A team who speaks Spanish from Emmanuel Covenant Church welcomes a Nicaraguan family at the airport
One of my favorite places in the Twin Cities is standing at the arrivals gate at MSP, waiting for families to walk through the doors. It’s a moment I treasure even more when I’m accompanied by a team of volunteers, holding signs and beaming with joy, ready to welcome strangers at the beginning of their new lives in the United States.
There’s a sacredness and holiness to these moments, often unnoticed by the hurried passersby with their luggage or the busy hum of the city around us. People often experience God in dreams, church services, worship music, or nature.
For me, one of the places I encounter God is just outside the baggage claim doors at MSP, waiting with God to greet families as they step into this new chapter. It’s truly a space where glimpses of eternity unfold at all hours of the day.
You’ll have to join me some time at the airport to see and understand for yourself the power in these moments.
A team who speaks Spanish from Calvary Church invites a Venezuelan family to a holiday celebration
Recently, joining me at the airport to witness these moments have been teams of volunteers who can speak the same language as those they’ll be welcoming. There’s a special beauty and richness when families are able to connect with volunteers in their heart language or share a similar culture with them.
These bonds create something uniquely meaningful, allowing both families and teams to learn from one another more quickly and express themselves more fully.
When the opportunity arises to connect families with teams that share their language or culture, we make it a priority because we see how it deepens relationships and blesses the families.
Ordinarily, our volunteers don’t share a common language with the people they’ll build friendships with, and God still shows how connecting across different cultural and linguistic lines can bring depth, humor, memories, and resilience to cross-cultural relationships. Deep in my bones, I know that as I wait with a team in eager anticipation for a family to walk through the terminal doors, God will move powerfully among His people when they choose to be present – shared language or not.
Maddy Kertmann is the Good Neighbor Program Manager
