FINDING GOD ON PARK STREET
Dive into the heart of the Catholic experience at Yale University with host Grace Klise, Director of Alumni Engagement at Saint Thomas More. In each episode, Grace and her student co-hosts engage in conversations with students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members. Together, they discuss the nuances of living out the Catholic faith in today's world, culminating in the question, "Where have you found God?" This podcast offers a space to explore the intersection of spirituality, community, and education, providing listeners with personal insights and meaningful perspectives. Subscribe now to join the journey of discovery and connection.
FINDING GOD ON PARK STREET
Beyond Borders: A Tale of Gospel Living and Refugees
When we see images of displaced refugees around the world, we rarely think about the processes and people involved in the successful resettlement of those refugees. The hurdles of enrolling children in school, securing housing and jobs, getting them up to date on their immunizations, and securing the legal protections they need to stay in their new home...today's guest, Kathleen Cooney, knows all about these efforts as she has spearheaded Saint Thomas More's Refugee Resettlement Initiative with Assistant Chaplain, Allan Esteron, who also joins the podcast today as a co-host.
When violence erupted in Syria in 2015, the STM community responded with generosity, asking themselves, "How does the Gospel compel us to act?" Kathleen and Allan learned from the efforts of welcoming that first family to New Haven to prepare themselves and the community to welcome a second family, this one from Afghanistan, in 2021. There have been challenges, plenty of them. Yet, the refugees' resilience, determination, and faith have made the Gospel come alive for Kathleen and Allan. In addition, the astounding generosity of the STM and greater Yale/New Haven communities has reminded Kathleen and Allan that Christ is present in our midst.
As the STM community gears up to welcome a third family this Fall, the pair talks about the steps they are undertaking, from gathering volunteers and selecting interpreters to finding affordable housing. They are committed to his mission because they are committed to people, especially those most in need. And, they want you to get involved, too. Tune in to hear of the myriad of ways in which you can give of your time or talents to welcome another family to our community.
Welcome to Finding God on Park Street, a podcast from St Thomas More, Yale's Catholic Chapel and Center. I'm your host, Grace Klise, joined today by my colleague and fellow assistant, chaplain Allan Esteron, as my guest co-host. Thanks for joining us. We're often encouraged to live our faith, but what does that look like? Meet Kathleen Cooney, a longtime member of St Thomas More, who chairs our refugee resettlement initiative.
Grace Klise:With Allan, Kathleen is living the Gospel through her selfless dedication to welcoming refugees to our community, raising money, securing housing and employment, taking children to appointments, supporting English language learning. Kathleen is coordinating all of this. She's not doing it alone. The STM community and greater Yale New Haven community are behind these efforts, showing up again and again with astounding generosity. You'll hear Allan and Kathleen reflect on the challenges they've faced, as well as the many ways in which they've seen God present in this ministry and in the people it's brought into their lives. And you can get involved in this work too, because we're welcoming another refugee family this fall. We talk all about that in this episode, so let's dive in. So you two have really become movers this summer moving furniture, unloading it, organizing it. Is that true?
Kathleen Cooney:Shakers and movers? Yes, we have. The STM community is absolutely incredible. You ask for something and they deliver. So Allan has been very busy renting trucks and showing us his muscles. He and you know Louis and Angel have been incredible. And then we've got a couple of people from the community who show their muscles and help out too, so it's been great. Yeah, yeah.
Allan Esteron:And, like multiple houses, there's a couple of days we're in I think we went to, I think, four houses. So we made a plan that we will map it out. Let's go first to Monroe and then to North Haven and all that.
Kathleen Cooney:But overall it was the generosity of the donors and being part of this and donating furniture is just amazing, oh yeah because, Grace, we have no idea what kind of a family we're going to get, the number of people and all of that, so we have to gather a lot. And then you know, it's stood down in the basement at St Thomas More and yesterday Allan and Louis and Angel went through and organized it according to beds and bureaus.
Grace Klise:Yeah, I feel like that will be a common theme in this conversation today.
Grace Klise:It's the generosity of the community. I just walked through the basement and was blown away by the amount of furniture that is down there as we prepare to welcome our third family in this refugee resettlement initiative at STM. Can we go back to the history, Kathleen? You were around for the very beginning the first family, the El Haraki family from Syria. How did this project originate? Was it a group of community members who said what can we, as this very blessed community here at St Thomas More, do to support the most vulnerable? And then what were those first steps like in sponsoring that first family?
Kathleen Cooney:So two things come to mind. There was a horrific picture that usually people don't broadcast, but the picture of a Syrian little two-year-old that washed ashore on a Turkish beach. I can still see the picture with this red shirt and his boot pants and his little sneakers, and it just it really hit a nerve with a lot of people, and we were so aware of what refugees will do to leave a place like Syria with. You know, it's not safe and parents are just trying to do something better for their children. So that hit a chord. And then beloved Harry Attridge got up and when asked why we should do this, he said two words: Matthew 25. And so that sparked an interest. And then we were familiar with, somebody called IRIS, which is the Integrated Refugee and Immigration Services, and so they sponsor refugees. But a lot were coming in at this point and so they know they couldn't do it all, so they asked for co-sponsors.
Kathleen Cooney:So we as a community, under the leadership of Father Bob, got together and talked about why we should do this and Jan Attridge led the brigade and we came up with 20 different committees and volunteers, most of them are community, but they were a lot of were, staff and they were, Sister Jenn, was very active there. We had students who helped, and so we formed a committee and you have to raise money and you have to come up with all of these furniture and a place to live and all of these kinds of things. And we did that pretty easily because, as we talk about the generosity of the community and the board members and the folks at St Thomas More, we were able to then fill out an application and then they give you a green light and that's when a refugee family comes in, they say, okay, you're good to go.
Kathleen Cooney:And so we got the El Harakis. They came from Syria. We met them and there was a mother and a father and six children. So we found a three bedroom, four bedroom apartment in New Haven, which was hard to do. And then it began. We tried to get a job. We had the kids all go to school, we had to take them to doctor's appointments, so our job began once they arrived, to try to help them assimilate into such a different world that they were coming from. And we had a tremendous amount of support helping them out. And so that was seven years ago.
Grace Klise:And what has that assimilation process looked like? How is the family doing today?
Kathleen Cooney:The mom has gotten her green card, so she's an American citizen. So all of the kids are American citizens. The oldest son just finished his first year at UConn. They own their own home, they have a car. Two of them have driver's license, so they're living the American dream right now. So it's beautiful to see how they have really become part of the American life.
Grace Klise:And Allan joined the efforts in the leadership role after that correct.
Kathleen Cooney:Two years ago we decided it was time to do it again, and that's when I had the privilege of working with Allan. They wanted it to be community led with somebody from STM, to support. It's a privilege to work with Allan because he lives his faith okay and everything you ask he just he thinks about it and, you know, follows the Gospel. That's what he does. I mean, it's a privilege and an honor to work with Allan. So we then started up.
Kathleen Cooney:But IRIS was talking about this SIV, which is a special immigrant visa. This is for people who helped the US military abroad, and if they helped, then they had a special visa to come to America. So, you know, we weren't sure where we were going to get a family from, and then we got a green light and two days later our family came. So the father had worked with the US military in Afghanistan and so they were told when you know, in August 30th actually that they had to leave Afghanistan, so he had to pack up his wife and six kids and come here. It wasn't safe for them to be there.
Grace Klise:So slightly different situations for the two families.
Kathleen Cooney:The difference between our Afghan family and the Syrian family was the Syrian family wanted to come here. The Afghan family were very happy in their community. They're living in almost a commune with their relatives, their in-laws, their cousins, and one of the mothers has four sisters. They were all living together and they saw each other and they loved their life. They loved their country. But when the Americans left, they had to leave, so it was very traumatic for them to come. So we met them and, you know, tried to help them assimilate into, you know, being an American. We were able, luckily, to get them a single family house in West Haven and again call to action and everybody moved furniture in and beds and did the garden there and did everything and made a beautiful home, excuse me, we made a house for them and then they made it a home. So it was just beautiful to meet this family with six children. And then again our job became how can we help them without being the American that has all the answers? So basically, you know, what IRIS taught us is they help, support us by giving us a template of how much support we should give them, because the government gives them money and this is how you spend it, and this is how we make them aware.
Kathleen Cooney:Oftentimes, some refugees come in and they're not used to using money, and so, therefore, this is a whole new learning curve for a lot of them, and you have to be patient and not expect them to know how to do this right away. You know, they hoped that we could get them an apartment on a bus line so that they were not always dependent on us. We wanted them to become independent, and they talk about accepting messiness, which you know as a grandmother and as a mother, as a father, Allan, you know, if somebody's struggling, you want to step in and say, oh, this is, let me help you, let me do this. And basically, the way they're going to become independent is to suffer through a little messiness, to learn how to take a bus, to learn how to go to the grocery store, to learn how to walk to places you know. So you have to let them figure it out a little bit with your support, right?
Grace Klise:So Allan, from your perspective, what was this like the second time through?
Allan Esteron:I came in 2016, and by that time I think the family was settled, was in Connecticut and I remember I think there was a one time they visited St Thomas More and everyone went and met with them. It was really amazing, starting my year at STM, and learning that St Thomas More sponsored the refugee family. And just going back to what Kathleen mentioned, I think oftentimes we have a local feel of the church, right when we are at STM, that we, of course, we have, I think, that local concerns and even national concerns, but I think part of the challenge for us as Catholics or as Christians is to go beyond that as well, like the local and global connection. So I think, similarly with the family in Syria, like the global need, and then there was a local response and kind of continuing with that with our family from the family from Afghanistan. So there was again a global need, the pull out of troops from Afghanistan, so sudden, and then those who work with the American troops there they were scrambling to leave, so there was really an urgent need. So again, a global outside of us. But our church as STM and as our community, we hear those, we listen to them, we are sensitive to those and so we,
Allan Esteron:I think that's being part of a Church and of our being Catholics again, being aware of that and the community with Kathleen's amazing, amazing, inspiring leadership. I'm just really support her. Whatever she needs and yeah, from my perspective it was really the way I'm thinking right now is really the word Gospel. You know, when you move. I think the call for us to welcome a stranger and walking with them, joining with them whoever they are, their culture, their upbringing, their identities, it's really being able to just not walk with them from a distance but really closely and learning from them.
Allan Esteron:And there's a lot of admin jobs too. There are challenges as well, like getting them insurance, getting them social benefits, and all that which I think is kind of probably some of the hardest part of it because of and legal as well. But overall, I think, the family and the changes you see every day and right now it's more. It's about two years, we're about approaching two years. It's just amazing to look back and where they are right now. It's a moment, yeah, it's a grace- filled two two years, I think and for sure there are challenges and there's a lot of challenges. I think, with the support of everyone, I think we're it's happy to see how where we are right now compared to two years ago.
Grace Klise:I think what a lot of people maybe don't realize is that there's so much work and momentum and energy just to prepare for the family's arrival, but then, once they arrive, that's when the real work begins and that's maybe not as always glamorous or exciting. It's a lot of administrative things and legal things and appointments and the everyday support, tutoring the children and the family, and from both your perspectives, what have been some of the challenges that you've alluded to? Could you share a few specific ones?
Kathleen Cooney:Part of the challenges is health issues and we have two people who are actually on the faculty, one's a nurse practitioner and the other is a physician and they help with the adults and the children getting them appointments. Before they can go to school they have to have physicals, just getting appointments and then taking them to appointments. And oftentimes IRIS will give New Haven, I don't want to say a difficult family, but a family with challenges because we're close to Yale New Haven Hospital and if they settled somebody farther away they would have more difficulty getting to appointments. So we're close by and this family had a lot of medical challenges that we're still dealing with. It's what we have to do because it's the right thing to do. And when you talk about the Gospel, I mean I think about what St Francis is supposed to have said. We preach the Gospel always and if we have to, use words, and that's what I see in community members who when you see a challenge, they don't use words, they act, they say what can I do to help, they step forward, whether it's tutoring or driving, or two Yale students who are incredibly busy and they used to tutor two of the family members on Friday afternoon there were three Yale students incredibly busy schedule and they would help us with interpreting. We had people like you, Grace, who would go into the house and work with students just to tutor, because learning English is hard. So it's all of the challenges.
Kathleen Cooney:You know, getting a job. We had somebody in the community that stepped up and got the dad two jobs, so he's now happily working and bringing enough money to put food on the table and all of the above health challenges were huge. We're still dealing with those, and English language is one of the biggest challenges that we have, because helping somebody learn English is so important when you come from another country, because that determines what kind of a job you're going to have. If you don't know English, you have to start out with minimal job and you won't advance unless you know the language. Language is hard for a lot of people, so that's been a big challenge and continues to be a challenge. Allan, can you think of any others?
Allan Esteron:No, I second that. I think the learning English is definitely still a challenge for us because I think it opens opportunities not only for the father and for the rest of the family, and right now Muhammad is working and trying to find time as well for him to learn English and to really set that as a priority and connect that to future opportunities as well. So that was a challenge and I think I would say just add a little bit some legal challenges as well, because they came in as parolees and that expires, and fortunately they extended it right now. But prior to today we engaged in application for them to be asylees, which is a better status, and just navigating that process was also not instantaneous. You need to be patient. You need to be patient with the process and there will be sometimes impatience from the family. We are dependent on the government's response, sometimes very slow, so that was another challenge through the process.
Kathleen Cooney:Yeah, because, as you said, Allan, they came in as parolees which the government never had to use. Before you were either asylum seekers or refugees, but there were so many Afghans that came in, so that's what they were called humanitarian parolees, and that was only good for two years, so that's been a challenge.
Grace Klise:In the midst of all those challenges, what have you learned from the family and their strength and perseverance in a transition like this?
Kathleen Cooney:It's absolutely amazing when you realize you're thinking, oh, we're supporting them, we're going to help them and everything, and you realize it took a lot to get there for them, ok, coming up everything and leaving their country and coming here. They have incredible strengths that you're not even aware of until you spend time with them, ok, and you realize that their culture is beautiful, the food that they eat and the clothing that they wear. The mom makes all of the dresses for the girls and they wear beautiful Afghan clothes. I mean, they're very religious, they pray five times a day and they're willing to share their culture with you in a beautiful way and they want to maintain that culture. And the difference between the two families that we've resettled is the first family, they didn't have any relatives here. This family had two nephews. They lived close by and so they just helped us support them as well. And there's a huge Afghan population now in New Haven and in West Haven. And I became aware of that when a holiday that I never knew about called Eid, which happened right after Ramadan, they would all gather at Lighthouse Point, and so when I went there it was like a sea of colors. All the women were on one side and all the men were at a different side and they were just enjoying each other's company. So they support each other as well. I mean, there are other Afghan women that the mom meets when she's at the doctor's appointments and they're happy to communicate with each other.
Kathleen Cooney:Our mother, her mother, died shortly after she got here, and when I went to the house, there were all these sandals on the front porch and I had no idea what was going on. But when I went in they were all sitting, all these women all sizes and shapes and ages, and they were crying and laughing and they invited me in for a cup of tea and I didn't know what was going on. But one woman spoke English and she told me that Camila, the mom's mom, had died in Afghanistan. So they were sharing stories, they were telling stories where they all would laugh and then they would tell a story and they would all cry. And they allowed me to be part of this.
Kathleen Cooney:So I learned how you honor somebody who died in their culture and I just was, you know, so happy to be not happy, that's a terrible word to use but happy that they allowed me to be part of it and not push me away. They're very generous, they're smart, the mother said to a doctor at the hospital you know, I never had an opportunity to go to school in Afghanistan, and if I did, I might be a doctor too. And just the way she said it, she's funny and she's kind and I've learned a lot from them, Allan, and you as well, you know.
Allan Esteron:Yeah, I know you're very connected with each of the family members, but I think especially with Camilla, and yeah, they come here. You think that we need to help them, but I think it could be the other way around too, you know, and they bring a lot of gifts and I think, if you want to, I know you're very close to Camilla and she has a special talent of weaving and maybe you can talk about that for a bit.
Kathleen Cooney:So she's got a lot of children so she can't go off and do a job, okay, and yet she's very marketable. She can sew like you can't believe, you know. And I took her for fabric and there's a fabric store in Orange and the woman who runs the store is from Afghanistan. So you know, she's helped me with understand what kind of fabric you use to make a dress or whatever. So one of our community members asked if she showed her a picture and said can you make this? And it was like curtain. You know that, so of course Camilla said of course I can. So she bought fabric and the mother made this beautiful curtain for this community member and so she showed it off and people are like, wow, you know, she's good, you know.
Kathleen Cooney:And one day when I had her at the fabric store, the woman said to me the one, is she good? I said she's incredible. I mean, we gave them a couch. They said no, no couches. She made all of these cushions for the, because they sit on the floor, you know, with cushions behind and beautiful and beautifully. You know, it seems like they get the fabric and all of a sudden she's got it made the next day. So she said to me, is she good? And I said she's incredible.
Kathleen Cooney:So she said there's a woman on the phone who would like an Afghan dress, but she doesn't sew. So she asked her in Pashto would you be willing to do this? And the mother said of course. So they were talking on the phone and all of a sudden I could hear the woman in the store say no, no, no, no, no.
Kathleen Cooney:She was talking in Pashto, because the woman asked our mom how much it was going to cost, and she said like $5 to make a dress, and the woman in the store said no, no, no. This is America, this isn't Afghanistan. You have to charge more money, you know for it, but she's, she's generous and she always wants to make me a dress in this Afghan. But she's, like I said, she's very marketable and she loves to sew. So she and her daughter, who is 16, she also sews and she cleans and she cooks, but she, you know, like I said, she I think she's got a little cottage industry about to happen. She's got two special needs children at home and so therefore, that's another challenge that she needs to be at home. So while she's there, she gets a lot done though. Grace Klise: Thanks for sharing those stories yeah.
Kathleen Cooney:Kathleen Cooney: So if you need something sewn call Camilla. You know she does all of that, you know, and she's good, it's incredible, and fast and cheap.
Grace Klise:So, as we're looking ahead to preparing to welcome a third family, we've spoken about the generosity of the community. I know that the fundraising goal was reached in a couple weeks, which is incredible. We have a basement full of furniture. What are you doing right now to prepare for the arrival of this family? Again, we don't know when exactly they're coming and from where they are coming, and what are the needs that you're still looking for from our community maybe people who listen to this who could get involved.
Kathleen Cooney:So basically, the difference between applying this time and two years ago is IRIS asked us to do something a little different. They asked us to come up with two different kinds of languages that would be able to get interpreters for, and so if we said Arabic and Pashto when we get the green light, finally, if a family comes in that speaks Pashto, we'll get a family, but if a family comes in that speaks Congolese, we will not get that family. So the more flexible you are with languages, the quicker you will get a family. They're coming in soon in the fall and so, depending on our two languages where we can get interpreters, Allan was able to get three students who will help us with Pashto, and we know a lot about Afghan culture and all of that. So I think that would be easier for us if we got an Afghan family. The other language we talked about was possibly getting somebody from Ukraine, because we have people in the community, people in New Haven, who know that. So basically, we're still trying to determine the second language.
Allan Esteron:Just yesterday, I asked Mohammed from our first family if his sons will be willing to translate, and the interpreters as they speak Arabic, and he said yeah, yeah, they'll be willing to do that. So we're gathering volunteers and seeing options for us and hopefully in a couple of weeks, we'll have more and more people to help us.
Kathleen Cooney:So the challenge this time is we're not so lucky to have a house waiting for them. Housing is outrageous. Number one it's expensive. There's not a lot of affordable housing in New Haven or West Haven or any place, and if you can find affordable housing, it's got like one bedroom or two and that's it. So housing is an issue and that's why we needed to raise a little bit more money this time, because we'll have to possibly put people in temporary housing until we can find a place, because, as we said, we don't know the makeup of the family until they give us a green light and say Allan and Kathleen, you've got a family of seven or six, you know, or eight, and then we have to find a suitable housing for them, which you scramble to try to do.
Kathleen Cooney:Seven years ago there were not a lot of jobs. There are a lot of jobs now, and so finding employment is not going to be an issue, but housing is a huge issue for us. So if anybody knows about three or four bedroom apartment close to the Yale New Haven Hospital, whether it's in New Haven or West Haven or Hamden or East Haven, that would be great if they could let us know.
Allan Esteron:And just to add to that, about our team of volunteers. I think we have at least one for each committee, but I think it would be great to expand that our subcommittees, the committees that we have, because, for instance, you're in the ride coordinator or ride coordination team when you bring them to appointments, so you would like more volunteers for that. So currently we are asking for volunteers. So if you're available you have an hour or so during the week that you can spare we would like to have you join us and also down the line, I think, the tutoring as well, tutoring students. Again, number one is if they're coming from a non-English speaking country. Again, we said earlier that English is very important, so we would need volunteers for that, for English. So we're expanding the team. We would like you to join us. It's really a great opportunity to learn from a new family and hopefully you can help us.
Grace Klise:What are the subcommittees?
Kathleen Cooney:Allan, yes, we get quite a few of them.
Allan Esteron:We have an admin or documentation committee. So there's a lot of paperwork. There's a lot of paperwork and you log into the social services website and that's a lot of work too. Then housing, like Kathleen mentioned, housing is very important. Employment, ride coordination or ride coordinators. We have also transportation, which is kind of different. It's like teaching the family to use the bus system. There's also cultural orientation committee, or we combine it as also the welcoming committee. So when the family comes in, we prepare a meal they're familiar with it, ideally from their country and we need to find a restaurant, an order, and then, once they come to the house, we will kind of set the table. So that's part of that committee. Finance is another committee. Learning to navigate the banking system, creating bank accounts. Am I missing anything else?
Kathleen Cooney:So education is big, so you have to get the kids in school ASAP, as soon as they come. Health, the medical and the paperwork that Allan was talking about, because the government supplies money when they come in. They support them. You have to document everything, and you have to document everything for IRIS and two years ago, Allan and I did it and it was like a full-time job, because not only did you have to say I brought them here on this day, but this is what happened, and if you don't document it, it means you didn't do it is the way they felt about it. So we have somebody in the community, believe it or not, who says, oh, I love paperwork.
Kathleen Cooney:So we have her and she said well, I said I'll give you all the information. You do all the paperwork, so we're very lucky to have her, but what else? I think we cut them all out.
Allan Esteron:Yeah, I think those are, oh and then furniture.
Kathleen Cooney:So furniture and then not only furniture gathering, which we've done, but then putting it into the house, and so we'll need volunteers with that when the time comes, because once we find a place you have to immediately go in. And the first time we had to clean the apartment before we could move furniture, and this time the place was spotless and we just had to move the furniture in, but that takes bodies, so that's going to be something that we need help with. And then there's another thing that there was a person from, she just called and said I want to help and she wanted to, you have to put in food and stock the pantry in the house, and she works at Yale and she doesn't come to our church.
Kathleen Cooney:But she's just this gracious woman who, when I gave her the list, she said, oh, I'll take care of everything. I said, no, it's a long list, just do a few things. Oh, no, and she wants you to do that again. So she put in flour and sugar and you name it, and the house was stocked with many, many, many things. And then one of the Yale students was there and he wrote on like flour, because it's just like white powder, what is this stuff. He wrote it in Pashto and then in English and he labeled everything, so they were good to go when they came, thanks to the generosity of this wonderful Yale employee who heard about us and wanted to help.
Grace Klise:So, people of all skills and interests, we have a job for you helping settle this new family.
Kathleen Cooney:Like Allan said, whether you have an hour or you have three hours, we've got a job. We can fill that time, trust me.
Allan Esteron:And also a good point that he said Kathleen, it's beyond STM. Actually, we have volunteers who are from the community who are also not part of STM in a way that you, and not part of Yale as well, not part of Yale and not a worshipper with us, thinking about those students who interpret it for us, and they're not part of STM, but they're part of this project.
Allan Esteron:And I just want to point that out, that it's a beautiful thing, too that the people come together beyond our STM community but beyond our worshiping community and being part of this project. It's just amazing.
Grace Klise:I'm thinking of what you said, Kathleen, about Harry standing up in response to the question of why do we do this? And he's saying, Matthew 25, whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me. So, as we're starting to close up this conversation, how has your work with refugee families the last seven years impacted your faith and your understanding, especially of Matthew 25?
Kathleen Cooney:It's the right thing to do and so that's why we do it. Father Ryan had a sermon last Sunday and it was, you know, Jesus asked who do you think I am? And he talked about embodying the spirit of love and compassion and generosity. And that's who I see Jesus as and I see in community members and students and you know faculty. And I see Jesus and I see it in not words but actions. And it's a beautiful thing to see and it's made my faith even greater. Because sometimes you question the Catholic Church, what's going on in the world and the Catholic Church, and you have some doubts maybe. But then you see this community and the actions and it certainly has strengthened my faith even more. And to see what I get from the smiles on the family, the mother, how much they appreciate what you all have done for them, you know it's a beautiful thing. So I see the grace of God in them as well.
Grace Klise:So yeah, Allan, you described the last two years since our Afghan family arrived as grace- filled two years. Where have you seen Jesus in the last two years working with this family?
Allan Esteron:Yes, I would echo Kathleen's answer from the volunteers who work tirelessly and I would say it's a commitment, especially throughout the process after the family arrived and I see Kathleen's commitment. Really this is amazing. A family suddenly needs something or an appointment needed to be met and the family needs a driver for the dental checkup. Kathleen and Pat Ryan Krause and Judith a lot of volunteers really the word commitment, even though it's hard and I remember before we said that we will sponsor another third family- we were in the Lynwood conference, Kathleen, myself and Joe and the question, should we sponsor another?
Allan Esteron:IRIS was asking us, oh, could you sponsor another family? It took some time for me, personally at least, to think about that answer because I know that there's a, it's demanding in a way, especially the early ones, and I think we came out the word Gospel again. This is what the Gospel calls us, and welcoming a stranger, welcoming someone, and I'm an immigrant myself and welcomed by this community so much, and seeing that I could do that as well for another family, and that's amazing. So I've seen those grace again.
Allan Esteron:Our fundraising was again thanks to Jan Attridge and Leo. Their leadership and just the response is just amazing, meaning that the community really supports this and wants this to happen. So that's another grace in itself. I would say the family and Kathleen mentioned about that they have family here and you could see that's a grace, it's a grace itself, that's a blessing, the way they help each other, the way that they care for each other and the way that they're in a foreign land. It's just them here. It's just amazing to see that, that there's sometimes there's a mention about individuality and just being successful individually and just good to see families working together throughout challenges. So those are the moments of blessings, I would say.
Kathleen Cooney:So IRIS cautions adopting the family, because when you adopt a family it means that you're going to be with them for the rest of their lives and they feel like they're not going to be independent ever, because they're always going to need your support. So I don't think we've adopted this family, but what we've done is some of us have become friends, and it's what friends do for each other. So it's a beautiful thing to take the kids to doctor's appointments and dentist appointments on school and all of that. Every once in a while we'll take them to someplace that's fun to the playground or the park or whatever and to see that they're just regular, normal kids and they see the joy and what you get from it. So if you have a spare half hour and you want to take some young kids to the park or whatever, I mean, do it, because you'll get so much more out of it than what you're giving. Trust me.
Grace Klise:Thank you to both of you for your leadership and the way in which you're helping all of us in the community and beyond the community really live out the Gospel to welcome the stranger. And our last question that we ask all guests, Kathleen, is where have you been finding God recently?
Kathleen Cooney:Oh boy. So I see God a lot. I see him in my husband and when something needs to be done, he just does it because it's the right thing to do. I see it in the faith community at St Thomas More. I see it in the students who step up. I see it in the physicians that help out. When you take people to, you know they're not doing their job. They're doing much more than that. I just I see it when I look in the mirror. Sometimes you know, and that's a good thing. So I know I'm doing what I'm asked to do because it's I keep saying the same thing it's the right thing to do.
Grace Klise:Thank you, thanks for everything you both have done and we're so grateful that you, especially Kathleen, answered this call and have persevered with commitment and hope and faith, and it's not easy.
Kathleen Cooney:So it's not. However, you know, when we talked with Joe Connolly about it, there was a talk about maybe Allan wouldn't do it, and I'm like, oh, I can't do this without Allan. Allan and I are a team.
Grace Klise:You two are yes, yes.
Kathleen Cooney:Like I said, it's an honor to work with Allan, and you know when I don't know how to do something on the computer. He's young, he knows, and he never treats me like I'm an old lady that doesn't know how to do something.
Allan Esteron:It's a pleasure to work with you too, Kathleen.
Grace Klise:Yes, it's been a pleasure having this time in the studio, hearing more about this, so thank you to both of you, my co-host Allan, and thanks to everyone who is listening. We'll see you next time on Finding God on Park Street. If you enjoyed listening today, please share this episode and leave us a rating and review. The producer of this podcast is Robin McShane, director of communications at STM. Sound mixing and editing are by Ryan McAvoy of Yale Broadcast Studio and graphics are by Mary Lou Cadwell of Cadwell Art Direction. We hope this podcast encourages you to seek God's presence in your everyday life. Thanks for listening and be assured of our prayers.
