Living in uncertainty
A glimpse into the experiences encountered by many immigrants in the U.S.
Last year, my hometown of Springfield, Ohio experienced a crackdown on immigration. A number of Hispanics live in the neighborhoods of our small city, and the sudden tightening of the rules made many of them fearful of going to work, to the grocery store, or even to church. Their alarm proved legitimate: police had been given the right to pull people over on the basis that they suspected the driver didn’t have a license, without any driving infractions being committed. If the officer found that the person was driving illegally, the driver faced the possibility of arrest and, worse, deportation.
I serve as pastor at Iglesia el Buen Pastor, a church in Springfield that ministers especially to those in the local Hispanic community, and as I listened to people there discussing the situation, I found myself surprised by their responses. They simply said, “Pastor, we are relying on the mercy of God.” Many attendees shared with me that they believed it was the Lord who had allowed them to be in this country. So, if their time was up and God no longer wanted them here, they would not try to come again. Instead, they’d return to their home country and make efforts to share with people there about what God had been doing in their lives during their time in the United States.
My Hispanic brothers and sisters have taught me a lot about what it means to rely on God. The majority of them do not speak English and struggle with a language barrier. Because my wife and I are bilingual, we have been enabled to serve them in various capacities—by helping them find a job, locate a place to live, fix the car, get to the dentist, and so forth. In fact, one time, my wife helped a woman who was delivering a baby in the hospital but could not communicate with the doctor. One can only imagine what that poor woman felt being in a foreign place, unable to speak the language, surrounded by doctors and advanced medical equipment, and all alone.
The current immigration situation is a complex issue for everyone in North America. A lot of folks just don’t want to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants in this country. When people in my area learn that I am a pastor, they often ask me what group I minister to. I answer, “To the Hispanic population in town.” Many times, I have received the response of, “Oh, with those people.” Sadly, I’ve heard this same reply from many Christians. I often tell people that I understand their frustration with those who have come here illegally; however, I also say that I didn’t bring the immigrants here, and that they, too, are souls that need Jesus. I simply ask: How do we know the Lord didn’t allow them to come into the U.S. to have an encounter with Jesus?
Over my years of interactions with immigrants—legal and illegal—I’ve become increasingly aware of what Jesus meant when He gave us the command to love our neighbor. The question must be asked, who is my neighbor? Throughout the Bible, there are countless stories of people, like the Israelites who were subjected to slavery in Egypt, leaving their homes and journeying to foreign lands. Christ Himself became our neighbor when He came to earth as a man, though many did not recognize Him. The lessons of these stories are clear: We are not to reject the aliens of the land but to love all and to serve all The Lord gave us a command to go into the world and reach the world for Him, regardless of gender, education, race, or immigration status. My desire has been to be a servant as Jesus was while He was here. For me, this has meant realizing that my neighbor is not only the person who lives next door or on the other side of the world; my neighbor is also the person who has moved into my community as an “alien in a foreign land,” the person who is in need of my compassion, and the person who needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
David Espinosa serves as the pastor at Iglesia el Buen Pastor in Springfield, Ohio. He and his wife, Natalia, live in there with their daughter, Natalie, who is learning to speak both Spanish and English from her parents.
