Darbie Hall

Neighbor’s Table: Experiencing God’s Heart for the Immigrant

Arizona State University

• Performed ethnographic research by collaborating with Dr. Doug Kelley, Dr. Catalina Cayetano, and a team of students using qualitative methods to collect data. Research included illegal, undocumented immigrants and faith members belonging to Neighborhood Ministries.
• Produced extensive filed notes from observations between immigrant families and faith members during seminars, the sharing of meals and stories in immigrant homes, and during structured focus groups. Special attention given to: facial expressions, tone of voice, nonverbal communication, language, and expressed emotions of the immigrant family members and the responses and reactions of faith members.  
• Administered surveys and conducted interviews with faith members before each event to determine what beliefs and views existed prior to exchanges. Conducted second interviews noting changes that occurred in participants’ views after hearing concrete examples, personal experiences, and examining the personhood of immigrants.  
• Witnessed and documented the sharing of immigrant narratives of survival and healing, the cultivation of advocacy, and the building of relationships through deliberate dialogue designed to break through unjust treatment of immigrants. Witnessed and documented the cultivation of empathy through sensemaking, action, and commitments made by faith members.
• Recorded each phase of the field study, articulately labeled each recording, and uploaded recordings along with all field notes, to the team drive.
• This research and contributions are in the process of being published.