An International Adventure, Right Here in Abilene

Jealous of those study abroad friends of ours, always talking about England and Uruguay and Germany? As if Abilene isn’t exciting enough for some people. But for others, Abilene really is a destination location; the peace and quiet offers a place to rest and start over. Since 2003, the International Rescue Committee has resettled more than 1200 refugees from 20 countries in our town–about 200 each year.

These global travelers have overcome difficult-to-imagine situations just in order to get here. We have a chance to help them feel at home.

ACU for the IRC is our campus group that serves as a bridge between our community and the local IRC branch. Each year, the group hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for our local refugees. It’s a wonderful opportunity to share our cultural traditions with people who are just getting to know our country, and to reach out and show love and hospitality to these courageous people, separated from their friends and families.

You can watch a short video of one of the dinners from a few years ago on YouTube to get a betterpicture of what it might look like.

If you can volunteer to participate in this year’s dinner, we need volunteers!

You can help cook, serve, possibly transport some of the refugees to and/or from the event, and just sit down and get to know the individuals and families who’ll join us.