When One Iowa Family Welcomed Refugees to the Table
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.3 • 737 Ratings
🗓️ 27 November 2025
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, when a group of refugees from Bosnia arrived at her Iowa church, Joy Neal Kidney watched them step carefully into a world that felt nothing like the one they had escaped. One family in particular carried the quiet weariness of people shaped by war, and Joy’s family decided to give them something familiar to hold onto: a Thanksgiving dinner. Joy joins us to tell the story of one remarkable Thanksgiving.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The The And we return to our American stories. |
| 0:32.1 | Up next, a story from our regular contributor, Joy Neal Kidney, on an unforgettable Thanksgiving with Bosnian refugees. |
| 0:40.5 | Take it away, Joy. |
| 0:47.4 | Joy, how long do you cook a turkey? |
| 0:50.6 | 11-year-old Janella called the evening before Thanksgiving several years ago. |
| 0:55.8 | It depends on how much it weighs. |
| 0:58.6 | Well, how do I weigh it? |
| 1:00.7 | Check the bag it came in. It'll tell you, I told her. |
| 1:04.3 | Is it thawed yet? |
| 1:05.9 | Not yet, but I've gotten water in the sink. |
| 1:10.3 | Mom works tomorrow on the holiday, but we've just got to have a real |
| 1:14.7 | Thanksgiving turkey dinner. What else are you having? You know, stuffing, gravy. What shall I have |
| 1:23.0 | dad get at the store? I listed onions, celery, and chicken broth. Oh, we need pumpkin pie too. I'm going |
| 1:31.8 | to eat some, even if no one else does. It's traditional. Why don't you just have your dad get one |
| 1:39.3 | at the store? And get some cool whip, too. Oh, be sure to put the turkey in the refrigerator overnight to be safe. |
| 1:51.4 | Janella had arrived in Iowa as a darling, dark-eyed two-year-old with her parents. Samir Inzlaka came to |
| 1:58.8 | our church in Iowa with other Bosnian war refugees for English classes. |
| 2:03.6 | Because of her parents' work schedules, I eventually became Janella's band and drama Grandma, |
| 2:10.6 | getting her to practices, concerts, and plays. |
| 2:14.6 | That night I worried about Janella's turkey getting thawed in time |
| 2:19.1 | and whether she'd even figure out how long to cook it. |
| 2:23.1 | So Thanksgiving morning, my husband and I headed to their condo to check on things. |
... |
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