I am an immigrant

“I am an immigrant.”

As I write this statement at the beginning of 2026, in the United States of America, I wonder if this could be a dangerous statement to make.

Not only am I an immigrant to the U.S., I was also an immigrant to Canada in 1954, coming as a 4-year-old with my family from the Netherlands. I guess that makes me a double immigrant! Nonetheless it is a title that I bear proudly and with a deep understanding of what it means to leave behind one life and enter a new one.

This is why I believe it is important to welcome immigrants and to value the cross-cultural richness they bring. We are all created in the image of God and it is this imago Dei that gives us deep worth. Moreover, the Bible tells us to help “the stranger (i.e. “foreigner”) within [y]our gates” – Deuteronomy 31:12.

Many years ago, the church of which I was a member welcomed refugees from El Salvador into our community, as they awaited processing for their acceptance into Canada. I tutored several of them in English and eventually they immigrated to Canada. What a joy to help them with phrases such as “gonna” and “wanna” – something they would never have found in a textbook!

More recently I was part of a church team that helped a new Congolese refugee family get acclimated to life in an entirely new country. My role was as a French interpreter who could help clear up cultural misunderstandings, translate worship service materials for them, and encourage their independence as they created a new life here.

Not surprisingly, two of our adult children have also become involved in immigration and refugee work in Washington, D.C., one serving in the State Department overseeing international adoptions and the other becoming president of the advocacy group called Refugees International.

Immigration has been a part of my whole life story and it is one that I believe God has used to help others become integrated into American life.

Once again, I say it proudly:  I AM AN IMMIGRANT!

Written by church member Irene Brouwer Konyndyk