Back from Atlanta

Our trip to Atlanta was a whirlwind. We visited so many people in such a short period of time, both of us were exhausted by the time we left. Troy spent some time at the Stewart Center with the kids he worked with last year. Here's him with his favorite, Heavenly. When the kids arrived after school they ran to him yelling, "Mr Troy!" It was definitely cute!












I also visited my old service site, Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, a homeless outreach center. They've made a lot of changes from last year due to a stabbing that occurred right after I left. Things seem to be much calmer than they were when I was there. It was sad to see some of the same people there who are chronically homeless and haven't made any progress.

We spent about a day and a half spending time with our old neighbors in Clarkston. One of the highlights was seeing our little neighbor, Omar, who is almost two. Here he is showing off his Turkish dance moves, and the pic is of us and part of the Mamedov family (who used to live right next door to us).


It was definitely bittersweet visiting our neighbors. In the six months since we've left, many of their lives seem even more difficult than before. Because of the economy, many refugees have been let go from their jobs, and it's nearly impossible for them to find one that can help them sustain even a basic standard of livign. One family is behind on their rent, facing eviction. Another close friend lost her job several months ago and can't find another one. She's a single mother of two, and is teetering on the edge of losing her apartment. Another close friend who is a refugee from Bosnia just lost her mother to cancer. She came here over ten years ago, and the stories she has from her past are amazing. During the war her mother literally carried her on her back and hid in the forest as the rebel army was trying to kill them. I can't even imagine having experienced that, and now she's lost probably the closest person to her. It's easy to get caught up in the mundane problems of our life here in Anderson while we forget about the large-scale struggles of our refugee friends.

And here's the latest belly picture at 31 weeks (7 months). The time is drawing near!