Showing Tag: "europe" (Show all posts)

Responding to the Biblical Call

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, February 22, 2018, In : Response 


With almost 2 months behind us in 2018, not much has changed for the situation of unaccompanied youth in Europe. It doesn't seem 2018 will be much different than 2017 as borders remain closed and governments seem more focused on ways to reject asylum claims rather than help people in desperate need. However, we do recognize that the call to help "the least of these" or "the orphan and the widow" or "the foreigner" is a Biblical one not a political one. This is why we continue to focus on the ...
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2018 Goal? Shine On!

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, In : Response 

It's been a very difficult year for the youth in Europe who arrived alone, i.e., without parents, seeking asylum. As borders closed, asylum procedures were drawn out, and care was withheld, many lost hope and some resorted to drugs, self harm and even suicide. When our network members share about some of these situations or I read another report of the horrific conditions in some of the camps and shelters, at times I'm brought to tears. However, I also get to hear from the folks we work with ...

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To App or Not to App, That Was the Question

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, October 31, 2017, In : Response 
One of the objectives of our summer visits with ministries in Europe was to vet out the smartphone app that we had been hoping to develop with a goal of connecting unaccompanied youth with ministries that could help them along their travels. We achieved this, but with different results than we expected as we realized that this is not the timing for such an app.
Unfortunately, as many countries across Europe have closed their borders, movement between countries has dropped down to just a trick...
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Job Creation to Combat Trafficking

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, September 21, 2017, In : Response 
This is an interview with John after we spent three months in Europe focused on collaboration and partnership building with refugee ministries and individuals.



Q, When you headed to Europe, what did you know about the impact of trafficking on unaccompanied refugee youth?
A. When we started our journey in May,
I sensed that trauma and the vulnerability to being trafficked were the issues I should focus on and learn about over the summer. I had contacted some global anti-trafficking organizatio...

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What Does the Future Look Like?

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, August 10, 2017, In : Response 


As we sit in a flat in Paris watching the rain and listening to the sounds of the city, we're struck by the ups and downs of our travels this summer. We have met with a variety of ministries and individuals who are helping unaccompanied asylum-seeking youth as well as refugees. We’ve had some opportunities to spend time with the youth themselves. And, we’ve continued to learn about their ongoing challenges, the heartache for those left behind and the trauma resulting from awful situations...
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Mobilized for Unaccompanied Minors

Posted by Kaylee K on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 


It was an honor to share about unaccompanied refugee children and youth at this year’s Refugee Highway Partnership’s European Roundtable in Budapest last month. An honor, because while the news continues to be filled with horrific stories about abuses against these children and updates on governments that are reneging on commitments to help them, for a few days John and I got to be among people who are giving of themselves in remarkable ways for refugees. And, we got to hear stories of ho...

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Prayerfully, Together: The Church Can Help Refugee Children

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 
Nearly 100,000 refugee children are traveling to and across Europe without a parent or guardian. Despite their recognition as the most vulnerable population within the millions of asylum seekers on the Refugee Highway, there has been little coordinated assistance, and many challenges to establishing such assistance, to ensure their safety and care as they travel from their home country to their destination country in Europe.

Several months ago, I felt a very strong leading to research this sit...

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A Vision to Help 100,000 Children

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 


As we prepare for our work in Europe, we’ve become aware of the dire situation faced by refugee youth as nearly 100,000 travel alone to and through Europe. Our hearts are burdened for these children, some as young as 7, who are alone and scared, and often living in over-filled shelters or on the streets where they are targeted for sex trafficking and slave labor. Because of this, over these last many months we have refined our focus to that of helping the church in Europe to help these chil...

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Easter Prayer for Refugees, Europe and Leaders

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, March 25, 2016, In : Italy 
Sad decisions; scary times….but God is bigger than all of this. Please join us in prayer for Europe – both for the citizens and for the refugees arriving there. The news in Europe continues to get bleaker and as of today:
  • In the wake of the Brussels bombings, Poland has retracted its commitment to receive 7,000 refugees from Italy and Greece. With the attacks in Paris and Brussels, there is a further blurring of lines and messaging as the media and politicians tie the conversation about th...

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Just Shut Up (and listen...)

Posted by Kaylee K on Monday, February 8, 2016, In : Response 
Our realization last week was that to answer God’s call we “just need to show up.” Now that we have (we’ve spent a few days in Rome and are now at the European Refugee Roundtable in Sicily), I’m realizing this week’s lesson is that I have two ears and one mouth for a reason and I need to respect that ratio. John and I have so much to learn and it is necessary to keep our American world view to ourselves while we listen to the perspectives and insights of those native to Europe as ...

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Confronting Misconceptions

Posted by John K on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, In : Refugee Stories 

A lot has been said about the migrant crisis in Europe, and much more has not been said. The Guardian ran an article recently to clarify some common misconceptions. Immigration has been a sensitive topic in the U.S. as well as Europe in the past few years. It takes some work to get information of who is crossing borders and why. There is a difference in perceived impacts too. Migrants are considered a threat when crossing the U.S. border with Mexico and also at border crossings throughout Eur...


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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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