Month: January 2019

Posted on

Sarajevo

As we move into the unprecedented so-called “Polar Vortex “ here in the Midwest USA, I am in preparation mode.  Next Sunday, I head to Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina to participate in the Europe Refugee Highway Partnership Roundtable. 

Besides spending time with IAFR team members working in Europe, Doug Marshall (IAFR Malta Ministry Leader) and I will be facilitating a workshop.  The Roundtable draws missionaries, church leaders, humanitarian workers and others, who are specifically working with refugees throughout Europe.  They come to learn, to share their experiences and to find encouragement.

But between now and then, there is much to clear from my desk… so back at it.

Posted on

Smile…the Video is Rolling

Some days I spend a lot of time on video chat with various IAFR team members.  Today was one of those days.  Tom Albinson, IAFR President, and I had our twice weekly video call, touching base on our priority lists, items that need our attention, and always keeping our eyes looking forward.  We are amazed at all that is happening in the IAFR world.

I am excited about a new project that Shanna, our leader in Colorado, is putting together.  The project is an apprenticeship program, mainly focused on those who have experienced forced displacement or those who may have difficulty raising financial support to be part of faith-based nonprofit.  The goal is to give them the experience of working with Shanna and IAFR for a year.  We had the chance to work through some of the details and a few of the challenges we will need to address.  The opportunity is very exciting!

Also spent some time meeting with Paul, our IAFR Europe Ministry Leader.  I will be with him and other IAFR ministry team members in Sarajevo in about 10 days.  We will all be participating in the Europe Refugee Highway Partnership gathering, where some of us will also be facilitating workshops.  At the end of the gathering, the IAFR members will be spending an extra day to catch up, encourage each other, and pray for each other.  I am looking forward to being with them.  It was good to hear how things are falling in place for the gathering.

Everyday is a little different.  But I enjoy my connections with our IAFR team, distributed in many places around the world.

So how was your day?

Posted on

The Mundane

photo credit: dreamtime photos

I feel like the picture is a good representation of my day.  There are more mundane but important tasks that need to happen so that our IAFR missionaries can keep helping people survive and recover from forced displacement. 

So today I have been focused on finances, banking, budgets, and insurance.  Lots of fun, I am sure you are saying….but areas that are needed to keep going forward.  And as I was working with our finances, I am reminded of all those who sacrificially contribute to make IAFR and its work possible!  

And I am grateful!!

Posted on

Encouragement from an Invoice

Not often do I get encouraged when I receive a bill…unless of course it says “No Charge”.  But I have to admit that the invoice I received today, warmed my heart and confirmed our mission.

I wrote earlier that last week Tom and I were at Mount Olivet Conference Center, meeting with our IAFR Canadian counterparts.  The invoice came today by email.  It was a small note from our key contact at the conference center that caught my attention.  It read:

“As always it was our pleasure having you here for your retreats.  Your work focus and style has a comforting feel to it….it generates hope, if I might say!”

The space we work in, the space that contains over 68 million people who have been forcibly displaced, is often devoid of hope.  Our heart and mission is to bring hope, wherever we find ourselves.  I would be happy to receive more invoices like this…well, sort of.

Posted on

Keeping Me Alive

When we were at the UN gathering in Geneva last June, Tom Albinson and I had the opportunity to attend a discussion/working group on Faith Sensitivity in Humanitarian Spaces.  The session began with a panel member sharing the story of talking with a woman in a refugee camp.  She pulled out her Bible and said, “This has kept me alive”.

Many of us recognize the power of the Word of God.  Unfortunately, many people who have been displaced left their Bible behind in the midst of the circumstances that caused them to flee.  On visits to refugee camps, we are often asked if we can help find Bibles for the people.  And we have made it one of our priorities, with churches and individuals helping to make it possible through their financial support.

Recently, we were able to provide more Bibles for two churches in the Dzaleka Refugee camp with whom we work.  We are also thankful for our partner There Is Hope Malawi, who was able to deliver them to the churches.  May many more be encouraged and strengthened through these gifts of the Word of God.

Posted on

Mondays

IAFR Leadership Team (Tom Albinson – US, Tim Barnes – US, Laura Dobrowlski – Canada, Rob Perry – Canada) – Photo Credit – IAFR

After a week of meetings near Minneapolis with our Canadian colleagues and then a weekend that saw 12-14 inches of snow in our Central Illinois area, Monday was a day to dig out…literally and figuratively.  Mondays also means connecting with the IAFR Service team, the small group of people who serve the organization and its members.  As we met today in our online call, updates were shared, as well as burdens and challenges.  Our call also provided a time to declare our weekly priorities and where we might need input or help from one another.

There are a lot of balls in the air, such as responding to inquiries about IAFR, helping with projects that are being launche, providing training for new staff, preparing for travel to ministry sites or to present at gatherings…just to name a few.  2019 is off to a fast and good start.

Posted on

A New Year

It’s a new year and I am working on ramping up my IAFR blog.  Most of my December was spent in a cold and flu-induced fog, leading to a lost month.  But I’m back and ready to push into all the opportunities and challenges that a turn of the year provides.

So this week finds me near Farmington, Minnesota, in meetings with the leadership of IAFR Canada.  Mount Olivet Conference and Retreat Center (the picture is from this past August), is like a second home for IAFR US.  It’s our go-to venue for conferences and off-site meetings.  The facility provides a wonderful setting to work through all the ins and outs of working internationally to help people survive and recover from forced displacement.  The displacement challenges continue to heat up around the world and close to home.  

We believe that IAFR is uniquely positioned to be a conduit of hope and help.  Pray for us as we plan, listen, and work together to respond to all that God is calling us to do!