Sure, we're nuts...

Thanks to those who came out to our presentation tonight about our upcoming Solace experience and welcome if you’re tuning in to this blog for the first time. And once again, thanks so much to those of you who have given us your support thus far – whether it be financial, or simply the gift of your prayers and positive encouragement.

We greatly appreciate those of you who are taking the time to learn about Solace for the Children – because once you learn about it, you get it. If you had told me one year ago that our family would now be engaging in fundraising and preparations to host a child from Afghanistan, I would have laughed and said you were nuts. We had never considered such an endeavor to be “our type of thing”. Thus, if you recently said “those Cokers are nuts” when you first heard we were doing this, that’s okay – really, I would have said the same thing just one year ago.

So, just why are we doing this…? In my work with young adults, I have often said, “To those whom much is given, much is expected”. Sara and I feel truly blessed – our life isn’t perfect (and I wouldn’t want it to be perfect), but we know we have been richly blessed beyond measure in many ways. And, it was as a result of some very dark moments two years ago – the tragic death of Sara’s father – that, ironically, we came to truly realize how incredibly blessed we were. Thus, we feel compelled to embrace this incredible opportunity to give back which has been placed in our path. We also believe this will be an incredible experience for our children – as Sara often says, we are bringing a mission trip to them.

I sincerely hope you will take the time to visit Solace for the Children’s website, to learn about this dynamic organization which is based in North Carolina, and is now branching out to Jacksonville and Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to welcome the organization’s Executive Director, Patsy Wilson, into our home in February – she is an incredible person who radiates a spirit of love and giving. Like always, Sara and I did our research before deciding to take this leap of faith – and we now believe strongly in what this organization does, and in how they accomplish it.

This year, 16 children and two interpreters will be arriving in Jacksonville on June 2 and staying through July 14. There are 14 host families here for the children, as well as host families for the interpreters. The children have varying medical needs for which they will receive treatment in Jacksonville, ranging from cleft palate to a child who needs a tonsillectomy. Of course, while meeting the medical needs is the foundation and primary purpose of these children visiting America, the program is about much more… This is an Interfaith, peace-building endeavor – promoting peace between Christians and Muslims, between Americans and Afghans, and perhaps most important, promoting peace among Afghans.

“Sahar”, a girl from Kabul, will be joining our family for the 6-week Solace program. We believe Sahar is likely 10 or 11 years old, and we are told she suffers from chronic headaches. While we are not yet certain, we believe Sahar likely lives in an orphanage in Kabul. On that note, I could write paragraphs about the plight of children in Afghanistan, simply based on how much we have learned over the past two months. The situation in Afghanistan is a complex one, and is difficult to comprehend through the Western lens by which most of us view the world.

Some topics to be covered in future blog entries (perhaps this will serve as a reminder for me to write about them): dealing with the Dari-English language barrier, Muslim traditions and diet, Solace financial costs, the incredible physicians and dentists of Jacksonville, and what my greatest ‘worry’ is about this upcoming experience…

If you would like to make a contribution to our Solace experience (we’re still fundraising) or if you would like to learn about other ways in which you can potentially become involved, please e-mail Sara at sara.coker@att.net or me (Bryan) at bcoker1@ju.edu for more information.

Bryan

Presentation - Wednesday, April 28, 2010

For our Jacksonville friends, you are welcome to join our family for a presentation about our upcoming Solace experience tomorrow evening (Wednesday, April 28, 2010) at 6:00 PM in the sanctuary of South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church. We will be explaining the Solace for the Children program and talking about how others can get involved in this extraordinary effort.

We have recently learned that we will be hosting a girl named "Sahar".

Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone

Our family has made the decision to step outside our comfort zone for the upcoming summer… The Coker family (Sara, Bryan, Caroline, William, & Chris) will be hosting a child from Afghanistan for six weeks, beginning June 3, 2010. We are doing this as part of the Solace for the Children program, which is bringing fifteen children from Afghanistan to Jacksonville this Summer – these children each have minor medical, dental, and/or optical needs. We sincerely thank our many friends who have already given us financial support for this endeavor, and we welcome all of your prayers in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to this blog as we share with you our story for the Summer 2010, when we work to provide a "summer of solace" for an Afghan child.