We are an Easter People! - We have all heard the term “Easter people,” meaning that we live out the hope and joy of Christ’s resurrection. Living this faith translates to embracing hope, showing love, and expressing joy. The Migrant Ministry is an opportunity to be an Easter people, not only for the migrants we serve, but also for each other as volunteers from many different faith traditions or no particular church affiliation. We have become a close community, opening up every Tuesday and Thursday morning without fail and working together to uphold the dignity of our brother and sister migrants.

There are many signs of HOPE. Hard-working and committed volunteer Patricia Tucker-Ladd just helped complete and submit her 100th asylum application, working closely with grateful migrants. Immigration Support Services is ramping up with various teams of volunteer lawyers and translators to not only complete asylum applications and work permits, but also address other immigration issues. The documents are submitted with large doses of HOPE.

LOVE is clearly evident in the kindness expressed between migrants and volunteers. Nine-year-old Josely was spotted drawing on an old tattered notebook. She shared that she liked to draw and do arts and crafts. Attentive volunteers found her an art set and a bead craft kit. Josely returned the next week with homemade bracelets for the volunteers.

And JOY? Just check out the faces of both the volunteers and the migrants on any Migrant Ministry morning. There is a reason volunteers keep returning week after week, month after month, for almost two years. The Center is a place of joy.

Please continue to pray for our beloved migrant brothers and sisters.