Immigrant Kids in a Cultural No-Man's Land

“That’s where my dad is,” said Felipe as we passed the Wyandotte County Detention Center. “Yeah”, said Emanuel, “We go there to visit him”. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Only three weeks earlier I had greeted their father at the door as he picked his 4 kids and 3 nephews/nieces up from our Thursday night outreach Bible study.

Eleven of us had squeezed into two cars and we were on our way to a local Columbian restaurant to drink Mango smoothies and play UNO. When we arrived I asked Nayeli, the oldest sister, about their father and got a shrug and a mumble. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it.

There was “Mango en leche” for everyone. And “Skips”, “Reverses” and “Draw Fours” were almost as plentiful as the laughter. And yet I wondered how these children, could laugh when their father/uncle was in jail.

Immigrant children are in a cultural no-man’s land. As they grow, they learn English quickly and integrate into some aspects of American culture through the school system. Yet, their parents often lag behind in both cultural integration as well as language acquisition. The gap widens and a young teenager finds himself in cultural flux; not really a part of American culture, distant from his parents, and highly susceptible to negative peer influences. With a father in prison the deck is stacked against these children.

And yet I am hopeful that in the case of Felipe, Nayeli, and their siblings and cousins that God will use Kids Adelante to fill the cultural gap they live their lives in as well as the gap their incarcerated father has left. And, I have hope that they will find a relationship with the Savior of the world.