Author: Monet, serving on staff with Kaleo Missions in San Diego.  To submit a story or a photo for our Kaleo Missions blog, email blog@kaleomissions.org.

I have never worked with refugee families before and had no idea about the process they go through to get to America. Sometimes it can take years to get to America and most of the families are escaping some type of danger they’re in from their former country.   Sometimes they will start at a refugee camp and stay there for almost twenty years, but it varies in each case. It was such a culture shock for me to see how welcoming the refugee families are about letting people come into their home, let alone play with their kids and teach them about God.

What I love the most is how the language barrier is no issue for the kids. Some of the kids learned how to speak English from their friends and if their parents didn’t understand English, the kids would interpret for them.  Each day the kids are waiting for us to come and play.

I also love the many different ethnicities and cultures the families come from, and the stories they have, and their processes of getting to the U.S. God is so amazing at building those bridges and opening doors I never thought possible. I had to get used to being uncomfortable and being put in uncomfortable situations to be able to build those relationships that lead them to Christ. That takes time and always looks different with each person, but I’m loving that I get to love on these kids the way God loves me! Unconditionally!!!