<div>Hey Friends and Family!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As you know, the last four years have been a total rollercoaster for us!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Ever since the war started in 2022, we welcomed M into our home, got her through school, watched her fit perfectly into our lives, and finally made it official through adoption!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now, she is headed to Charleston Southern University, and we are bursting with pride over how much she has grown both academically and spiritually.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>A huge portion of her education has been covered through the CSU Global Refugee scholarship - which is awarded, by essay submission, to one international student a year! </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>While her scholarship helps significantly, it does not cover her room, meals, or textbooks, which come to about $12,000 a year. Also, because of her legal status, she cannot get in-state tuition, federal financial aid, or standard SC state scholarships.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Between the years of legal fees, fighting for refugee status, and the emergency adoption after her hometown was destroyed, our savings are completely wiped out.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We want to see M succeed at CSU because she has seriously worked her tail off to get here!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She danced on the nationally ranked Chapin Dance Team, volunteered in our church's kids' ministry, and mentored middle school girls.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Plus, she kept her GPA sky-high and crushed summer college classes just to save money.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now that she is at CSU, she has already won an international scholarship and even made their competitive Dance Team!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She is double-majoring in Accounting and Christian Studies because she wants to run international nonprofits, help other refugee students adjust to America, and share the Gospel with them. After everything she went through, she just wants to pay it forward. She is truly amazing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>But here is where we need your help ASAP!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The first payment is due by September 1st—which is right around the corner! We set up this page as a quick way for our amazing community to chip in.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We are so incredibly grateful for you all. Whether you can donate today or just keep M in your prayers as she starts this journey, <strong>your support will help prepare a future nonprofit leader who hopes to spend her life serving others with integrity, compassion, and faith! </strong>❤️
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Update: for those asking to read her Scholarship Essay Entry, I am posting it below…
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Hard Times and New Beginnings
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Life is never a straight road.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It is full of twists, turns, and unexpected challenges that test who we are and what we are capable of becoming. Hard times are something every person faces, whether in the form of loss, poverty, failure, heartbreak, or struggles with health. They weigh us down, shake our confidence, and sometimes make us feel like giving up. Trauma has a way of holding people in the past; flashbacks, fears, and painful memories may return again and again. We can feel like we are stuck in a cycle that never ends.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>While life is filled with experiences that shape who we are, not all of them are easy.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Circumstances can change us in surreal ways. For a thirteen-year-old girl, everything turned upside down in a single day. She did not know she was leaving her country until right before her departure. One moment, life was normal—friends, school, family dinners—and the next, she was saying rushed goodbyes to loved ones she was leaving behind. There was no time to prepare, no chance to hold onto the little things.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Childhood ended in an instant.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>War brought fear everywhere. Bombs shook the ground, sirens screamed through the air, and every sound felt like a threat. The streets that once felt safe became terrifying. Nights were spent hiding, listening to the echoes of explosions, never sure what would happen next. Even when she heard that her family found shelter, the fear didn’t subside. Trauma settled in—the kind that follows a person even when the danger is gone. Sleep was hard, trust was harder, and fear became a constant companion.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The journey to safety was exhausting. The girl moved from place to place, across borders, never knowing where she would end up. Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion were daily struggles, but the emotional weight was even heavier. Every loud noise felt like another bomb, and every unfamiliar place carried a reminder of what had been lost. Three months passed like this—trying to survive, traveling country to country, carrying the invisible scars of fear and sadness.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Then America came.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Starting over in a new country is another kind of challenge. Everything feels strange—the language, the people, even the way the air smells. It’s easy to feel invisible, different, and misunderstood. The heart aches for what is gone, but little by little, new roots begin to grow. Kind people make a difference—teachers who care, friends who listen, and strangers who smile. Slowly, hope starts to return.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Through all the pain and change, one truth became clear: God never left.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Even when everything felt broken, He was still there, guiding each step. At first, it was hard for her to understand why such things happen, but over time, she understood that God’s plans are greater than human understanding.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>What once seemed like the end was really the beginning of something new.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The story of loss turns into a story of strength. The fear becomes faith, and the past becomes a reminder of how far God can carry someone. Home is not just a place on a map—it is where God leads, where peace is found, and where His purpose unfolds.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Every hard time, every tear, and every moment of doubt was part of His plan—a plan that leads from pain to hope, and from fear to faith.
</div>

Anonymous

Jeremy Burgoyne

Barry Baker

Larry Wadford

Kevin Moore

Britton Kerr

paul blair

Mark Pieloch

Nikki Powers

Martin Hultman

Richard Medeiros

Roger Lundström

Support M’s Journey at Charleston Southern University

Enter your donation forSupport M’s Journey at Charleston Southern University