Reflection: The Bridge

While watching The Good Lie on a Delta flight last year (highly recommend that film by the way), I started thinking about my friend Pavi and some incredible work that he and a group of friends have commenced in one of the most crime-ridden and poor communities in Columbus, Ohio.

Pavi has always exemplified a passion for serving international communities in the United States. While completing his PhD at Ohio State University, he launched an international student ministry that had hundreds of students participating. But what he started at The Bridge was very different.

Columbus has an incredibly huge Somali, Iraqi, and Cambodian refugee population. Refugee housing places these groups in one of the mostcrime ridden communities of Columbus, Hilltop. Most of these refugees do not speak English, and they are trying hard to adjust to the American way of life while working incredibly hard to maintain their traditional culture. They are outsiders in the greater community and have been made to feel largely unwelcome by many locals because they are so different. They have difficulty getting jobs, and not many roll out the carpet to welcome them.

So Pavi decided to create a community center that is specifically dedicated to helping these refugees develop critical skills to adjust to life in America. They express an interest in classes and then the classes are formed and taught by volunteers. The Bridge has a community garden where people can learn about the soil and gardening, and it also has a soccer field for the kids to play in. Some of the top classes requested by these refugees are English classes and math classes. They want to know how to count American currency and how to purchase groceries. They want to be able to exercise and not get ridiculed for their traditional clothing, or lack of understanding of American culture.

And the results have been incredible! Classes are full, and people are feeling a sense of community as they gather from myriad points around the globe to chart a new life in the United States. And Pavi and his team are incredibly excited by what they are seeing.

If you live in or near Columbus OH and are looking for an opportunity to serve neighbors from around the globe, I highly recommend you check out The Bridge. And if you don’t live in or near Columbus, I encourage you to make it a point to reach out to welcome our global neighbors who are working hard to chart a path toward a better future here in the US. Or just reach out to your neighbors in general—folks just don’t do that much anymore.

May we all grow in our commitment to serve and practice hospitality to our neighbors, whether around the block, or around the globe.

Our Amazing Delta Experience Part Three

It’s funny. A year ago, as we rushed to our gate to board our Orange County flight to Minneapolis after the Nuru Summit, I looked ahead to see the weather forecast for Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, our eventual destination. Very cold. Very, very cold. I then thought, “You know, with the weather looking as it does, what is the likelihood that we will encounter delays.”

With that, I sent a quick text to my good friend Steve Powell in Minneapolis just to see if he was home. Again, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to connect with my friend during our brief stopover.” And then I thought, “And if something happens with our flight, wouldn’t it be amazing to hang for a little longer and see his family?” He was in fact home and planned to stay alert for our call. Steve and his wife are incredible people, and both of them were elite shooters on WVU's rifle team. 

When we landed in Minneapolis, we found out our flight was delayed for at least two hours. That meant we would be landing in Pittsburgh close to midnight, and then driving from Pittsburgh to Mogantown in some pretty nasty cold conditions. I decided to approach the ticket counter at our gate to ask about the likelihood of further delays, and told her that if the situation is looking uncertain, we would love to schedule a flight for the following day, and that we had friends we could stay with. She was amazed that we would step forward in that way and sent us to Delta’s help desk to inquire further. When we arrived, we were greeted by a young woman named Diamond who thought it might be likely we could make the adjustment and sent us to talk directly with a booking agent.

The big key for me was that I did not want to be trapped in paying a change fee or an exorbitant uprgrade fee—my concerns were quickly relieved. A gentleman named Ray helped walk us through a new itinerary which would allow us to stay the night in Minneapolis, arrive in Pittsburgh during daylight hours, get some rest, AND catch up with some amazing friends.

Delta offered us incredible flexibility, and we were able to connect with friends we had not seen in nearly three years. We also had the distinct experience of being able to travel through subzero temperatures in Minnesota with amazing company.

My wife and I are incredibly grateful to Delta for their flexibility and their willingness to help make a potentially difficult travel itinerary incredibly pleasant from start to finish. I am completely impressed with their customer service, and grateful for the way so many of their staff went above and beyond in service to help make our journey incredible.

Our Amazing Delta Airlines Experience Part Two: The Good Lie

A year ago, after a layover that afforded us enough time in Atlanta to grab a meal at the Café Intermezzo (which I highly recommend in ATL), we boarded for our cross-country flight to Orange County for a Nuru summit. We were placed in a row with plenty of space and we were able to board with the first group. I personally loved the early boarding because it meant there was no question that our bag would be able to be stowed onboard without being checked. Jamie and I strive to travel light, and we had a brand new suitcase (an awesome Christmas present from her mom and dad) that we shared as our carry on (along with our backpacks).

We were seated, and then the in flight movie preview commenced shortly after takeoff. The movie? The Good Lie, starring ReeseWitherspoon. I can honestly say I have not seen many, maybe zero movies with Reese Witherspoon in it, but I can remember seeing the preview for this movie when it was initially released. Because of the nature of the work we are doing with Nuru, and the way God has opened our eyes to global issues, we were keenly interested in this movie. It is a film based on true stories of Sudanese child refugees who were named “The Lost Boys Of Sudan.” The film documents the 800+ mile trek of these children, who after losing their parents when warlords attacked their village, traveled across Sudan and Ethiopia to Kenya, where they spent 13 years in a refugee camp. They had to grow up way too fast—tens of thousands of children—fleeing their homes, and struggling to survive, but always holding on to their rich Christian faith.

The movie had us in tears. It was heartbreaking, inspiring, and soul moving. I’m grateful to Delta for choosing that movie as our in flight entertainment. As refugees are offered safe haven in our country, I can’t even imagine the difficulty of adjusting to a new culture as they work to make life-long dreams a reality. The movie stirred us in our mission to bring meaningful choices to people living in extreme poverty through our work with Nuru International, and made us appreciate Reese Witherspoons commitment to raise the profile of the challenges experienced by refugee populations abroad and in the US. Most of us have very little idea how incredibly blessed we are from a global perspective.

Delta could have shown us any film, but they chose The Good Lie. Hat’s off to you Delta for choosing to show a film that celebrates faith, perseverance, and family!

Our Amazing Delta Experience Part One

A little over a year ago, on Saturday January 3^rd, 2015 Jamie and I woke up at 3AM and commenced driving from Morgantown to Pittsburgh for a 645AM Flight. We left a little earlier because we had heard the roadways may be a little challenging for driving. Little did we know how challenging they would be. We started driving in our first vehicle option and nearly made it to the interstate near Star City WV when we hit ice patches along the road and across a bridge. The vehicle was rear-wheel drive, and so we decided it might be best to take a front wheel drive vehicle. 45 minutes later, we arrived back at our house to switch vehicles.

We started the drive once more, and ran into the same problem in the same location. This time there were a few more cars on the road (like a dozen total), and about half of them were in ditches or pulled over. We decided to turn back to the house. I knew if we were having trouble in town, the interstate would be even worse. And if we ran into trouble on the interstate, we could be stranded for quite some time, and we would not be able to walk back to our house. So we turned around again—it was 515AM when we made it back to the house. I thought, “There is no way we are going to be able to make this flight, and we might just have to eat the cost of the tickets, but that is better than being stranded, injured, or killed while attempting to make a flight.”

So when we arrived back home, I called Delta customer service and explained our situation. I had always heard that airlines make adjustments when a flight is delayed or cancelled or a connection is missed as a result of something on their end, but I was not sure what would happen in our situation. There was no way we would have made the flight. I feared they would charge us an exorbitant price for new tickets later in the day, and that we just would not be able to swing the upcharge. I had to make the flight for an All Nuru Staff Summit, but Jamie did not have to go. I figured Nuru would cover my flight, but that Jamie and I would just have to take the hit for her flight. Not a pleasant thought any way it is sliced, but it was a much better thought than one of us being hurt.

But, when I called Delta, I was amazed and surprised. The customer service representative told me that there was a weather bulletin for our area and that Delta would help us find a later flight at no extra charge!!! They booked us on an afternoon flight to Atlanta and then an evening flight to Orange County, CA. We were able to travel safely, and we were also able to get a little more rest. I quickly checked us in for the new flights, and made adjustments to our rental car reservation, and then I went back to bed for a couple hours after two stressful and tiring trips around town on ice covered roads.

Not only did Delta place us on a later flight with no up charge, but also they placed us in exit rows and allowed us to board in group one for each leg of our flight. While Jamie and I were not able to sit together on our first flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, we were able to link back up for the second leg. I had a great conversation with a flight attendant named Kristi from Toledo, and she told me about some of the great benefits that Delta extends to their employees as well. I am thoroughly impressed with Delta and I hope we are able to take future trips with them, and recommend them to you as well!