My name is Alice Rovney but I was born a Kawar. This maiden name holds special meaning to me. Powerful meaning. The Kawars, descendants from a noble family line of Ghassanid warriors, escaped the 19th century persecution of Christian Arabs. They eventually settled in and around the country of Jordan, where they have experienced spiritual miracles. In Northern California, we sometimes need miracles. My hometown north of San Francisco is a place where the good and bad of life come bubbling up and crashing down just like everywhere else. It reminds me of Jordan, of the amazing miracle of hope that God began there. Because, there was a time in my life when God was my family's only hope. And it was during that time when I realized the full impact of what it meant to be born a Kawar and what I had to do.