Every night, my mother prays before bed, saying how grateful she is for everything he has done for her, and asks him to watch over the family. On the other hand, my father is mostly Catholic but believes in freedom and doesn’t rely on the cross for everything. There were times when my family was struggling to pay rent while living in a rough neighborhood, and my father had lost his job. Nightly they would turn to Jesus for help and pray at the cross that one day our family would be okay. When I was born, I was baptized almost immediately and went to church for many years following. Yet as my parents' wrinkles became defined and gray hairs came in, we gradually stopped going to church as availability became a problem. Even after we stopped attending church, we always made sure there was a cross somewhere in the house. My mom says it would protect my family from evil comings so he can watch over us. Recently, my mom gave me a gold cross necklace to constantly wear so that Jesus could be protecting me at any given moment. Constantly having the necklace provides comfort that I am in safe hands. Through the extreme rough patches we’ve been through, my mother especially, would immediately turn to the cross to pray for the family. Like some families, immigrating here was not completely smooth. We struggled with money for a considerable amount of time, and it took my father till his early forties to find a stable job as a mailman in a nice area. Luckily, we are doing well, and my mother is forever grateful to Jesus for leading our lives.

– Jaime

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant