Sainiana (centre) with Sr Kathleen (left), a Columban Sister, at the Migrant Shelter in Juarez, Mexico. - Photo: Sainiana Tamatawale
It is when I reach out to the poor, migrants, refugees, and people excluded from society that I feel I am witnessing and practising my faith as a missionary. I also come to experience the mercy of God through these people. By working for and with the poor, the abandoned, and the migrants at the US–Mexico border, I have come to appreciate the blessings in my life. I have learnt to identify with them in their joys, struggles, and pain. By associating with them, I also learn from their mistakes, the consequences that they suffer, and the difficulties they are going through in life. Seeing the misery, injustices, and discrimination they face and live with every day was challenging and painful, and I always ask myself: what can I do?
Of course, ministering to them has helped me be less judgmental, and not to preach but simply journey with them. Listening and walking together with the vulnerable from different walks of life is what I do. I witness to God’s love by reaching out to them and responding to their needs.
The US - Mexico border is overcrowded with migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees from all over the world. There are children, young people, families, and the elderly that are struggling and living in fear. By welcoming them into my life, I experience the mercy and love of God indirectly. At the same time, not only do I come to understand them or learn from them, but I also grow in love, generosity, and compassion. And, perhaps, this is the greatest reward.
Indeed, finding growth through reaching out to the unwanted and alienated from society is precisely the message of Pope Francis on Mission Sunday 2022, “the call to mission, the invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbour presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service, and intercessory prayer. The mission that God entrusts to each one of us leads us from fear and introspection to a renewed realization that we find ourselves precisely when we give ourselves to others”.
The reason for our reaching out to the needy, the abandoned, migrants, refugees, and the excluded people of society such as the LGBTQ+ community is simply the fact that God loves them. God loves us. We can be sure that God counts ALL whom He wants to invite to the Kingdom. I believe this is the reason why Jesus came. He wants not only the righteous and the rich to be saved but the poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf, and the prisoners. As missionaries, we are called to love them and to seek out those who are lost or wounded in their search for God and for life. We are called to trust and rely on the wisdom and knowledge of God instead of our own human wisdom.
So together in this journey of growth and life, let us reach out not only to the healthy and wealthy but also to the sick, the poor, the vulnerable, the newly arrived migrant, those who are affected by natural disasters, and those finding difficulties in their lives, for through them and with them, we will come to the banquet of life and love.
Sainiana Tamatawale is a member of the Columban Lay Missionaries Central Leadership Team. After working on mission at the US-Mexico border for many years, she now resides in Hong Kong.
Listen to "Reflection - God's Mercy"
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