Volunteer Spotlight: Kristi A.

Kristi grew up in the St. Louis area but says it was her first mission trip as a teenager to Mexico that really opened her eyes to “this whole world outside of my suburban life.” With her husband, she would later move to Chile for a year and then spend another summer in Tijuana, Mexico. “Latin America in all its diversity and complexity and beauty has given so much to me.”

Kristi also spent eight years in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Watching the events unfold in Minneapolis earlier this year became a huge catalyst, prompting her to seek out an opportunity to volunteer with an organization supporting immigrants facing detention and deportation. “We all watched their resolve and their strength. There’s something really beautiful about their resistance.”

Like many of our volunteers, Kristi says her work volunteering as a Family Advocate with Abide in Love gave her something tangible to do in response to what’s happening in our country.

“When I started this work, it was very much in response to what this administration is doing, but as I’ve gotten to walk alongside these families, my focus has shifted and become solely about these beautiful families,” she explains.

At the time of this interview, Kristi was providing one-on-one support to five families and was also serving as a volunteer coordinator for Abide in Love. And all in addition to her full-time communications job.

It’s a lot to juggle and some days are especially heartbreaking. Like when she learned one of her families had unknowingly hired a fraudulent lawyer who took all their savings in exchange for empty promises. The brother and sister were sending money back home to their disabled father in Guatemala. The brother was detained and soon to be deported and Kristi was there to walk alongside the sister and help her navigate a series of impossible choices.

But for Kristi even the toughest days are worth it. “When I wake up in the morning, it’s the message from a family who can’t find an uncle, who need help contacting police stations… it’s those moments that get me going. Or the message from inside a detention center asking for help getting a phone card to call family.”

As Kristi reflects on her memories from long ago, of the welcome she received during her many travels to Latin America, what motivates her comes down to something rather simple: “I just want to give back some of that welcome.” 

“Whatever the reasons people join in on our work, once you meet the families, hear their stories, walk through these dark moments with them and see their resilience, it changes you.”