Volunteer of the Month

Rich Schaefer

Four years ago a good friend invited me to visit the Peace Center to see some of the services offered to recently arrived refugee families. I accepted the invitation, and having observed an evening of student tutoring, chose to become involved as well and soon found myself working with other tutors during the Tuesday evening classes.

Reflecting on that invitation, I always recall how my friend made no promises of any kind… how easy/hard it might be, how rewarding it could be, or minimalizing the time as being ‘only once a week’. None of this was ever mentioned because my friend knew that if I would just come and see, all of these questions would be addressed.

Four years on, where are these students now? One of them graduates from high school this spring. Another graduated from Word of Life Elementary School last spring, and is now a high school student. Interestingly, two sisters from among that first group now attend Sunday School and worship at Ascension Lutheran Church, where I also worship.

Most memorable have been the insights of some of these young people. All of them are from families new to this country, language and culture, for whom the Gospel message was also very new. Nevertheless, at the end of a small group discussion a few months ago I asked them to share something for which they were truly grateful.  Immediately, one of the students responded saying, “My baptism”.

Yes, God is good – all the time. But don’t take my word for it. Rather, accept this as your personal invitation to “come and see” for yourself!

By Rich Schaefer (Ascension Lutheran Church)