WEATHER ALERT:

Due to weather conditions, all in-person daytime and evening programs have been canceled across the church’s locations for Wednesday, except for the Recovery programs and Food Pantry at Overland Park. Decisions for Thursday daytime programs will correspond with local school district decisions and will be posted on the church’s website.

IMPORTANT:

Scheduled programming has resumed for Thursday, February 13 at all Resurrection locations.

Borderlands - Day 1

10/22/24

Mexico/El Paso: October 20-25, 2024

A mixed group of curious, compassionate women and men left MCI (Kansas City Airport) on Sunday, October 20, headed to El Paso, Texas.  Not to serve.  Not to save.  But to sit – to listen and learn and be immersed in the realities of what happens at this particular border site at this particular time in our nation’s history.  It is a pilgrimage, of sorts.  A journey of eleven people to hear the stories of courageous migrants who walk through rugged terrain, ride on the top of freight trains hanging on to their little babies, and who see no other hope than to trust complete strangers to lead them to their destination.  This border that is a symbol of safety and hope for a new beginning.

Our Abara host picked us up at 9:00 this morning.  As he drove, Sami DiPasquale, executive director, pointed out the importance of the Franklin Mountains (the southern part of the Rocky Mountains), one side in El Paso and the other side in Juarez.  Then there is the Rio Grande River that flows between them.  He told us that this was the lowest point to cross the river to get from Mexico to the United States.  Alas, that is where El Paso got its name!  It means ‘The Pass.’  And it all began to make some sense.

This much-needed geography lesson (and later a history lesson which gave us a better glimpse of Pancho Villa, as an added bonus) was the perfect start to our pilgrimage, this mission to seek after justice and understanding for people we did not know.  As the van pulled into the Abara House parking lot, we realized that it was literally right next to ‘The Wall’ — a stark, vast visual reminder that this was real, not merely a political ploy in TV ads to gain votes or discredit the other side.

As our education continued, our speakers provided us with a bigger picture of global migration and the realities of Central and South American migration.  Right now, it seems the highest number of migrants at our borders are coming from Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.  Another interesting “myth buster” was that most of those coming to the border do not try to “sneak” across as they might have done in the past.  But, rather, upon arrival their goal is to locate a border patrol officer to tell them they want to apply for asylum.

Even though we were loving Sami and all of these stories and information, when lunchtime arrived we were thrilled.  😊 This day our lunch was prepared and served by a local woman named Perla.  She had learned to make the Venezuelan food from her partner who was from Venezuela.  The chicken empanadas, black beans, rice and salad were amazing.  And so was the melon juice!

After lunch, Anamaria and Clara presented us with startling facts and information regarding recent border policies.  They even included a hypothetical migrant family’s attempt to reach the border, where we were given the opportunity to make the decision of what we would do if we were walking in their shoes.  Later, Abby shared details of immigration law and what kinds of things she does as a DOJ accredited representative working out of El Paso.

However, one of the best parts of the whole day was getting the opportunity to make dinner and visit with two families at a small local shelter.  For both families, it was their first night in this place of safety located in an Episcopalian Church.  The vibrant young woman from Panama made the trek with her beautiful 6-month-old baby girl and her smiling 5-year-old son who had a condition which made it impossible for him to walk.  How she managed to pull that off, we don’t know.  She was courageous and determined to have a better life for her children and to seek medical help so that her son would be able to walk.

The other young woman from Venezuela made her way through the jungle with her partner, while being five months pregnant. When they at last reached the border, the two of them were separated because they were not married.  Sadly, he is still in detention.  But, thankfully, she gave birth to their baby boy two days after crossing into the United States.

Tonight we laughed with them and cried a little.  One would never have guessed what trauma they had recently experienced (and still are).  All of us were astounded at their strength and bravery.  One was hoping to get the funds to fly to New York.  The other was unsure.  All plans were put on hold until the status of her partner is decided.

Dessert was chocolate and strawberry ice cream served up in typical church-kitchen-stoneware bowls.  Laughter really broke out when Fatima told Scott (through our interpreter Clara), that he looked like an Italian movie star.  She even pulled up a pic on her phone to prove it!  And they were sad to see us go.  We had established a community in a span of a couple of hours.

Our hearts were stretched and our empathy aroused just to be in the presence of women such as these two. Spending quality time with migrants who are seeking asylum is truly the only way to get a sense of what they have given up, why they were compelled to take the arduous journey to the U.S. and how brave and courageous they are.  To meet someone specifically and gain an appreciation and respect for her leads to the acceptance and respect for all of the others in that particular group.  While at the same time, gaining the realization that we are all part of the same humanity.  God created it that way.  And he said it was good.