What We Carried Together in 2025

Written By Nicole Walters

A Year of Heartache, Hope, and Holy Welcome

Let’s be honest: 2025 was a hard year.

We witnessed refugee resettlement suspended, families torn apart, and rising hostility toward immigrants and the people who love them. The news never seemed to let up, and for many in our community, it felt deeply personal—because it was personal.

But this is also true: hope was never absent.

Because even in the midst of so much heartache, you showed up with Christ-like welcome again and again.

You prayed. You fasted. You studied Scripture with strangers. You showed up at airports and detention centers. You walked with weary families toward new beginnings. You wrote letters, made calls, hosted nights of solidarity, and refused to grow numb.

This year, we carried grief and gladness, frustration and faithfulness. But most of all, we carried each other.

Hard Headlines and Bold Faith

In early 2025, the CBS Morning Show aired a story about our community. Over 2 million people watched. And what followed was something we’ll never forget: hundreds of new women found us and said, “I didn’t know this community existed… but it’s what I’ve been praying for.”

That momentum fueled so much of what came next.

You downloaded our newly updated Bold and Brave Bible study, gathered your neighbors, and started conversations that made room for both honesty and healing.

You downloaded our Using Your Voice guide in partnership with Be the Bridge, and then you actually used your voices.

You used your voices nationally and showed up locally. For example, Jenny, one of our longtime members, helped organize a letter-writing campaign when her friends (who had arrived legally) received deportation letters. “People from all parts of the community, across political lines, gathered to write,” she shared. “Refugee neighbors came too. They were so grateful for a chance to have their stories heard.”

When Welcome Gets Personal

We saw women take welcome from theory to reality.

Like Amy DiMarcangelo, who spent over a year preparing to welcome a refugee family into her church community. What followed was a rollercoaster of false starts, painful delays, and even a temporary resettlement freeze. But eventually, a family made it to the U.S.

“After three and a half years from their initial application, this family finally arrived. A pregnant mother, a weary father, and three young daughters stepped into a new life after 48 hours of travel.”

Just 48 hours after arrival, the mother went into labor—five weeks early. Amy’s team was at the hospital, watching over the kids and holding hands in waiting rooms.

“She was alone in a hospital where no one spoke her language. Even in God’s kindness, we saw how hard this is. No one is coming because this is a walk in the park—so how bad must things have been for someone to take that step?”
Read Amy’s full story →

This was not unusual. In fact, it was beautifully ordinary within our community this year. We heard these incredible stories time and time again from women in our private Facebook group, who showed up in simple and profound ways for members of their communities.

When a mother and daughter from Honduras were stranded at a Greyhound station, someone in our Facebook group stepped up within hours to help. When a family from Afghanistan arrived in Chicago, one WoW member coordinated an airport pickup through our community group, and someone she’d never met went to welcome them in person.

Prayers That Don’t Let Go

This year, one of the most powerful undercurrents in our community was prayer. In early January, women were crying out for answers about what the executive orders meant for the people in their communities. We sent out an invitation to join a community call for prayer and conversation. We were blown away when over 500 joined the call live! Dozens shared deeply personal prayer requests for immigrants in their own families and communities.

Women in our private Facebook group asked for help fasting and praying together, so we created a guide for them. Every Wednesday, women fasted and prayed for policy changes, for hurting families, for softened hearts, for wisdom, and for hope.

It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t loud. But it was faithful. And we believe God heard every word.

We also watched brave conversations unfold across generational and political lines. In our private Facebook group, women shared how they were navigating Thanksgiving tables, Bible study discussions, and Sunday morning small groups, all with courage and Christ-like compassion.

“I lost a close friend after speaking out,” one woman shared.
“I felt so alone—until I realized, this group gets it.”

Wins Worth Remembering

  • Over 25,000 followers on Instagram cheered each other on in the work of welcome

  • Our reels and explainers were viewed tens of thousands of times—equipping everyday people to speak with confidence and grace

  • You organized nights of hospitality at churches and in homes. You rallied around detained pastors. You offered rides. You baked meals. You prayed over families and futures.

And in it all, you made space, not just for new neighbors, but for God to move.

So What’s Next?

In 206, we expect more waiting and more complexity in the immigration system in our country, and more needs to be met. This will require more courage.

But we know we’re not waiting or welcoming alone. We’re going into 2026 with our eyes fixed on the Jesus who still welcomes the stranger and still calls us to follow Him.

We’ll keep creating, studying, sharing, writing, showing up, speaking up, and praying on Wednesdays. We’ll keep saying to each other: You’re not alone. Your welcome matters. Your voice matters. You matter.

And together, we’ll keep practicing Christ-like welcome in small, faithful ways that ripple into eternity.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Go out and labor faithfully. Point people to Jesus, the reason for the hope within you.” – Amy

Want to Take a Step Today?

Here’s to the next step. We’re with you.

Nicole Walters
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