Backwards and Forwards

Advent, and the month of December in general, is a time both to look back as well as look forward. We’re told that Advent invites us to look forward to the coming of Christ anew as we anticipate celebrating his birth on Christmas Day. But looking forward isn’t possible without looking back and acknowledging whence we have come. In other words, looking back on where God has led us helps point the way to where God is leading in 2023.

From September 2016 to August of this year, I served as director and Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representative of LUCHA Ministries Immigration Legal Services Program. Mr. Bill Botts, a retired immigration attorney, has been a godsend in assisting me with this work. Without a doubt, serving in immigration legal services has been some of the most rewarding work I have done in my 35 years of cross-cultural ministry.

Today I continue as the program’s director, though I have turned over the responsibilities of accredited representative to our colleague Melani Corral, who is Latina, the daughter of immigrant parents, and who hopes soon to enter law school and become an immigration attorney. My desire from Day One has been to leave the program in the hands of local practitioners, so I am glad this is happening.

During my time representing immigrants, nothing compared to seeing the delight on their faces once granted an initial legal status or an enhanced legal status from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Hearing stories that refugees and asylees have told of the dangers experienced on their road (both literal and figurative) to the US reminded me so often that embracing the stranger who knocks at our door is the only option Christ allows his people to take. Immigrants leave their homes and travel great distances for many reasons; it is not my prerogative nor my job to question why, but instead to offer a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name to whomever God brings my way.

To date, our Immigration Legal Services program has helped well over 250 individuals and their families to better understand the qualifications for requesting an immigration benefit and, for those who are eligible to apply, to request that benefit from the US government. I can’t wait to see what next year brings for our program and the people we serve.

So what does 2023 look like for me?

Locally, my goal is to seek out an individual from our area who feels called and qualified to serve as the director of our immigration legal services program. My plan is to hand over the role of program director no later than June 30, 2024, so I hope to find someone by year’s end whom I can train to take on and expand the program to better suit the needs that newcomers face today.

Of even greater need is locating another a DOJ accredited representative to serve with the program. This is our more immediate need since this person must not only to be trained in immigration law but also approved by the Department of Justice, all of which could take well over a year to complete. Our deadline for having someone trained and ready to step into this role is May 2024 when Melani steps away to enter law school.

Please pray that we might fill these two important roles in 2023.

Beyond our local Fredericksburg ministry, Sue and I recently began working closely with CBF Global Mission’s efforts to address migration from Latin America to North America. Javier Perez, CBF’s Director of Global Missions Programs and Impact, is leading the effort to think strategically on how CBF may better position itself to minister effectively with migrants as they travel the “migrant highway” from the Darien Pass in Panama through Central America and Mexico on to local communities in the US where they will ultimately settle.

Though continuing to be located in Fredericksburg, we anticipate serving alongside CBF Global Mission field personnel, international partners in Latin America, local church leadership in the US, and others in meaningful ministry with migrants.

Accompaniment will be a key model guiding CBF’s work with migrants through Latin America as together all partners learn to walk alongside not only migrants on their journey northward but also alongside local and national leadership in Latin America, both faith-based and non-faith based alike.

Working with local US congregations and non-profits as they welcome migrants, minister to the wide variety of needs they have and assist them in adjusting to life in the United States will also be an important part of the work we do.

So 2023 should look a bit different for my work, and for Sue’s too, as she delves deeper into her work on mental health issues among migrants and refugees. We’ll have our feet planted in both the local and the regional, from Fredericksburg into Latin America.

We look forward to 2023 because, in large measure, God has blessed us so wonderfully through you. May the God Who Is, Who Was and Who Is To Come richly bless you and your loved ones for the new year and for all the years ahead.