Bridging Cultures Podcast

We know you care deeply about the world beyond your four walls. So do we, that’s why we created the Bridging Cultures podcast.

When you listen to this podcast. you can expect engaging interviews from community leaders and innovative entrepreneurs in economically emerging countries. You can tune in to hear these interviews and some witty banter from our awesome hosts. While most of the episodes are engaging with leaders in other countries, you can also expect some educational Q&A with special guests from Resurrection’s global staff. Join us as we dive into season 1 for inspiring stories of empowerment, sustainability and resiliency.

Episodes are released every Wednesday.

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Show Notes

S4 E7 Long Walk Out of the Congo

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from __ countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search of a more hopeful future.

Blessing, shown here with our very own Pod Squad member Sheree Reece…one of the few opportunities we’ve had to conduct an interview in person.

In this episode we hear directly from Blessing, who fled the Congo with his mother and siblings. Traveling 200 miles on foot to Malawi, Blessing took on more and more responsibilities as his mother’s health declined and they had to leave belongings behind that they could no longer carry. Listen to his story and prepare to be inspired!

Where Is She Now

Blessing now lives in Kansas City while working, attending classes, volunteering with his church’s children ministry and interpreting for refugees through Jewish Vocational Services. Whew!

In Case You Were Wondering

Blessing mentions Chichewa (pronounced chuh-chay-wuh) as a language he needed to learn when he arrived in Malawi. Chichewa is widely spoken by about 9.6 million people in parts of East, Central and Southern Africa.

Want some trivia to stump your friends? There are three universities in the United States that offer resources for learning Chichewa:

Michigan State University
Stanford University
University of Berkeley, California.

S4 E6 There and Back Again - Assimilating From Ecuador

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from __ countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search of a more hopeful future.cordion Content

In this episode we hear from Belen who migrated from Ecuador to the United States…not once, but twice. The first time, at the age of three, she came illegally with her mother who left the rest of their family behind so she could earn income to pay off debt. Although Belen returned to Ecuador at age 10, she migrated once again as a teenager– this time legally – in an effort to expand her education and pursue opportunities in the U.S. Belen shares the pressure she felt to fit in with college friends, and the sacrifices she made to assimilate to a new culture. Now, many years later she is intentional about sharing her heritage with her children.

Where Is She Now

Belen, who now goes by Micaela, lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Drew and two children. Drew is a worship minister and Belen owns her own digital marketing company named A Swell Space, where she helps small businesses and brands enhance their online presence.

In Case You Were Wondering

In honor of Belen and her foodie dreams, we’re including a recipe here for one of her favorite meals, spicy seafood soup. Looks delish, right?

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 cups water
3 Knorr Caldo de Camarón bouillon cubes
1 medium russet potato (peeled and diced)
1 medium zucchini (diced)
3 teaspoons ground pasilla chili pepper
1 teaspoon ground ancho chili pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 fresh lime (cut into wedges)

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep shrimp and set aside.
Heat oil in a soup pot and saute the onion, carrots and garlic with the bay leaf,salt, pepper and oregano until onion softens.
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bouillon cubes, potato, zucchini, and both types of chili pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add shrimp to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until opaque and cooked through.
Serve with lime wedges and garnished with chopped cilantro.

This is Belen

S4 E5 - Chaos in the Congo

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from __ countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search of a more hopeful future.

At age 14 Fabiane and her family were living a good life in the Congo. But a civil war was brewing, and in 2002 they left in search of a safer, more peaceful place. Instead, what followed was a horrifying story of murder, sexual violence and daily challenges.

Where Is She Now

Fabian has been in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp for years with her siblings and five children. Although the camp was built in 1994 to accomodate 12,000 people, it is now home to more than 50,000. Crime is sky rocketing, mugging and killings occur frequently, and she does not feel safe. Even basic needs like food and clothing are difficult to acquire.

Mentioned in the Episode:

Fabiane received aid from PLAN International, a development and humanitarian organization that advocates for children’s rights and equality for girls: plan-international.org

Organizations that help migrate and integrate refugees:

Jewish Vocational Services – jvs.org

Della Lamb – dellalamb.org

Catholic Charities – crs.org

S4 E4 From Columbia to the Con

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from __ countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search of a more hopeful future.

In this episode Leika(sp?) tells her story. You will be entertained by her humor, amazed at her perseverance and saddened by the circumstances she encountered when she arrived in the U.S. Being from a prominent family in Columbia, her social status meant nothing here and she was actually seen as “lesser than.” This was evident upon her arrival when she had an opportunity to attend a camp in North Carolina to learn English and work with kids. Instead,she learned her family had paid $5000 only for her to work as a housecleaner for the camp manager. Listen to learn how Leika not only survived but thrived!

Where Is She Now

Spoiler Alert: Leika’s story has a great ending. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children, and frequently travels to the US-Mexico border to help asylum seekers prepare for court dates.

In Case You Were Wondering

To learn more about the Asylum Narrative Translation Project, visit abara.org and click on “Border Response” and then “Asylum Narrative Translation Project.”

S4 E3 - Ganglands of Haiti

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from __ countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search of a more hopeful future.

In this episode we hear the story of Rodny, who had to leave his home country of Haiti in search of work and a safer life for his family.

For many years, Rodny made a very good living as an interpreter for foreign teams who provided humanitarian assistance to his struggling country. When President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, it left Haiti without a functioning government and with no answer to increasing gang violence.

When A “Do Not Travel” alert was issued for Haiti, teams were unable to return and Rodny found himself without a job. With no other options, he took his wife and young daughter to a safer community and started to plan his dangerous escape from Haiti.

Where Is He Now

Rodny is safe and working as a security guard in Boston and is hoping to bring his wife and daughter to the United States as soon as they are able to secure visas.

In Case You Were Wondering…

This is what breadfruit looks like. It has many health benefits like controlling blood pressure, managing diabetes and bolstering immunity. How cool is that? And hey, if it smells like fresh baked bread, count us in!

S4 E2 - Fleeing Afghanistan

We are honored this season to share the immigration stories of brave individuals from many countries who had to leave their homes under extreme circumstances in search for a more hopeful future.

In this episode we hear the story of Marwa, who was forced to leave her home country of Afghanistan when the Taliban invaded the capital city of Kabul in 2021 and took control of the country. She was working for NATO at the time and knew that anyone in that position — particularly a woman — would be in serious danger. Marwa endured five long days on a bus, surrounded by chaos and gunfire, waiting to escape the city.

Thankfully, Marwa is now living safely in the United States, working for Helping Children Worldwide {HCW), an organization that supports children in need and empowers families through education, health care, mentoring and case management. In her role, she sends mission teams, participates on the HCW podcast and is creating a documentary on vulnerable children.

To learn more about Helping Children Worldwide visit: https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org.

S4 E1 - Perspectives

Lisa and Melissa, good friends with differing political views….we love to see it!
Lisa – Wife, mother, masters student and director of software development. Describes herself politically as “left of center.”
Melissa – wife, mother, grandmother (soon to be again) and leans “right of center” in her political views.

EPISODE TERMINOLOGY

Immigrant – a person who chooses to leave their country.
Asylum Seeker – a person whose life is at risk due to political unrest, natural disaster, etc. and are waiting to be granted access to live in another country.
Refugee – a person who has been granted access to live in another country but are limited on what they can do or where they can go. They often live under poor refugee camp conditions for lengthy periods of time.

IMMIGRATION STATISTICS

There were an estimated 2 million immigration encounters at the U.S.-Mexican border in 2022…a 37% increase from 2021.
More than 3.5 million migrants left Afghanistan in 2022.
There were 281 million international migrants in 2022. Europe and Asia accepted 87 and 86 million migrants, which means 108 million are spread across other continents.
The U.S holds 12% of 2022 migratory people.

S4 E0 - Welcome to the Family Meeting

Thank you for joining us for this introduction to Bridging Cultures Season 4. We are excited to be back!

Each season we all collaborate to brainstorm and strategize the topic, and then plan out the episodes, schedule and guests. In this episode we thought it would be fun to get to know us a little better. Here’s what we’ve been up to since the episode was recorded.

SHEREE REECE

Podcast roles: interviewer, talking head, final listener and gap-filler

Since the recording of this episode: Sheree visited her 50^th state, Alaska, with her husband. “It’s a beautiful state filled with friendly people and incredible views and wildlife. Why is this glacier blue you ask???? Wellll… fun fact: It’s because the ice is so densely packed that the longer wave-length colors are absorbed while blue, the shortest wavelength color, bounces back so that is what our eyes see. How cool is that?!?” #sciencenerd #todaysfunfact

JOYCE APPEL

Podcast roles: Interviewer, and doer of other duties as assigned.

Since the recording of this episode: Joyce has at the very last minute found someone to alter her wedding dress, finally ordered a cake, and booked her hotly debated honeymoon destination. Viva la Mexico! This is all in the last week or so… for her wedding on August 5^th… We like to procrastinate. Joyce happens to be getting married to the most amazing Assistant Director of Latin American Ministries – Alex McCarty (he actually just volunteers for everything). That’s what’s new. Feel free to send me all your Mexico travel tips. 😊

JAMES ABBOTT

Podcast roles: Producer & Co-host

Since the recording of this episode: While he hasn’t had the opportunity to camp recently, he’s been spending his free time at baseball tournaments and his favorite: spending time outdoors with his boys. His new puppy, Ember, has added excitement to their lives. She’s a Labrador Retriever and also LOVES the outdoors.

COURTNEY HOLMES

Podcast roles: Co-host & social media

Since the recording of this episode: Courtney completed her first triathlon! Friends & family cheered her on to the glorious finish. When asked if she will she do another one, her response is “it’s too soon”.

GREG HOEVEN

Podcast roles: Tech Guru, Sound Mixer, & Final Audio Editor

Missing from the episode but we promise he’s real!

KATHY NAUGLE

Podcast roles: Editor, show notes creator and part-time cat herder

Since the recording of this episode: Kathy and her husband, Gary moved into a tiny apartment while in between homes. Now their dog Lizzie has even less space to let her crazy out! 😳 Happy to report that everyone is adjusting fine…with lots of walks.

2/9 Weather Alert:

6/10 Car Show:

Bridging Cultures Podcast