{"id":2645,"date":"2021-08-10T20:27:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T20:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645"},"modified":"2021-08-10T20:27:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T20:27:38","slug":"wallyupdated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645","title":{"rendered":"An 8 Year Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first, their lives are in upheaval. They face challenges we may not understand. There are language and cultural barriers. Yet, Jesus calls us to welcome and love them whether our paths intersect for a few days or for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wally was a mechanic for the troops in Iraq. Fleeing death threats, Wally\u2019s family were the first refugees resettled in Toledo in 2013. God has kept Wally here. Because you gave and prayed, Wally has had friends to walk with him through very difficult years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not long after coming to America, Wally\u2019s wife left him and his two sons. Now a single father, he has had to deal with difficult life and legal issues because of his wife\u2019s choices. His Water for Ishmael friend has been there – listening, advising, and supporting.<\/span><\/p>\n

When COVID forced his boys into doing school at home, Wally had a friend to help them with math and social studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wally\u2019s friend described his 8 year relationship with Wally –<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWally is more than a friend to me. We\u2019ve experienced many bleak days but also days of celebration.<\/span><\/h4>\n

I helped Wally learn how to drive before he learned enough English to know what I was instructing him to do.<\/span><\/h4>\n

He\u2019s called me on his most despairing days to talk of his family\u2019s deeply painful homesickness. If he were still in his home country, these moments would be shared by family members, but here, he doesn\u2019t have family. It is a privilege for me to have his trust.\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wally just became a citizen! Wally\u2019s friend was standing alongside Wally for his swearing in ceremony!<\/span><\/p>\n

Real life-changing relationships take time. You have given Wally the gift of time with someone who loves Jesus and loves him. Thank you!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At first, their lives are in upheaval. They face challenges we may not understand. There are language and cultural barriers. Yet, Jesus calls us to welcome and love them whether our paths intersect for a few days or for years. Wally was a mechanic for the troops in Iraq. Fleeing death threats, Wally\u2019s family were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAn 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At first, their lives are in upheaval. They face challenges we may not understand. There are language and cultural barriers. Yet, Jesus calls us to welcome and love them whether our paths intersect for a few days or for years. Wally was a mechanic for the troops in Iraq. Fleeing death threats, Wally\u2019s family were […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Water for Ishmael\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterforishmael\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitch Machir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitch Machir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitch Machir\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9285b1ab32149dfa72e2e881c9ce4d5f\"},\"headline\":\"An 8 Year Journey\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645\"},\"wordCount\":301,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/waterforishmael.org\\\/assets\\\/wally-5-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645\",\"name\":\"An 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/waterforishmael.org\\\/assets\\\/wally-5-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/waterforishmael.org\\\/assets\\\/wally-5-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/waterforishmael.org\\\/assets\\\/wally-5-1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?p=2645#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An 8 Year Journey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Water for Ishmael\",\"description\":\"Partnering with the local church to build a welcoming community for Toledo area internationals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Water for Ishmael\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/wfi-logo-gold.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/wfi-logo-gold.png\",\"width\":784,\"height\":462,\"caption\":\"Water for Ishmael\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/waterforishmael\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/water_for_ishmael_\\\/?hl=en\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/water-for-ishmael\\\/about\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC-hlrGgDx-TeZbet3br8N4g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9285b1ab32149dfa72e2e881c9ce4d5f\",\"name\":\"Mitch Machir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mitch Machir\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging.waterforishmael.org\\\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael","og_description":"At first, their lives are in upheaval. They face challenges we may not understand. There are language and cultural barriers. Yet, Jesus calls us to welcome and love them whether our paths intersect for a few days or for years. Wally was a mechanic for the troops in Iraq. Fleeing death threats, Wally\u2019s family were […]","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645","og_site_name":"Water for Ishmael","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterforishmael\/","article_published_time":"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Mitch Machir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mitch Machir","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645"},"author":{"name":"Mitch Machir","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9285b1ab32149dfa72e2e881c9ce4d5f"},"headline":"An 8 Year Journey","datePublished":"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645"},"wordCount":301,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645","url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645","name":"An 8 Year Journey · Water for Ishmael","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-08-10T20:27:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/waterforishmael.org\/assets\/wally-5-1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?p=2645#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An 8 Year Journey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/","name":"Water for Ishmael","description":"Partnering with the local church to build a welcoming community for Toledo area internationals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#organization","name":"Water for Ishmael","url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/wfi-logo-gold.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/wfi-logo-gold.png","width":784,"height":462,"caption":"Water for Ishmael"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterforishmael\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/water_for_ishmael_\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/water-for-ishmael\/about\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC-hlrGgDx-TeZbet3br8N4g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9285b1ab32149dfa72e2e881c9ce4d5f","name":"Mitch Machir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9918c0ddb769effe417b60eb6d9635a5a44656fd4a3218829b996863fba355c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mitch Machir"},"url":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.waterforishmael.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}