Because of the surge of migrants coming to El Paso, Texas, I started volunteering with various shelters. Mostly I cooked for them, visited them at their tents to give food, toiletries, and blankets during winter, and I did intakes to process them to be with their sponsors, families, and relatives or assisted them in making calls to their next shelter destination. And some of them didn’t have sponsors so we needed to find them a place to stay. But while I was doing these, I was also getting divided support from friends.
Some were discouraging me, saying that if you help these people, you are not promoting life instead you are making them dependent and advocating for them to die because if they stay in the U.S. without the language and adequate education, they will become a problem to the society and many of them could die. These are the words that kept echoing in me. But then I kept telling them this: that I was just here to help regardless of whatever they said and that I am helping because that's the kind of help they needed. After all, they are already in the U.S. and all that I could do was just to help with little things or the time I had.
When I got frustrated with the whole situation I also had friends and volunteers who were very supportive and even offered to volunteer with me at the shelters and reach out to the migrants seeking asylum. They were very supportive. As a lay missionary at the border throughout the years, I know that getting mutual support is very important because of my personal experience. I know how asylum seekers and refugees struggle with their day-to-day lives. It is wonderful when we can just help people without prejudice and judgment. I know this whole thing about the migrant crisis will never stop as people keep moving to seek a better life and sanctuary.
Being able to voice my opinion and be listened to is very important to me. And having people around me that will listen and are not judgmental is always encouraging and life-giving. It’s been a wonderful journey. And so, at the end of my stay at the border, I am grateful for so many people, Columbans, religious, friends, and others who have been part of this wonderful journey.