Stranger Becomes Neighbor

My family (including 2 young children) lived in Southeast Asia for 3 years in the late 1980’s. We were in adult physical bodies but were babies in that culture. We were extremely grateful for our great and caring neighbors who took us “under their wings” who could explain the cultural differences to us and who were patient and looked out for our safety — our physical characteristics made us stick out—but we learned so much in that country which helped us understand better some cross-cultural differences in our part of the US. My spouse’s prior military experience helped us to understand better what that Southeast Asian country was experiencing at that time. Thank you for explaining what your groups and friends are doing to assist these refugees (who helped our American military, of which our own 2 children who later enlisted in the US military and were stationed in the Middle East in about 2006-2010) in attempting to learn to live in a different culture—I relived my prior experience through your stories. Please bring us updates on their progress.

It was super fantastic. I really appreciate your great work. I wish it was not single oriented (eg. not only focused on South Lake City). I feel so proud of Nazifa for all her fabulous work and our future cardiologist for her courage and hard work. I also want to contribute to an answer asked during the podcast. The source of hope is the time when brightness overcome the ignorance. And when true Afghan Soldiers rise again and Afghans’ true friends stand next to them, not leaving them behind. Zai

I do not think we will ever feel like we will do enough to help those in need. May we all keep helping & donating where we can. Beautiful heartbreaking stories.

My family has hosted two Afghan refugee families in our house for short periods working through a resettlement agency. The stories shared in this series are spot on and provide valuable insights into the minds of our neighbors that really helped me understand other ways we can serve. Our community has a long way to go to truly resettle these amazing and inspiring families but it’s a blessing to participate however we can.