Greetings on day 7 of our Rural Immersion experience. In the
morning, I woke up and turned on the TV to find the CEO of Whole Foods talking
about the new book he wrote entitled, “Conscious Capitalism”. The reason I
bring this up is that the idea of being conscious of who you serve and working
in the spirit of mission to faithfully serve the greater good was a consistent
theme through out the day.
Our endeavor began by our chauffeur Pat driving what Dennis
described as the “worst roads in the state of Nebraska” on our trip from
Bertrand to Lexington. Lexington is a town that has experienced a boom in
immigrant communities (particularly Mexican, Guatemalan, and Somalian) on
account of a plant for Tyson meats creating 2,200 jobs. This has lead Lexington
to find a renewal of population (moving from a town of 5,000 to now a town of
apx. 12,000) but also created problems more characteristic of an inner city
community in a town that was equipped for rural services.
Our first stop in Lexington was with Anna Castaneda of The
Welcome Center. The Welcome Center began as a mission outreach by two
congregations (one being Grace Lutheran Church who we would visit later) to
help reach the immigrant community with the good news. It has since matured
into a well run social ministry that accompanies immigrants through the process
of moving into the desired status. If anything was apparent during the
conversation, it was that Anna has forgotten more about immigration law than I
could ever hope to learn. As she spoke of the complicated process of moving
from immigrant to citizen, the current delays in the process, the stories of
those who have been effected by the process, the tales of immigrants being
taken advantage of in the process, and her sense of mission in performing her
duties of helping these marginalized communities, I became convinced that her
service, and others like it, would be valued in many communities.
We moved then to Lexington High School were we saw the
effects of immigration at the school setting. While being forewarned by others
of a school marred with gang activity and violence, what we saw was the exact
opposite. The principal, Kyle Hoehner, spent over 2 hours with us walking us to
each classroom, showing us each program, answering each question we had, and,
like so many during our trip, expressing a sincere concern for the community he
and the schools serve. With a population that was truly diverse, where 80% of
the students live below the poverty line and nearly ¼ struggle with the English
language, Lexington has taken significant steps to set up academic success for
students who regularly are written off in the education process. I was
significantly impressed with the work of Courtney who oversees the English
Learned Language program. Also impressive was hearing and seeing the successes
of the Endeavor Academy, which goes above and beyond to ensure that young
people like Geraldo and Jesus are valued and inspired to grow and flourish
academically.
After the school, we want to Grace Lutheran Church where we
were graciously welcomed by Pr. Megan Marrow, Jerry, and John. Jerry is the
current mission council president and a former elementary school principle
while John was a security guard at the Tyson facility. They shared about the
mission of their congregation in the context of the immigrants and the
resulting “white flight”. They shared how they strongly feel that the kids can
help integrate immigrants through their involvement in extracurricular activities.
Pastor Morrow, after expressing some of the challenges of such a drastic change
in the community, said one line which I feel summarizes most of what we’ve seen
and what we’ve heard during this entire trip; “You get to see God do stuff
because everything is bigger than you.” As our day concluded with a tour of
Lexington and a drive (again on the worst roads in the state), I reflected on
that statement and appreciate how this trip has reminded me of the truth in
such a comment.
Greetings on day 7 of our Rural Immersion experience. In the
morning, I woke up and turned on the TV to find the CEO of Whole Foods talking
about the new book he wrote entitled, “Conscious Capitalism”. The reason I
bring this up is that the idea of being conscious of who you serve and working
in the spirit of mission to faithfully serve the greater good was a consistent
theme through out the day.
Our first stop in Lexington was with Anna Castaneda of The
Welcome Center. The Welcome Center began as a mission outreach by two
congregations (one being Grace Lutheran Church who we would visit later) to
help reach the immigrant community with the good news. It has since matured
into a well run social ministry that accompanies immigrants through the process
of moving into the desired status. If anything was apparent during the
conversation, it was that Anna has forgotten more about immigration law than I
could ever hope to learn. As she spoke of the complicated process of moving
from immigrant to citizen, the current delays in the process, the stories of
those who have been effected by the process, the tales of immigrants being
taken advantage of in the process, and her sense of mission in performing her
duties of helping these marginalized communities, I became convinced that her
service, and others like it, would be valued in many communities.
We moved then to Lexington High School were we saw the
effects of immigration at the school setting. While being forewarned by others
of a school marred with gang activity and violence, what we saw was the exact
opposite. The principal, Kyle Hoehner, spent over 2 hours with us walking us to
each classroom, showing us each program, answering each question we had, and,
like so many during our trip, expressing a sincere concern for the community he
and the schools serve. With a population that was truly diverse, where 80% of
the students live below the poverty line and nearly ¼ struggle with the English
language, Lexington has taken significant steps to set up academic success for
students who regularly are written off in the education process. I was
significantly impressed with the work of Courtney who oversees the English
Learned Language program. Also impressive was hearing and seeing the successes
of the Endeavor Academy, which goes above and beyond to ensure that young
people like Geraldo and Jesus are valued and inspired to grow and flourish
academically.
After the school, we want to Grace Lutheran Church where we
were graciously welcomed by Pr. Megan Marrow, Jerry, and John. Jerry is the
current mission council president and a former elementary school principle
while John was a security guard at the Tyson facility. They shared about the
mission of their congregation in the context of the immigrants and the
resulting “white flight”. They shared how they strongly feel that the kids can
help integrate immigrants through their involvement in extracurricular activities.
Pastor Morrow, after expressing some of the challenges of such a drastic change
in the community, said one line which I feel summarizes most of what we’ve seen
and what we’ve heard during this entire trip; “You get to see God do stuff
because everything is bigger than you.” As our day concluded with a tour of
Lexington and a drive (again on the worst roads in the state), I reflected on
that statement and appreciate how this trip has reminded me of the truth in
such a comment. 
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