We have completed another Lenten journey here at Ascension. Yet, for many in our community, the “wilderness” does not end with the season. Many of us find ourselves on paths that feel never-ending: chronic illness, the weight of grief, family fractures, job loss, or the long shadow of financial crisis.

For the Latino ministry, the month of March was a journey of profound contrast—marked by joy, sadness, and the pain of separation. At the start of the month, one of our members made the difficult decision to return to her home country due to the dangers she faced here in the United States. On her final Sunday, we gathered around her, laying on hands to pray for God’s protection and prayers for her children and husband that were staying here in the US.

The following day, Pastor Tony, Pastor Chris, and I accompanied her to the airport. In that moment, we were reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:26: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

The weeks that followed were filled with the “anxiety of the waiting room.” Members of Ascension and I accompanied a Venezuelan family to their final immigration hearing in Chicago; days later, we did the same for a Salvadoran family. Simultaneously, my own siblings in El Salvador were preparing for their appointments at the U.S. Embassy to seek permission to join us here in Waukesha. My father filed their application to move here over thirteen years ago. Sadly he died before they were able to join us here.

As I write this, the outcomes of these hearings are still unknown. By the time you read this, the “verdict” on these families’ lives will have already been delivered. This is the reality of our community: a life lived in the tension between fear and hope.

Though these events produce a desert of uncertainty, a voice always emerges to break the silence. Jesus is our constant companion. The families forced to leave or those fighting to stay have encountered a Jesus at Ascension who may be different from the one they once knew—a Jesus who enters through locked doors to say, “Peace be with you.”

In His first appearance to the disciples after the Resurrection, Jesus wasn’t just offering a greeting; He was announcing a new beginning. He taught us that while we will experience every kind of hardship, hardship is never the final word. There is always a new beginning and a new life because Christ has risen! The desert is real, but the empty tomb is equally real and it has the power to overcome the desert. May the joy, peace, and hope of the Resurrection surround and strengthen you and your family today and always.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Pastor Edwin