In November, I had the incredible opportunity to visit the Texas/Mexico border with Women of Welcome. I absolutely love this organization, but in case you’re new around here, let me tell you a little bit about who they are, in their own words! “Women of Welcome is a community dedicated to diving into the whole of scripture to understand God’s heart for the immigrant and refugee.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
I was first exposed to WOW in 2019 when I attended a trip to the El Paso/Mexico border hosted by them. Since then, I have learned so much from them. Their desire to help women just like myself, learn to see political issues such as immigration and border patrol through the lens of scripture and God’s love for His children. WOW is a nonpartisan group that is truly desiring to help equip women to understand God’s heart for the immigrant and refugee. Their work has been so impactful in my own life.
Recently on a trip to the border, Jenny Yang, senior VP at World Relief, reminded us all of the dignity that migrants and refugees already possess. We are not out to give them dignity, God has already done that. My trips to the border and conversations with guests on my show have helped me keep that at the forefront of my mind. God sees every person as a person created in His image. No greater dignity exists besides the one that God has placed on each of us.
While on my most recent trip you all reached out to say, “how do I help?”, or “I want more information”, so this post is that. I hope that you will find resources here that can help you think deeper about the migrant and refugee populations not only on our Southern border but in your own community.
I wanted to share some resources with you that have been really helpful for my own journey in this space.
RESOURCES
Podcasts
- The Happy Hour #380: Bri Stensrud
- The Happy Hour #320: Sarah Jackson
- Help Her Be Brave with Amy Ford
- The Happy Hour #260: Tess Clarke
- The Balance Podcast
Books & Articles
- Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Soerens, Jenny Yang, and Leith Anderson
- The Bible and the Borders by M. Daniel Carroll R.
- Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien
For more information and resources, visit the following places:
- Women of Welcome – follow this organization for great information. I highly recommend you sign up for their free teaching videos.
- Abara Frontiers – This is the organization that we partnered with while at the border. They are always in need of financial assistance and donations as they help shelters along the US and Mexico borders. You can also shop their Amazon wishlist.
- World Relief – World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. We partner with local churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing, and transformation to the most vulnerable.
- We Welcome (recently known as We Welcome Refugees) is a community that chooses welcome because they see all throughout Scripture that God is passionate about welcoming.
Advocates to Follow on social media:
- @womenofwelcome
- @worldrelief
- @wechoosewelcome
- @jennyyang318
- @matthewsoerens
- @annvoskamp
- @bri.stenz
- @sarahquezada
- @supportkind
- @_karenjgonzalez
- @sisternormapimentel
- @globalimmerse
- @abarafrontiers
- @borderperspective
- @seekthepeace
- @tessclrk
- @preemptivelove
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