{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Welcoming the Foreigner: A Conversation with Ryan Pennington","description":"\ud83c\udfa7 Episode Summary: In this episode, host Raul Rodarte Suto sits down with Ryan Pennington, Executive Director of the Refugee Language Project. Ryan shares his journey\u2014from growing up in Washington State to studying linguistics and Bible translation at Dallas Baptist University, then serving as a missionary in remote villages of Papua New Guinea. He reflects on the challenges of first\u2010contact language work, the power of cultural humility, and the life-changing lessons learned on that mountain ridge. After returning to Amarillo in 2016, Ryan channeled those insights into welcoming displaced families, launching \u201cThe Place\u201d community center, and expanding the Refugee Language Project\u2019s English classes, interpreting services, and cross-cultural trainings\u2014all driven by the belief that language is the doorway to genuine welcome and community flourishing. \ud83d\udccc Resources & Mentions: Refugee Language Project: https:\/\/refugeelanguage.org \u201cThe Place\u201d Multicultural Community Center Panhandle Gives Campaign: https:\/\/panhandlegives.org \ud83d\udce3 Call to Action: If you believe everyone has something to offer, consider volunteering as an English tutor, interpreter, or cultural ambassador through the Refugee Language Project. Subscribe to This Is the Panhandle for more stories of community, connection, and the surprising lessons we learn when we truly welcome our neighbors. ","author_name":"This is the Panhandle","author_url":"https:\/\/amarilloareafoundation.org","html":"