I live and work in a complex context of welcoming newly arrived migrants, with a history of strangers arriving on the Northern Plains, the land of the Lakota. It is a painful story of unwelcome, empty promises and betrayal that can be seen and felt today.

With that backdrop set, here is my story of welcoming the stranger.

On Dec. 23, 2024, I was reviewing the list of tasks for the day at Caminando Juntos (Walking Together). We were getting ready for our team’s Christmas fiesta. Fifteen minutes before the fiesta’s 2 p.m. starting time, a colleague came to my office and asked if I would give a ride home to a family she had been assisting. We had gifted them two dozen tamales for Christmas. They had no transportation, it was cold, and their little girl needed a car seat. Not a problem; my 2-year-old son uses one.

As I pulled into the driveway, they invited me in for coffee. The father offered me a seat on the sofa and began to tell me his story. A half hour into the conversation, a colleague texted to ask if everything was OK. I replied, simply: cafecito (a small, strong, sweet coffee). The team understood what I meant.

Around 3:15 p.m., I slowly put my coat on. I only knew the family from the Hispanic ministry. We had helped them before. Yet, on that day, they welcomed me. They shared their story of why they had to leave their home and come to the U.S. Though they didn’t have much, they offered hospitality.

Following Matthew 25:31-46 (Jesus’ parable of welcoming the stranger) is easier said than done. The simple act of inviting me in for coffee was a biblical welcome.

What this family did for me is what we do daily at Caminando Juntos, a Hispanic ministry sponsored by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Why do I serve God in this way? I’m building on a foundation that began in childhood, as my family has been connected with church missions in Colombia and Bolivia. Many Latino and North American people were influential in building upon this foundation, laid first by Christ Jesus on the cross.

I haven’t stopped learning and seeking the meaning of “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” I have often been the stranger, the one welcomed when moving to a new place. I have also experienced unwelcoming times, simply because my heritage or surname didn’t fit.

The foundation continued to be built at four Mennonite institutions of higher education. My understanding of scripture was strengthened and challenged. Courses on justice and peace taught by the late Ray Gingerich at Eastern Mennonite University greatly influenced my developing young mind in the early 1990s. He would get in our faces and challenge us to think beyond our North American worldview, to understand people in other countries. What made their context both different and the same?

How do we begin to understand people from different cultures? We sit down with them and release our prejudices. We drink coffee or tea and actively listen to their stories.

Recently, I served with Mennonite Central Committee in Nicaragua, which afforded me more conversations with my Christian brothers and sisters about the meaning of welcoming the stranger.

Working with the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in Nicaragua and the Mennonite church in Costa Rica, I found myself welcomed as the hermano gringo (White brother). Invited into their homes and churches for coffee and fellowship, I learned how they lived and worshiped the same God, the same Christ and the same Holy Spirit, in their own ways.

In my first visits to their congregations and assemblies, I was the stranger who was welcomed — and then, over time, became known as Hermano Mateo de CCM (Brother Matthew from MCC).

Now, after two and half years of leadership at Caminando Juntos, I don’t have to dig deep into my early life to remember what welcoming the stranger entails.

Decade by decade, I have been on a journey of learning, making mistakes and engaging the biblical text as I learn the importance of Christ’s words and example of welcoming the stranger. I learn this when I am on the receiving end of simple acts of welcome and hospitality, like having coffee with a recently arrived Latino family in Sioux Falls.

In my work, it is not enough to provide access to community resources and to offer English language learning and immigration legal services. It is important to offer these services with love. The language of love heals. The language of love sustains the body of Christ.

Here is my challenge and encouragement. When you welcome the stranger, remember these facts and steps:

— The simplest forms of hospitality are important. Even listening over coffee fits the description of Hebrews 13:2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

— Invite the strangers for a meal or an event with a group of people. Have it in a place of worship, a park or a community center. Ask what types of events they enjoy. Engage in cross-cultural learning.

— Shed your prejudices. Be open to learning about new cultures. Sit down and have a cup of coffee or tea. Ignorance builds walls; knowledge builds bridges. All 7 billion of us are human.

Matthew Tschetter attends Hutterthal Mennonite Church in Freeman, S.D. Born in Colombia and raised in South Dakota, he returned with his family in 2022 to South Dakota, where he is executive director of Caminando Juntos in Sioux Falls. To learn more about Caminando Juntos, visit presentationsisters.org/ministries/caminando-juntos.