Browsing Archive: May, 2019

When Strangers Become Family

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, May 24, 2019, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 
It's been a while since we posted a blog post. In February, a young lady named Esther from the Democratic Republic of Congo moved in with us. She is an unaccompanied asylee and was aging out of the Office of Refugee Resettlement youth system. She needed a home and wanted to be part of a family. After a quick Zoom chat and some prayer, John and I invited Esther to live with us. She agreed and moved in on her 18th birthday.

We've had ups and downs together and lots of learning. Most days we lau...
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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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