a new boy in my class. His name is different. It’s Mohammed. Is it ok to be his friend?” or perhaps, “This new girl in my class looks different. She wears a scarf on her head. Can I talk to her?” If we are lucky, they’ll at least ask us. And, if we’re following Jesus’s teaching our answer must be: “Yes.”

But what if they don’t even ask? That...

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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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