“My mother would ask why I had to talk to everyone. She turned around, and I was always talking to a stranger. There are so many interesting people, and I love hearing their stories.

I grew up in Honduras and New Orleans. I received my Masters in Clinical Psychology and worked for the Alabama Department of Mental Health for many years. I also worked at Searcy Hospital until it closed. Working with people with intellectual disabilities and substance abuse disorders was a great privilege because the human spirit shines through their darkness.

I saw people survive horrible things, often done by their own families. I also learned that we aren’t alone – there’s always somebody praying for you, thinking of you, or checking on you. One kind act means a lot.

I retired in 2013 and asked God what I should do. He said, ‘Feed my sheep,’ and sent angels to help. It started with a donation of clothing and jackets and the pastor giving me a room to store them at Mobile First Church of the Nazarene. We gave coats and blankets to the immigrants who were bused by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) through Mobile to detention centers. They didn’t have appropriate clothing for the weather and rode in cold buses to the detention centers.

Our clothes closet received many donations, but I still needed to feed God’s sheep. Mrs. Connie at the Love All Food Pantry at Central Presbyterian Church invited me to fill up my car with bags of food. We provide monthly delivery to 80 families of food from the pantry and diapers donated by the Junior League of Mobile.

God is also providing for blessing bags and purses for the homeless. We leave them in the back of the church, and members deliver them around Mobile.

I learned long ago that people who are poor live one day at a time because today is all they have. The homeless are more likely to be assaulted or robbed of their possessions. If they have $20, they will spend it today because tonight someone may steal what they have. At least they ate today.

My ministry is creating a relationship through feeding, loving, and keeping my word. Once people trust me, then they let me help them. Sometimes they turn the love around. They say, ‘Ms. Ana, I haven’t heard from you this week. Are you okay?’ This is God’s gift to me.

As I build relationships through this ministry, people ask me to take them to the hospital and doctor’s appointments, or to get their driver’s license or social security card. All of these are vital, but transportation is an obstacle. The South Alabama Regional Planning Commission gave us a grant for a wheelchair-accessible van to provide free rides to the elderly, disabled, and underserved in our community. I just gave a woman a ride to the hospital.

We also have a large community of undocumented immigrants in Mobile County, and I help interpret and connect them to the services they need. These are hardworking people trying to get out of poverty; they want to raise their children in a safe place and give them a good education. Integrating is difficult when there is miscommunication and you know people don’t want you here.

Poet Arnold Sparky Watts said, ‘The only thing that matters is the beautiful color of love.’ I read that and named this ministry Colors of Love. It doesn’t matter the color of our skin, what language we speak, where we live, or our job – God’s love is for all of us.

My dream for Colors of Love is to have more resources and volunteers. I also hope those who do this work come together as a holistic treatment team with an integrated program for housing, transportation, mental health, and jobs. The resources are out there, and it would be great to be together under one roof to get it done.

I wish people could go with me and see the reality of what I see. We’re called to be God’s hands and feet, but you have to be with people to see their needs and know how to help.”

Ana