SHARING THE FALL/WINTER 2024
gift
gift of life GIFT OF LIFE TRANSPLANT HOUSE A HOME THAT HELPS AND HEALS
The Power of a Name
By Mary Wilder
I have always disliked my name! It means “sea of bitterness”, “sorrow” or “rebelliousness”. I never felt as though the name came even close to describing me! When I was born, my mother and father disagreed on what they should name me, so my first name is my mother’s and my middle name is my father’s. Mary Lee – ugh! Yet the sweetest sound I hear every day is when one of our guests or caregivers calls out “Mary!” when they return to the house! Nurilign Haileyesus has a name that many of us would shy away from trying to pronounce, but he is proud of it! His first name is pronounced “nur-e(long e)-lean”
and his last name is pronounced “Haley” (like the comet) and “ezeus” without an emphasis on the z. In 2011, he and his wife, Amelework (a-mel-a-work) came to the United States from Ethiopia. To immigrate from Ethiopia, individuals may participate in the Diversity Visa program, which allows 55,000 visas to be available in an annual lottery. For many years, Amelework and Nurilign had applied but in 2011 they “won” the lottery along with two uncles, and they were able to come to the United States. It wasn’t difficult to transition to life in the United States. They had relatives who had already settled in Minnesota, and