{"id":5127,"date":"2022-07-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/?p=5127"},"modified":"2022-07-12T15:33:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T20:33:50","slug":"how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/","title":{"rendered":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"

One ordinary Monday night, after school and soccer practice, in the middle of our suburban middle-class life, my husband and I called our children into the living room for a family meeting. Just because we didn\u2019t live in India anymore, didn\u2019t mean we couldn\u2019t serve the nations, right where we lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople from Guatemala are seeking refuge in the United States from the violence and poverty in their country. For weeks, they have walked, hitch-hiked, and hidden from gangs and authorities who would turn them back. Hundreds of legal asylum-seekers are showing up at our Arizona border each day with only the clothes on their back,\u201d we explained. \u201cThere\u2019s no room at the processing centers, and some of them need a place to stay for a couple of days. We can open our home, and they can stay in your bedrooms.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could <\/em>do something. Or we could do nothing, and live another regular, ordinary day. We chose to do something.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, I picked up my daughter early from school. We met the bus from Immigration Control coming straight from the border to our church parking lot. Dozens of us lined the sidewalk and cheered, \u201cWelcome to America!\u201d as the mostly women and children tumbled out of the bus, weary, bedraggled, and afraid. Their shy smiles and incredulous faces lit up at our extravagant welcome. My little girl witnessed adults serving a hot meal to people who hadn\u2019t eaten in days and heard us saying \u2018you are safe now\u2019 in Spanish. She held the hand of a five-year-old girl choosing donated clothes, shoes, and toiletries to fill a suitcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have enough host families,\u201d said the organizer, a modern-day Mother Teresa meets Harriet Tubman, named Magdalena. \u201cWill you take three families, most of them one adult with a child or two?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again,<\/em> we could do something. Or we could do more. We chose more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We piled into our minivan and carefully drove weary travelers to our beautiful home. In a glimpse of the brilliance I dreamed they would one day be capable of, our teenagers had cleaned the house, re-made beds, and moved their things to the one bedroom we would share. We showed each family to their own room, provided fresh towels for a long, hot shower, and set the table for a big family meal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a politically tense climate, with a busy family schedule, and both parents working, it would have been easy to say no. We\u2019re just too busy. We\u2019re working. The house isn\u2019t clean. The immigration issue is controversial, and we don\u2019t want to get involved<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Most of the time, when out-of-the-ordinary opportunities to do good come our way, they aren\u2019t convenient. They often cost time, money, and effort. It\u2019s easier to go with the status quo, keep things the way they are, keep doing what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s<\/em> so much easier to do nothing, than something. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time we housed asylum-seekers, the novelty wore off a little more. It required hours of conversations with their sponsors, finding bus schedules and explaining routes, providing clothing and supplies, buying phones and teaching them to use them so they didn\u2019t get lost on their multi-day bus treks across the US, feeding them, crying with them, and then texting with them all the way to their destination (and for months thereafter), because they were now our friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kind but wary, our neighbors cautioned their children to be careful of the foreigners, and perhaps they thought, \u201cOh my, how hard it would be to have those people in your home, their children giving up their beds, sleeping on couches, and feeling scared.\u201d But they didn\u2019t know that I thrilled with the good kind of pride at my children trying to talk to our new guests using Google Translate on their phones, working hard to clean and help me cook without complaining, keeping the young children busy, teaching them a few English words and making them smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, our Spanish-speaking neighbor came over and all of us slid in close on the couches and the floor. She translated the families\u2019 story of escape from terror, persecution, and poverty in their hometown, their 18-day journey through Mexico to safety, the pain of leaving loved ones behind, and the promise of a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One father held his little girl on his lap. As he spoke, he looked at my youngest. \u201cLast night, as we lay in your bed, with clean coverings, feeling safe, we thanked God. We remembered that just the night before, we were hiding in the bushes, lying in the mud in the rain, not sure if we would live. We must always thank God. We have never experienced hospitality like this from strangers. We thank God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we prayed for them and my friend translated. \u201cOh God, thank you for leading and protecting them. Heal their aching hearts. Be their provider. Help them find jobs. Keep their family back home safe from evil people.\u201d They cried and we cried. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true that the immigration system is not perfect. It\u2019s true that systemic issues in their country need to be addressed. It\u2019s true that it\u2019s not ideal for families to be separated. It\u2019s true that we only did this a few times, sent them on their way to their new cities, and are not involved in a long-term solution. Our family could have said no, but oh how much we would have missed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the opportunity came to us, we said yes, and our children experienced the reality of a world they don\u2019t live in, first hand. They saw with their eyes, in their own home, the reality of millions around the globe forced to live with the consequences of a broken world.\u00a0They learned to love the whole world more deeply and personally.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh Lord, please let this next generation grow hearts that beat with God\u2019s heart to love all people, to understand those who are different from them, to welcome the foreigner, to show kindness to the most vulnerable, to experience first-hand the physical, emotional, and spiritual poverty of a world without Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Learn More About Welcoming Asylum Seekers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Check out this family activity<\/a> on refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Jeannie Marie’s book, Across the Street and Around the World<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One ordinary Monday night, after school and soccer practice, in the middle of our suburban middle-class life, my husband and I called our children into the living room for a family meeting. Just because we didn\u2019t live in India anymore, didn\u2019t mean we couldn\u2019t serve the nations, right where we lived. \u201cPeople from Guatemala are […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":868,"featured_media":5129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[381,380,382,383],"class_list":["post-5127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-asylum-seeker","tag-asylum-seekers","tag-welcoming-asylum-seekers","tag-welcoming-refugees"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_BR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Via Families\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weavefamily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"@jeanniemarie.aroundtheworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/iStock-1340756864-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"284\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"284\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeannie Marie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeaveFamily\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeaveFamily\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeannie Marie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeannie Marie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/42bb404d5f6cdb93eb7895870e5e2b70\"},\"headline\":\"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\"},\"wordCount\":1081,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"asylum seeker\",\"asylum seekers\",\"welcoming asylum seekers\",\"welcoming refugees\"],\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\",\"name\":\"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/\",\"name\":\"Via Families\",\"description\":\"Connecting families to the global story of God.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Center for Mission Mobilization\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/weavefamily\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/weavefamily\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weavefamily\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WeaveFamily\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CMM-Logo_woTag-FullColor-Small.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CMM-Logo_woTag-FullColor-Small.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":89,\"caption\":\"Center for Mission Mobilization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/42bb404d5f6cdb93eb7895870e5e2b70\",\"name\":\"Jeannie Marie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/703c0e259a6ff83daf9870b31a1fcdc4e928dd235e2916c476edb44fd640118f?s=96&d=letter_based&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/703c0e259a6ff83daf9870b31a1fcdc4e928dd235e2916c476edb44fd640118f?s=96&d=letter_based&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeannie Marie\"},\"description\":\"Jeannie Marie grew up overseas, served internationals in the US, and moved with her family to an unreached people group in India. She is the author of Across the Street and Around the World, a global strategist, and an adventurous mother of four.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.jeannie-marie.com\",\"@jeanniemarie.aroundtheworld\",\"@jeanniemmarie\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/author\/jeannie-marie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families","description":"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/","og_locale":"pt_BR","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families","og_description":"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.","og_url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/","og_site_name":"Via Families","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weavefamily","article_author":"@jeanniemarie.aroundtheworld","article_published_time":"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":284,"height":284,"url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/iStock-1340756864-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeannie Marie","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@WeaveFamily","twitter_site":"@WeaveFamily","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeannie Marie","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeannie Marie","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/42bb404d5f6cdb93eb7895870e5e2b70"},"headline":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers","datePublished":"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/"},"wordCount":1081,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["asylum seeker","asylum seekers","welcoming asylum seekers","welcoming refugees"],"inLanguage":"pt-BR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/","url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/","name":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers - Via Families","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-07-15T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-12T20:33:50+00:00","description":"Learn how a family said yes by welcoming asylum seekers into their home in order to show them the love of God.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"pt-BR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/how-we-welcomed-asylum-seekers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Our Family Welcomed Asylum Seekers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/","name":"Via Families","description":"Connecting families to the global story of God.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"pt-BR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#organization","name":"Center for Mission Mobilization","url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/weavefamily\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/weavefamily\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weavefamily","https:\/\/twitter.com\/WeaveFamily"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pt-BR","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CMM-Logo_woTag-FullColor-Small.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CMM-Logo_woTag-FullColor-Small.jpg","width":300,"height":89,"caption":"Center for Mission Mobilization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/42bb404d5f6cdb93eb7895870e5e2b70","name":"Jeannie Marie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pt-BR","@id":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/703c0e259a6ff83daf9870b31a1fcdc4e928dd235e2916c476edb44fd640118f?s=96&d=letter_based&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/703c0e259a6ff83daf9870b31a1fcdc4e928dd235e2916c476edb44fd640118f?s=96&d=letter_based&r=g","caption":"Jeannie Marie"},"description":"Jeannie Marie grew up overseas, served internationals in the US, and moved with her family to an unreached people group in India. She is the author of Across the Street and Around the World, a global strategist, and an adventurous mother of four.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jeannie-marie.com","@jeanniemarie.aroundtheworld","@jeanniemmarie"],"url":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/author\/jeannie-marie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weavefamily.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}