Strangers Among Us

Strangers among Us

You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 22:21

Aaron and I each come from a long line of pastors and missionaries, and I treasure our faith lineage. My cousin Lisa, currently serving as a missionary in Japan, recently shared with me her story of being newly married and arriving on the mission field in a tiny village in Mexico many years ago. I was struck by how timely and instructional it was for me, now living in a community with a large influx of refugees.

This Mexican village had no running water or electricity, and Lisa found herself struggling with the language and trying to figure out how to survive in such a primitive environment. The entire village was full of curiosity at this strange young couple who had come to live among them and yet were so woefully unprepared for even the most obvious tasks of survival. Still, they welcomed Lisa and her husband, Gary, into their community.

They taught Lisa how to wash clothes on a rock in the river and invited her to share their lunches. They taught her how to turn her oil drum into a wood-burning stove to cook corn tortillas and how to shop for and cook with local ingredients. They showed them how to find the trail and where to safely climb down the cliff face to get fresh spring water for drinking. Even the children got involved by teaching her how to swim in the ocean and dive through the waves so she wouldn’t drown.

She was a foreigner in a foreign land, and the locals opened their hearts with kindness and graciousness. She and Gary were there to share the love of Christ with the villagers, but the villagers seemed to already have Exodus 22:21 figured out—they came alongside Lisa and Gary with love and gentle teaching.

Lisa’s story of how these villagers supported and encouraged them caused me to stop and consider in a new light how I respond to those who are new in my country. Our spiritual ancestors were once foreigners too, and we’re called to treat foreigners today with compassion and respect.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Do something especially kind for someone who was not born in your country.