My time in Baltimore is nearing an end and though I am saddened to leave my work at LIRS, I am also thrilled to take what I have learned this summer and apply those lessons to every aspect of my life. I recently returned from the LCMS Youth Gathering in New Orleans, where the outreach team and a few folks from communications had a display table and an experiential learning exhibit. The exhibit, a maze of rooms and stations partitioned by dark curtains, explained the Syrian refugee crisis from start to finish. Both the youth (there were 25,000!) and pastors/chaperons were able to make their way through, starting with a refugee profile, and continuing on through simulations of fleeing from home, traveling at night amidst war, arriving in the UN refugee camp in Jordan and traveling to Greece by raft. The last two stations were an explanation of the United […]

I wander the streets of Baltimore, searching for the bus stop. Is it this street? No. That other street? No. Maybe I passed it. Turn around, try again. I find the bus, I board, I anxiously observe all the other charmingly dressed workers on their way to the office. I get off a stop too early. I walk in the hot sun. I finally arrive. I am greeted by one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met – my supervisor, Folabi. He gives me a brief summary of who everyone is in the office and what they do. I am introduced to my cube and it is here I remain, working diligently for some of the most passionate, loving people I’ve ever met, for a mission I could not agree with more. This is the end of my third week at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). As I slowly […]