I sang "Alabare" (I Will Praise Him) with one of the young immigrant men. It was so much fun and we both enjoyed talking about God, Jesus, and the Bible. He was 18 that day and had just been released from detention. He had come to the states all alone.
Another young 18-year old missed his bus and was going to have to spend the night at the bus station. He, too, was alone and had just been released. He had made a friend with another young man on the bus from El Paso, and was disappointed that they could not travel together. I don't even think they were going to the same place, but they do not realize how big the United States really is.
Terry and I did not want him staying at the bus station. Seedy people often enter it, even though there are security guards, and one immigrant was sexually abused. This young man asked if there was a church where he could stay, but we couldn't find one. We told him we would take him home with us and bring him back the next day in time for his bus. We hadn't had a lot of interaction with him during the day and he did not trust us. IWC volunteers introduce ourselves as people from the churches in the area, but I am not sure he had heard that.
We urged him to come with us. He cried a little in fear, but eventually agreed. When we stopped for supper and told him we wanted to pray for the food, his eyes lit up. He said, "I am a Christian, too. From then on he was not afraid. He asked us to pray with him before he went to sleep. He was proud that he spoke three languages. He was from Guatemala and spoke Spanish and Mam. He also spoke a little English. We gave him a Spanish/English Bible. He had one in Spanish with him, but was glad to have one with English.
What a joy to be able to share God with these two young men and calm the fears of one through God who calms all fears.
