Part I – Schoolyard Graffiti
Part II – Escaping Death
The Beginning of Sorrows In Part I of this blog, Schoolyard Graffiti: The Beginning of War, I told the harrowing story of one family and their journey to escape death. They were lucky to make it out alive, but “life” in the war-torn borderlands is extremely difficult. Ripped from their homes, families, communities and everything they’ve known, …
The 1,000 Step Story
Many refugees were part of thriving middle-class communities in some of the oldest cities in the world prior to the war; a war that doesn’t discriminate. I meet doctors and lawyers and even millionaires who share their journey of becoming refugees, almost overnight. In this blog I won’t disclose names or details that may put …
Simple Acts Become Transformational
Art makes me happy. It’s messy and unpredictable. It’s fascinating to see friends with real talent bring inspired images to life, expressing imagination with seemingly little effort. Some seem to create beauty out of nothing. It’s not fair. When I was a kid I spent hours on those paint-by-number water color kits, strictly following the …
Celebrating Volunteers
I’ve discovered an invaluable secret – listen to what’s in your heart and pursue it with all you have. Yes, it’s taken me 50 years and it’s not always easy. Some days I’m tempted to think – “I got this,” while other days I just pray I don’t look like a fool! I read a …
How to Avoid Growing Weary in Well-Doing
Do you ever wonder where you are going to eat your next meal or where you will sleep tonight? I have never experienced that fear, but it often enters my mind these days. I woke up a few weeks ago to a desperate message from one of our partners in Lebanon begging for any help …
A Private War
By: Brenda Kent I recently watched the movie A Private War, which chronicles the last 11 years of war correspondent Marie Colvin’s life. Colvin dedicated her life to “telling people what really happens in wars.” She was killed February 22, 2012, while in Homs, Syria, reporting on the Syrian Civil War. This movie is not …
Champion of Literacy
As you enter the lobby of The George Hotel in College Station, Texas, you are welcomed by a wall of 9000 books arranged in the form of the Texas flag, which was created by artist Thedra Cullar-Ledford. I had the privilege of seeing this artwork while I was visiting Texas this past summer. It is …