Nicole, I read your entire essay and I agree with everything you wrote. Our church also helped to bring over Ukrainians after trying to help some immigrants who might not be Christians. My church was fine with that but we did have to change our plans to the family we now have. The family we have is a Christian one and I appreciate them very much. Keep up the excellent writing.
Thanks, Nicole, for bring faith and goodness out into plainspoken and worthy vision and voice in solidarity with our vast, varied, and marvelous immigrant communities...
(I was at OWR I and OWR II, and I really enjoyed and benefited from your Mazlow's hierarchy workshop, for making your writer's space and routine enjoyable. Your "Everything We Didn't Say" also helped me afterward with structuring work on the novel I'm working on. Thanks!)
Thanks for sharing this Nicole... I wish every American would be able to hear voices like yours instead of the voice of the blowhard in the White House. His constant demonization of "the other" is exhausting. Not only do you capture much more of the spirit of the Christian church (obviously), but you represent Lady Liberty in a way that the Trump administration never will:
Really thoughtful column, Nicole. We have so much in common! Some 25 years ago I volunteered for a Syrian refugee family by babysitting their children while the wife went to numerous dental appointments for terribly painful dental problems. I remember how she tearfully thanked me and others in her bits of English. Getting to know people as people completely alters perspectives.
I have been a volunteer with the Jewish Family Service of Wilmington, DE resettlement program. We have resettled refugees from Africa, Afghanistan and Ukraine. It has been a wonderful experience!
Sioux Center is an interesting setting for this story, given the level of extreme pride its citizens have for their immigrant heritage. It is interesting how that pride so easily merges into racism. As a kid I used to think they said "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch" as a joke. I'm more and more convinced that it isn't, and it never was.
Nicolle, I, for one, am totally with you on this one. I was on a Syrian refugee committee here in Toronto, and now am connected with (and support) an Afghan family whose daughter I tutored for some years on Skype in Kabul before the family had to flee. All these connections enrich my life, as well as theirs. I am grateful for the opportunity.
Nicole, I read your entire essay and I agree with everything you wrote. Our church also helped to bring over Ukrainians after trying to help some immigrants who might not be Christians. My church was fine with that but we did have to change our plans to the family we now have. The family we have is a Christian one and I appreciate them very much. Keep up the excellent writing.
They’re such an incredible asset to our community! Love having them here (and all our immigrant neighbors).
Thanks, Nicole, for bring faith and goodness out into plainspoken and worthy vision and voice in solidarity with our vast, varied, and marvelous immigrant communities...
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, David. It means a lot to me.
Will you be working again at OWR V? I'm returning.
(I was at OWR I and OWR II, and I really enjoyed and benefited from your Mazlow's hierarchy workshop, for making your writer's space and routine enjoyable. Your "Everything We Didn't Say" also helped me afterward with structuring work on the novel I'm working on. Thanks!)
I’m so happy to hear that! Yes, I plan to be at OWR this year. Can’t wait!
Thanks for sharing this Nicole... I wish every American would be able to hear voices like yours instead of the voice of the blowhard in the White House. His constant demonization of "the other" is exhausting. Not only do you capture much more of the spirit of the Christian church (obviously), but you represent Lady Liberty in a way that the Trump administration never will:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Thank you, Richard. That means a lot to me.
Really thoughtful column, Nicole. We have so much in common! Some 25 years ago I volunteered for a Syrian refugee family by babysitting their children while the wife went to numerous dental appointments for terribly painful dental problems. I remember how she tearfully thanked me and others in her bits of English. Getting to know people as people completely alters perspectives.
That’s so beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Kali!
I have been a volunteer with the Jewish Family Service of Wilmington, DE resettlement program. We have resettled refugees from Africa, Afghanistan and Ukraine. It has been a wonderful experience!
That’s awesome! Thank you for getting involved. We need more people like you.
Sioux Center is an interesting setting for this story, given the level of extreme pride its citizens have for their immigrant heritage. It is interesting how that pride so easily merges into racism. As a kid I used to think they said "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch" as a joke. I'm more and more convinced that it isn't, and it never was.
You’re not wrong. I remember that little saying, too. It hurts my heart now.
Nicolle, I, for one, am totally with you on this one. I was on a Syrian refugee committee here in Toronto, and now am connected with (and support) an Afghan family whose daughter I tutored for some years on Skype in Kabul before the family had to flee. All these connections enrich my life, as well as theirs. I am grateful for the opportunity.
I love this! Thank you for welcoming with open arms. ❤️