This post is part of a new series I’m calling “Doing Good in the Neighborhood.” You can submit your own project HERE and let me know about the doing good you’re a part of, in the name of Jesus, in your own community. The work doesn’t have to be big or fancy, and it doesn’t have to fit in a traditional ministry category (but it could). I want to highlight the good and creative things people are doing in the name of Jesus to better their communities!
Today, I’m sharing a “doing good” project shared by friend of the blog, Rae, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Rae’s love for mission work first began in 1995, when she made a trip to serve with a medical mission in Zambia, Africa. She went on to return to Zambia year after year. Then in 2023, after she and her husband had both retired in Albuquerque, they began work on a project called Albuquerque Asylum Seeker Welcome (AASW).
Note: Not sure the difference between refugee and asylum seeker? Here’s a helpful article explaining the difference. Basically, refugees are fleeing their home country and apply for refugee status through the United Nations Refugee Agency and then are assigned a resettlement country. Asylum seekers are also fleeing their home country, but apply for asylum at a U.S. port of entry or in the U.S.
AASW is a hospitality network of local churches and non-profits that assist the city of Albuquerque in caring for asylum seekers who are bussed from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in El Paso to Albuquerque on their way to sponsors throughout the U.S.
There are usually 50-60 people on each bus, about 25 children from ages three months to 16 years. Many are young families who are fleeing persecution or death in countries like Venezuela and Ecuador. I can’t imagine the exhaustion and fear that comes with fleeing your home with young children!
AASW volunteers welcome the bus at a hotel, register each family and assist them to get transportation to their sponsors here in the United States. They usually stay from two to three days. During that time, they receive a welcome bag with food and water, a health screening, three catered meals each day, two new sets of clothing and shoes, help with making reservations, transport to the airport and assistance through the airport and TSA.
Rae feels that God has truly called her and her husband to this mission. She cites this verse: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
She says, “Albuquerque is the first stop for many asylum seekers that are coming across the border. Working on this project assures that ALL people are treated with dignity and kindness. Sometimes I feel that I have received more than the people we are serving. I am blessed that God has placed this mission in my life!”
If you’d like to know more, you can go to the website of All Saints Lutheran Church HERE or to the City of Albuquerque’s page for the Asylum Seeker Assistance Project.
Rae, thank you for sharing this project with us! Thank you for showing up to meet the needs of precious people in desperate situations. May each person you encounter feel the great love of God for them through you and your fellow volunteers, and be comforted in their suffering. I’m so encouraged by you!
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