Courtney Christenson 
Pictures of food don’t normally make me cry. But I got all choked up scrolling through the Instagram tag #EatLikeSyria on Wednesday.
Thank you for taking an evening to honor, remember, and stand in solidarity with your refugee brothers and sisters for World Refugee Day!
Seeing photos of friends and families gathered around a table spread with traditional Syrian food and reading about conversations that dove deep into the issues faced by refugees was so beautiful. It was yet another reminder of how incredible the Preemptive Love community really is.
You all are just… wonderful.
All over the world, people participated in this evening of food, culture, and learning. I started my day watching dinner pictures roll in from Australia. Then, photos started coming in from Europe, before making their way, east-to-west, across the US.
Photos of colorful veggie trays and dips accompanied stories of people who learned so much about Syrian food, culture, and history while making their meal.
https://twitter.com/johnweirick/status/1009846417844854784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
People described meaningful conversations and times of prayer they had over dinner and how it led them closer to the experiences and realities of refugee families.
Parents got their kids involved and explained how some people have to run away from violence, but how we can still show up to help. They explained how we can unmake violence with preemptive love.
It filled me with gratitude and hope to know that so many of you would go out of your way to buy food and spices you wouldn’t normally buy, host a dinner party in your home, and learn about a culture that is not your own. All for the sake of love and human connection.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkRID_Qhw_u/?tagged=eatlikesyria
Thank you for taking an evening to #EatLikeSyria. Thank you for choosing empathy over momentary compassion.
Thank you for choosing to love so audaciously. We are grateful to be in this with you.
