Women of Welcome: Christ-Like WelcomeНамуна

CHRIST-LIKE WELCOME: A reflection by Michelle Ami Reyes

A few years ago, my husband and I met Ana, an immigrant woman with three kids in our community. She was a single mom, just trying to get by. Her parents brought her to the United States when she was fourteen and then abandoned her there. Left alone on the streets, she had to fend for herself. Later, she met a man and became pregnant. The two of them moved to Austin where they had two more children before he abandoned her too. When we met her, she had no job, no money, and could barely afford the place she was living in.

As an undocumented immigrant, Ana is one of the forgotten in our society. She isn’t in the system, and she isn’t eligible for a driver’s license, a work permit, or even medical insurance. She’s alone, helpless, vulnerable, and has three kids to care for and feed.

We invited her and her kids to our church and began meeting with her regularly, helping with rent and groceries through our benevolence funds. All the while, my husband and I kept praying that God would move within someone in our church to take the lead in caring for her and her family, and God answered that call.

It was late one Saturday afternoon when we got a call from Robin, a woman in our church, who felt God calling her to help Ana and her kids. As a fellow divorcee, Robin understood and empathized with her pain and loss and wanted to care for Ana in a way that Robin wished that she herself had been cared for. Over the course of a year, Robin paid for the family’s rent, groceries, and even a car. She also worked with Ana to complete the paperwork to become documented and helped her get her first job. Throughout this time, the two women became close friends.

When I think of Christ-like welcome, I think of these two women in our church. Robin did not treat Ana as a criminal, but rather as someone to love and befriend. She didn’t just care for Ana’s spiritual needs. She didn’t just say, “Believe in Jesus and all your problems will go away.” Instead, Robin welcomed Ana by caring for her holistically and helping restore her basic dignity and place within society. Through her friendship and aid, Robin played a pivotal role in helping Ana and her kids move from forgotten to seen; from alone to befriended; and from an outsider to integrated into society.

I am thankful for these two women and how they have modeled what it looks like to both show and receive Christ-like welcome to the forgotten. May we go and do likewise.