This week, I discovered a little bit about perseverance, and a lot about myself.

Perseverance because, as of Monday night, I was alone in my attempt to bring refugees to our community. Oh, I had well wishers, no doubt, but the people who had been trying to bring them in had given up. As a rule, I'm usually a bit of a coward, but there was (and is) no doubt in my mind that this was (and is) the right thing to do. As of Tuesday night, I felt even more alone, after being threatened with being run out of town in front of a dozen witnesses, not ONE of which would speak in my defense (I later decided they must have figured I was doing OK on my own; I can live with that).

On Wednesday, the tide began, decidedly to turn. But as I thought back on this week, I realized that, had I simply given up as others had, the whole project would have died right there.

I learned more about myself because I discovered a fortitude I personally didn't realize I had. Far too many times to count in life, I've "dropped the ball" when I've known better and yet witnessed an injustice. I've BEEN the one who stood silent while another person took heat for doing what was right. Worse yet, I've stood silent when NOONE would speak for what was right. And yet, here, I couldn't let that happen.

Maybe it was because the situation of the refugees spoke directly to me. One year ago, we were just as uncertain about our future, and LESS than one year ago, we arrived on a Greyhound bus with ten bags of personal effects, with no car and no job, to face a future just as uncertain and potentially unsettling as any faced by these refugees. We've seen firsthand the compassion of which our community is capable, and we've been embraced by strangers who don't CARE about where we come from, they only care about where we are going. And that is why I KNOW this community is the PERFECT community to take in as many refugees as it can house; even if it is currently unaware of that fact.

One of the greatest concerns I've had over many years as an activist was how I would stand up under pressure; in a situation where my beliefs were TRULY challenged.

After this week, I'm fairly certain I could hold my own.