November 2016, The aftermath...

After the election was over, we felt helpless, angry and sad. We went through all the signs of grieving and came out wanting to tell everyone around us that we will work harder to show that we are a community of families that care, truly care about one another. Mr. Shaw (Deven's Dad in my class) had a really good idea about going to the International Institute of St. Louis to get s small glimpse of  what it's really like for a refugee to try and flee their war torn country.

The first area we walked through was a the decision center. We were allowed to take 10 things with us (on our backs in satchels) to take with us, knowing we would never see the other things ever again. It was an incredible tough decision but ultimately if you are walking 100+ miles to another country the emotional items usually get left behind. We were distraught from the get go. How do people do this?!!

It was a long "journey" through the rooms, knowing we were sleeping with other families, rationed food & water, almost no bathing and had to share clothing if we had any extras. Then waiting for months to get the go ahead to our new country only to owe money to the government once we arrived and not knowing how we would pay bills, get our citizenship or even learn to speak the language. Lets just say it was a real eye opener and it made our hearts ache!

  Afterwards, we went to the International food room and tried some new morsels. Maeve's sense of humor was priceless through it all and while I didn't like the new food, I was glad to have perspective and was extremely thankful I was sleeping in my own bed that night.

Perspective is everything and taking our safety and reliable lives for granted is the first mistake we make when trying to make a better life for all. Thank Cod for good friends and working towards not being in the dark on whats happening around us in the world. Back to work with new fuel!