Serving Refugees, Dayton, Ohio (June 2024)

This post is by Kristin.

While Jeffrey was traveling to Korea, I received a visit of one of my best friends from Korea: Hongim Shin. She is my nursing school friend. We traveled together to Dayton, Ohio to visit another college friend, Myung Hee, who is serving refugees from other countries with her husband as part of an NGO called No Longer Strangers.

One of the services we provided was serving lunches for short-term volunteer teams visiting from other parts of the country. They were on a leader track for rebuilding houses for their organizations. All three of us were experienced cooks and efficient nurses. So working together was a pure joy.

On another occasion, we participated in World Refugee Day where refugees delivered their performances. We were serving at the booth for No Longer Strangers. We met a Rwandan man and also saw a performance made by Rwandan teens. I also met a Congolese girl who was born at a refugee camp in Tanzania, lived there for 18 years, and is now studying Justice in Ohio. She braided my hair. It was quite joyous.

Also, we made house visits to several refugee families, mostly Congolese, to help them coordinate their medications. As nurses, we were able to take an active part in this ministry. Serving others brings great joy to our hearts.

It was a short visit, but our joy of serving together as friends was amazing. - Kristin