We hear so much in the news these days about immigrants, not much of it positive. I thought you might like to hear about one Haitian woman who has inspired me to be more generous with what the Lord has given me.

In January 2023, President Biden announced a new immigration program that would allow immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to be admitted to the U.S. and be provided with employment authorizations while they await the processing of their paperwork, provided they have a U.S. sponsor who promises to support them during the time they cannot legally work. In this program, the U.S. sponsor does not have to be a relative but does have to document sufficient financial resources for what they are promising.

We have been working with a few Haitian families whom we have known, some who have already submitted papers for relatives but now would have the chance to bring those family members here faster. So many of the Haitian families we know have been so desperately worried about their families still in Haiti. They tell stories about bullets being shot into their families’ homes, or gangs tearing through neighborhoods where they used to live. It’s been a worry that never leaves the friends and relatives who are, gratefully, here in the U.S.

So when I received a call from Marie (not her real name) about submitting paperwork for her relatives, it was not a surprise. What was a surprise was that Marie wanted to submit applications for 11 people! And not all relatives, either. Some were long-time family friends, others were siblings, nieces and nephews, along with their children.

Needless to say, this took an enormous amount of time. We needed information on each person that Marie did not always have. This meant that we were calling Haiti for birth dates and birth places, copies of paperwork. Then there was Marie’s financial commitment. Let’s consider that for a moment. Marie was promising to provide food, shelter, living expenses including medical insurance for each of the 11 people until their employment authorizations could be processed. At the time we filed, the government was giving a processing time of up to 2 years. I’m not sure if it’s still 2 years or if it might be longer because of the tremendous response to this program.

Marie was able to document an income last year of $100,000+. You might wonder how she was able to earn this amount of money – what kind of a management or supervisory position did she hold? Nope, Marie works as a CNA – Certified Nursing Assistant – a very hard, physical job that doesn’t pay so much. She works a fulltime job but also works at a couple of per diem jobs. We figure that she must accept every shift that she can in order to make that amount of money. Next, her savings. She documented savings of about $300,000 for her husband and herself, a formidable amount for newcomers who had immigrated here, I thought.

And she is joyfully putting all of that on the line for the people she is sponsoring – all of it. And she is thanking God that she has been able to work and earn that money so that she can now provide for her friends and family, possibly saving lives. She has no thoughts about the money beyond just getting people here to safety and a better life.

Marie, God bless you. You are an inspiration and remind me to be generous with my treasure. Two stories come to mind: the widow’s mite and the rich man who could not give away his treasure. I know which one you have chosen, which one will I choose?