By Terry and Lucretia Burton
In the bus station one day, I sang “Alabare” (“I Will Praise Him”) with one of the young immigrant men who had just been released from detention. He was 18 that day and had come to the states all alone. Singing together was so much fun, and we both enjoyed talking about God, Jesus, and the Bible.
That same day, another 18-year-old missed his bus and would 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. They were not even going to the same place, but they did not realize how big the United States is.
We did not want him to stay at the bus station overnight. Even though there are security guards, seedy people often enter, and just recently, one immigrant had been 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 had not had much interaction with him during the day and he did not trust us. IWC volunteers introduce themselves 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.
Before he went to sleep, he asked us to pray with him again. He was from Guatemala and was proud that he spoke Spanish and Mam and a little English. We gave him a Spanish/English Bible. He already had a Spanish one with him but was glad to have one in 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.
(Note: This story was from 2020. Volunteers no longer take migrants home.)
