migrants
A Modern Day Washing of the Feet
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Kim Wagner reflects on how Jesus washed his Apostles’ feet, relating this form of service to how she accompanies people at her ministry site. “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so…
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A Poem for World Day of Migrants and Refugees
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Kim Wagner recognized World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sunday, September 29, 2024. She wrote this poem as she reflected on what she learned from serving at Annunciation House. As I watch the children laughing and screaming with joy run past me, I faintly hear the women staying with Annunciation…
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Thoughts to My Desconocido/a
Editor’s Note: As a reflection while participating in the Migrant Trail Walk, lay missioner Julia Pinto shares what she would say to her desconocido/a–an unidentified person who passed away while migrating. June 5, 2024 The Migrant Trail Walk is an annual 75-mile journey on foot from Sasabe, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona to honor the lives…
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All Aboard to Tucson: Facing My Fears. Mission Accepted.
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Julia Pinto reflects on how God strengthens her to face her fear of driving so that she can serve migrants at her ministry site. March 13, 2024 Lengthy disclaimer: When you go on mission, especially to do some hot-topic work like humanitarian aid on the US-Mexico border, people often act like…
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Memorials on the Migrant Trail
Editor’s note: Each year, an organization called The Migrant Trail in Arizona leads a solidarity walk across the US-Mexico border and through a well-traversed valley, giving walkers a chance to experience the region and bear witness to the place where thousands of people in migration have lost their lives. This year, missioners Mari and Julia…
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Finding Hope in Seemingly Hopeless Situations
Editor’s Note: When someone asks DC Service Corps member Sam Goodyear what she does for a living, she is always a bit unsure how to respond. Here, Sam gives us a full answer with a glimpse at her challenging but rewarding work at the UN Refugee Agency. She shares her experience talking with migrants and…
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Pressing Questions
Editor’s Note: Lay Missioner Mari Snyder reflects on the hardships of migration as she follows a trail through the Sonoran Desert on the U.S.-Mexico border. I invite you to look at the following picture and note your very first thought before reading further. Yes, the Sonoran Desert and its mountains are simply stunning; they’re a…
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The Gift of Tongues
Two years ago, a group of students from The Catholic University of America boarded a plane en route to El Paso, Texas for a weeklong immigration immersion trip on the border. They knew very little about each other and even less about the struggles that Central American migrants face on their journeys, but they were…
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Poor and Free: Saying “Yes” to Love
Franciscan Mission Service presents: “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less” every Friday in Lent Series contributions: Shane Claiborne: Part I, Part II, and Part III Gigi Gruenke: “Invest in God’s Dream” Jack Jezreel: “The Simple Math of Voluntary Simplicity” Amy Echeverria: “Saying ‘Yes’ to Love” Sr. Marie Lucey (OSF): “Faith Keeps Hope Alive” Marie Dennis: “Beyond Detachment” Fr. Martin…
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