Not long ago, I was talking with a friend about the living conditions of migrant farm workers in Maneadero, Mexico. I had just made a trip to the Baja California town, and I described people living in tin shacks, packed ten to a room. Some folks sleep on the ground, in the dirt, under […]Continue Reading →
For the past several weeks, my wife and I have found ourselves unexpectedly homeless. By the time this blog posts, we’ll be on a month-long vacation to East Africa, and since our apartment was going to be sitting empty for so long anyway, we offered it to a family from our church in need […]Continue Reading →
During my senior year of college at the University of South Carolina, I was involved with an emerging Latino ministry in Columbia, South Carolina. The ministry was run by a local church and we focused on ESL classes and childcare for those with children. These classes took place twice a week. […]Continue Reading →
When Mario was 10-years old, and living in Mexico, he went to a Christian camp. By that time in his life, Mario smoked regularly and had begun drinking. He was physically abused and lived in an impoverished village. At the camp, he learned about Jesus, and about how he loves children like Mario. The […]Continue Reading →
For the past several weeks, my wife and I have been traveling throughout East Africa. Here in Kigali, we’ve been guided by my good friend, Theogene, who is originally from Rwanda, whom I got to know when he was living in my neighborhood in suburban Chicago, and who now lives with his wife and […]Continue Reading →
“Many church members are too afraid to come to church anymore.” I was attending a meeting of ministry leaders when the well-respected Hispanic pastor stood to share. He told us how the police had begun parking near their church building on Sunday mornings, watching as church members came to the service. “Some of our […]Continue Reading →
The elderly white man sat across the restaurant booth from his wife. They were discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to rescind elements of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 law. “So you see,” he told her, “I think it’s a terrible shame that Obama’s getting rid of this Arizona law. Why won’t they let the police just do […]Continue Reading →
I’ve been reading through Deuteronomy lately, and this passage stuck out at me. Moses is at the end of his life: after forty years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites are about to take possession of the land that God has promised to them. Moses knows he will not be going with them, […]Continue Reading →
As an undocumented youth who qualifies for the DREAM Act, I am constantly barraged by pro-immigration nonprofits and legislators with messages like these:
“They were only brought here as children, and it’s their parents who are to blame!” “These kids are American as apple pie! Deport their parents instead!” And for the longest […]Continue Reading →
Many of the moms in my community feel like there is not much they can contribute in this foreign land that they now call home. As undocumented immigrants, they are ineligible to get a driver’s license or a job. As Spanish speakers with limited English and in many cases only an elementary level of […]Continue Reading →
