Hospitality and Prayer

Below you'll find a draft of the article I wrote for our upcoming newsletter. Enjoy!

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Each day of work at Samaritan Ministry is a prayer; a prayer that I can put my own life aside and positively affect each individual that enters my office, a prayer that I can handle the unexpected, a prayer that every day is a learning experience. With the help of deeply rooted volunteers and a mission of assisting individuals to build plans for success from their own motivation, Samaritan Ministry has provided an environment that positively supports my prayers.

My home state of Mississippi is fondly nicknamed the Hospitality State. These roots in hospitality got me through my first weeks at Samaritan Ministry when I really did not know what I, a privileged, white, female, college graduate, could offer participants. Ten months later, I still cannot magically dissolve the systematic barriers that the participant in front of me faces. I still do not know more than the individual in front of me about living on the streets or being unemployed for a long period of time. Still, I am called to serve as a companion to individuals facing these (and many other) barriers.

One of my favorite moments as a caseworker is when I realize I have built enough trust with a participant to challenge him or her. Most participants are motivated to accomplish their goals, but we all reach a point where we have to take a leap of faith or make a big change to reach our goals. In Jeremy’s case, he had been planning on getting up to date on his dental hygiene needs for nearly a year before I met him. For many individuals, it is a yearly inconvenience to go to the dentist, but we do it nonetheless. For Jeremy, visiting the dentist brought on a momentous fear of the unknown. He had never had dental work done before and, given his limited English, he had little idea of what he was getting himself into. But as Jeremy and I developed a friendship of accountability, he slowly took ownership of his fear and eventually accomplished his goal. I add it to my list of privileges that I am in a position to listen to participants’ stories and witness their bravery.

Just as Samaritan Ministry has welcomed me as an intern caseworker, I have welcomed guests like Jeremy into the Next Step program. Both Jeremy and I are guests in one another’s life journey as well as in the office I currently use, but the mission of hospitality that Samaritan Ministry shares will continue. I am thankful that my year as a Jesuit Volunteer at Samaritan Ministry has helped me identify my call to accompany others along their life journey. And even when I feel like I know little about how to help another individual, I will remember my lesson in hospitality at Samaritan Ministry.