“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” ~ Romans 15:5b–7a
James and his wife, both green card–holding immigrants, came to the US to help out their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild, in keeping with their cultural and Biblical mandate to care for one another (John 13:25). But something went wrong, and all five of them ended up living in an apartment, with only 1 part-time job among them.
Since the whole family attends a local church that is a partner of WFI, they heard about the American School Evening classes that began early 2014, and they were eager to enroll. Though they have marketable skills, language fluency was still a tremendous roadblock. However, because of their financial situation, they couldn’t afford the small, monthly fee for the school, let alone the price of books.
Their local church had already been actively living out Paul’s instructions above in welcoming James’s family in love, but they didn’t stop there. The church body volunteered to pay the first 6 months’ worth of fees, including books, and the ball didn’t stop rolling.
Both husband and wife were able to attend WFI’s American School Evening language classes (and continue to do so!); at WFI, they were connected with one of our workers who had heard of an employment agency that was always looking for drivers. Wouldn’t you know it, but James had been a taxi driver previously! So, our WFI worker took him down to the employment agency, helped him wade through all the paperwork and field the interviews, and within a couple weeks, James had a job. He could at last begin caring for his family again financially—the very reason he had come to the US in the first place. Now, though he is working, he is still able to attend American School Evening with his wife, and both are now taking our citizenship class.
Their local church embraced this family and made them a part of their family. The church encouraged these precious people, for whom Christ died, emotionally, spiritually, and they even helped them a little financially. Once connected to WFI, while still firmly strengthened by their local body, they received English training and were aided in finding a job, so now they have income and are able to pay their own fees, help their son, and give back to their brothers and sisters in Christ.