“Where are the churches?” Idania asked her husband Jefry as they drove through the fields and farms of their new home in rural Pennsylvania – a place completely different from the city they moved from.
At the same time, in the same town, Pastor Stan Morgan of Center Grove BIC was asking his church board to pray for opportunities to support new people in their community, especially those who had come from different countries.
A month later, Idania and Jefry visited Center Grove for the first time and almost instantly found a new home and family in the congregation.
“I shouldn’t have been worried when I first came here,” says Jefry. “I can tell you God was here and everybody welcomed us.”
Transcript
Pastor Stan Morgan: I am Stan Morgan. I’m the lead pastor at Trinity Evangelical Fellowship, which is a combination of Center Grove Brethren in Christ Church and two other area churches. I serve on many different boards within the Brethren in Christ Church, one of those boards being on the MCC East Coast Board.
We were challenged many times through MCC in regard to meeting the needs of people who are coming here from other countries. And so, as I came back to our church, I challenged our church board to possibly sponsor a family.
The exact month after that, as I walked into the church for the next church board meeting, there was a young lady standing there.
Lisa Morgan: I came early because I needed to print off some copies because I was church secretary. I heard the door open and I walked out, and there was this beautiful girl. Her husband and baby were in the car, and she was asking about the church. They passed the church several times, but there had been no one here.
Idania Jimenez Mendoza: My name is Idania Jimenez Mendoza. I come from the Dominican Republic. When we moved here, we were wondering if there were churches because we didn’t know. We thought, “Oh my goodness, it’s only countryside. We only see cows and sheep. Where are the churches?” We came to find this church one day as I was driving by.
Stan: She told us that she was looking for a church, and they actually came that Sunday.
Jefry Jimenez: When I first came here, I was nervous. I was nervous because I was the minority, to be number one. I was unknown to this place. I was worried about what people were going to think about me, but I shouldn’t have been worried because I could tell you God was here and everybody else welcomed me. It feels amazing. It feels like I’ve been knowing these people for my whole life.
Stan: A relationship has built between them and the people of our church, and they’re involving them in their everyday lives. It’s not just a Sunday morning event; it’s a seven-day-a-week relationship with them.
Idania: One day we could be at Marcy’s house—she’s one of the ladies here. We could be at Marcy’s: “How are you doing? What do you need? Okay, let’s go grab this, buy this.” Then we could be at another friend’s house. So it’s like we’re very united.
Lisa: I have developed a good friendship with Idania and have helped her learn things in the area and teach them cooking. My husband, Paul, Jeffrey, actually works for him.
Jefry: It has been a blessing in my life because I never knew how to do anything with my hands, and now I can do almost anything. I’m very proud of the stuff that I learned. I’m helping out with him. Somebody from the church—her house wasn’t in very good condition—so we were out there giving her our best and putting some of the skills that I learned with him to test. So we always have that family-oriented environment.
Stan: Idania and Jeffrey had never had a formal wedding, and some of the ladies of the church felt that it would be nice to have them be able to experience having a formal wedding.
Idania: For us, it was really hard because in the city, it’s very expensive and very different. So even though we were married on paper, we just couldn’t afford it.
Jefry: Everybody got together here and helped me out as far as getting the wedding together, making sure we were guided through the process. Pastor Stan gave me the honor to marry us, and these people did everything that they could in their power to make it happen. I’m talking about a very low budget, but there was nothing that was not handled by them.
Stan: When they came in, I wanted to make sure that they felt welcome and that we would show them that we wanted to go the extra mile to meet their needs. And so one of the things that I decided to do was use Spanish during my sermons. We just started translating last week, so we’re trying to find other ways even further that we can communicate.
Jefry: There’s so much we can learn from one another. There’s so much that I learned from them as well as they learned from me.
Lisa: I mean, that’s what I think I had the wrong impression about. It’s like, “Oh, we’re going to bring them in and we’re going to help them.” But I got more out of it than I ever expected. God’s given me family that I don’t have.
Idania: I thank God. It has been blessing. “Bendiciones y bendiciones.” Blessing upon blessing upon blessing. So it’s like family. You feel like family.
Stan: Just because you don’t speak another language, don’t allow that to become a barrier. Pray first of all, ask God to bring somebody in, and if we ask, God will supply. And so allow that to happen in God’s timing and just allow God to do his work within the church.
