Chak Ng: A Lifestyle of Hospitality
By Beth Azarow, LIRS Project Associate for Mission Advancement

Since 1983 Chak Ng has spent his days welcoming immigrant and refugee children to the United States and advocating for their best interests. He began his long career of social work in children’s services programs in Seattle, Washington, and now serves as LIRS’s assistant director for foster care and permanency. In his current work Chak address the specific needs of immigrant and refugee children as he works behind the scenes to support LIRS’s direct service partners across the country.

While the work of welcome has long been familiar to Chak, for the past two years he has had the opportunity to practice hospitality in a whole new way.

Reservoir Hill House of Peace (RHHP), an old brownstone mansion tucked away in a Baltimore City neighborhood, is a resting place for many in the midst of significant life transition. This intentional living space is shared by 15 people with diverse backgrounds. People living in RHHP generally come from one of three groups:

• newcomers to the United States who are in search of asylum,
• yearlong volunteers serving the city of Baltimore through Mennonite Volunteer Service, and
• Baltimore City residents that desire to live intentionally in community.

Current house residents are from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United States. Chak and his wife Ellen serve as the RHHP house coordinators, providing consistency and smiling faces as they welcome a variety of new house members on a fairly regular basis.

Chak’s steady hospitality is particularly instrumental in the lives of the asylum seekers who live in RHHP while waiting for their cases to go through the immigration court system, which may take months or even years. As they face an uncertain future, the asylum seekers are supported by a community that is eager to help them with the challenges of learning a new language and living in a new culture.

People like Chak and houses like RHHP -- along with as attorneys, physicians and churches that serve asylum seekers while their cases are processed -- complement the work of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in serving migrants at risk. LIRS’s network of asylum and immigration service providers addresses the legal needs of asylum seekers, survivors of torture and immigrants in detention.

A life of hospitality has become a ministry for Chak. Friends and co-workers look to him for leadership, admiring his dedication both personally and professionally to welcoming others. Chak lets us know that “This work is hard, but it is hands-down making a difference in the lives of others.” Reservoir Hill House of Peace is a sanctuary for many, and a community where welcome begins.