WESTFIELD, N.J. — Twenty-eight youth and adult representatives from the First Congregational Church of Westfield experienced a different side of Miami during its week-long Summer Mission Trip in July. The volunteers served with Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection, a faith-based organization that stresses local immersion while working with inner-city communities. Under the guidance of the Miami DOOR director, the FCC volunteers worked with Abrienda Puertas, one of three different sites belonging to the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which focuses on the well-being and care of impoverished immigrant children, and a center run by the Sisters of Charity, which serves hot lunches to the homeless. The group ended their week by going to the Homestead Detention Center, which at the time housed migrant teens, to learn about and support both the children being detained. That detention center has been closed since the group was there.
