Rural Ontario ( Canada) church aids immigrants
By Pastor Doug Dawson, Open Arms FMC, Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada

Friday nights in Tillsonburg, a small rural town in southwestern Ontario, are something to be experienced. Hundreds of migrant workers, mostly from  Mexico and  Jamaica, are bused into the town to do their weekly shopping, send money home and get something to eat. Over the past two harvest seasons (August to November), the Open Arms Free Methodist Church has taken advantage of this opportunity to reach out to the Mexican migrant worker community. Two years ago we gathered some Spanish-speaking volunteers, and along with a visiting family from Durango, Mexico, we did street evangelism. Many of the workers eagerly heard the good news and readily gave their hearts to Christ. However, with street evangelism, time, weather and other factors limited what we could do.

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Refreshments and Evangelism

This year after much prayer we tried something a little different. As a small congregation of only 40 we didn't have the resources to rent a storefront facility, staff it and provide all the resources that we needed. However, God provided far beyond what we could have imagined. Other FM churches came on board to help financially. Several local churches and the ministerial association provided Bibles, a phone to enable workers to call home and speak with family, tracts and food. We were able to rent a great storefront location near the local pawn shop (a popular stop for the Mexicans). Volunteers from other towns and churches approached us and asked to help. On any given night we had between six and 10 volunteers, many who spoke Spanish.

Pastor Doug presenting Bible after Sunday service

We opened Brazos Abiertos Centro de Hospitalidad ( Open Arms Hospitality Centre) in early August. Over the next three months hundreds of migrant workers came through the doors. They were greeted with smiles, refreshments, Bibles, tracts, conversation, English lessons and lots of love. Many came back each week. Some asked for a Sunday service, so those began in September.

One of our first visitors was a man named Sergio from the Durango area of Mexico. He listened to testimonies, enjoyed refreshments and left the center with a new Bible and a tract. He came back the next Friday with a big smile. He had read the gospels and the tract and wanted to let us know that he had accepted Jesus into his life.

Sergio with his family in Mexico

Over the next few months Sergio asked many questions and continued to read his Bible. The sad day came when he told us he was heading back to Mexico. We would miss his smile.

We gave Sergio a contact name and address in Durango, and when he arrived, he looked them up. Much to his surprise, a Canadian family he had met at the center in Tillsonburg was currently in Durango. Through a divine appointment they all arrived at the contact's address at the same time! Sergio was introduced to a local congregation, and he in turn took the Canadians to his house to meet his family. His wife had noticed a big change in her husband since he had come home and was grateful. She listened intently as the gospel was shared again.

After the Mexican migrant workers left for home in November we began Spanish lessons at our church. We are hoping to be even better prepared next year. Please pray that this work that has begun will continue to bear fruit for the kingdom. Pray also that someone's heart may be moved to start a work among the Jamaican workers.