Immersion
Jan 28, 2009
just across the borderline
Piedras Negras
Peter Fabre in Church of the Resurrection
Padre Miguel
Group photo of Immersion class
altar cross
altar
Railroad tracks cut through El Colosio
El Buen cook prepares lunch for El Colosio residents
El Colosio line up for lunch
End of lunch line
A simple lunch of beans, rice, a rich chicken soup & bread
Children were moved to front of the line with women behind
There was no pushing or jostling
Just patient eagerness for the meal
Seminary classroom altar for services during class
Rev. Canon Jaime Case was course instructor
Class enjoying traditional Mexican lunch on campus
Learning after experiencing
photo credits
Jo Robertson - color border
Diane Pike - b&w border
Bob Kinney - color campus
An article about the Latino/a Immersion Course during Southwest's 2009 January Term written by Dr. Martha Watson, a junior MDiv seminarian from the Diocese of Nevada.
Jan Term for Juniors is a legend at Seminary of the Southwest. Colorful stories and amusing anecdotes abound, but all agree: it is an unforgettable experience. The focus of the course is mission in an Hispanic context. Class lectures and readings certainly expand the students' horizons, but the high point is a four day trip to Piedras Negras, Mexico to learn firsthand about mission on the Border.
Filled with anticipation and some trepidations, this year's Junior Class approached the trip knowing they should expect the unexpected. And our sojourn to Piedras Negras did not disappoint us. No short narrative can do justice to our experiences but some impressions stand out. Our trip was: cozy and fun, eye-opening and heart-warming, and heart-wrenching and life-changing.
It was, indeed, cozy and fun. Thirteen people with luggage in a van for a 5 hour trip made seating a logistical challenge. Getting in and out required close attention to who went where and considerable agility for those of us seated in the back rows. The snug seating gave us an opportunity to learn more about each other and to get to know our visiting seminarian from CDSP, Ricardo Avila.
We learned en route that three of our number, the Van-aires, knew the lyrics (including many verses) to virtually every popular song from the 60s to the present. While they are not quite ready for a recording contract, their performance enlivened our trip. And just when we thought our "chaperone", the Rev. Jaime Case, had dozed off, (he wasn't at the wheel all the time!), he piped in with the missing words or verses.
If our trip down was enjoyable, our time at El Buen Pastor with Padre Miguel was eye-opening and heart-warming. We arrived at El Buen, the dynamic congregation headed by Padre Miguel, just a little late for the first of a series of delicious and always substantial meals. While our food was simple---lots of beans and tortillas----, it was always delicious and was prepared with care and love by a great kitchen staff: Elba, Velinda, Mari and Yesenia.
Throughout our trip, we were greeted hospitably at each place we visited; time and again our hosts made us feel welcomed and well cared for. Meeting the people was our greatest joy on the trip.
We began by learning the history of Padre Miguel's ministry: his arrival at El Buen to discover a play area overgrown with weeds, a dilapidated, uninhabitable rectory, a flood in the church on his first Sunday, and only one couple with a child for his first service. But his determination to serve the poor and to bring the Gospel among them kept him going. By walking through the colonias and the squatters' settlements of the poor, he began a ministry that has grown to include an array of services and outreach, from feeding programs to ESL classes to a vacation Bible School that reaches between 1200 and 1500 children. His major service on Sunday was standing room only, with at least one schoolbus load of members from the colonias.
To introduce us to some of the issues confronting those living along the Border, Padre Miguel took us to a variety of sites. We visited a center run by the YMCA that shelters youth under the age of 18 who have been apprehended after crossing the border. Some have been separated from families while crossing and others have travelled alone. The shelter houses them until they can be returned safely to their homes in Mexico. As part of its efforts, the youth, mostly males, also receive emergency medical care since some have sustained significant injuries in their treks from their homes to the Border.
That evening standing around a bonfire that provided light, warmth, and a space for cooking, we learned about the unique ministry of Pepe and Aurelia. Although they live in a ramshackle house with no electricity or running water, they built an adjacent shelter for people who have arrived in Piedras Negras from South and Central America, often after days of walking, and who hope to cross the Border. The couple saw the need for this shelter when they discovered people sleeping in the fields where they graze their horses. Here the men, and a few women, rest at night and work or beg for food during the day which all share communally. They wait in relative safety until they are prepared for their attempt to cross the Rio Grande.
Finally, our trip was heart-wrenching and life-changing. Although many of us have worked with the homeless and in food programs, none of us was fully prepared for our visit to El Colosio. With food lovingly prepared by women at El Buen, we went to this colonia to provide a simple lunch of beans, rice, a rich chicken soup, and bread. A crowd quickly gathered around our serving table and just as quickly children were moved to the front of the line with women behind; there was no pushing or jostling, just patient eagerness for the meal. The few men waited until the end to be served. Although we gave what Americans would consider tiny servings, we ran out of food just as we had been warned. At the end, all we could offer was bean juice or broth over bread. One of the women asked to take the remaining broth home for her family.
Another moving visit was to Casa Bethesda, a home for severely handicapped children. In a bright and airy home, Don Paulino provides shelter and care for these children, many of whom have been abandoned by parents who have no ability to provide care for them. Without government support, his staff offers a haven for children who have no other place to go.
Our visit to Don Sabino, a local healer, was touching in a different way. After Padre Miguel explained his ministry and techniques to us, at his request, we gathered round this frail, old man, who is dying of esophageal cancer, to offer a blessing. At the end of Jaime's prayer, we realized we had been part of a holy moment. No one could doubt this man was ministering to the poorest of the poor and providing hope as well as compassion for many who were desperate.
None of us will forget our afternoon at the Church of the Resurrection, a new congregation developed in La Laja colonia, which had to be relocated after a devastating tornado two years ago. Here in a church without a roof---they still are waiting for permits and funds to complete it---we watched Padre Miguel minister to the community, we played with the children, and at the end we distributed the clothing we had brought with us. At Padre Miguel's direction, we lined up to offer individual blessings to those who had gathered here. But the real blessing was to those of us who visited among these people.
As we left Piedras Negras for our trip home, we were weary but spiritually uplifted. The devotion and commitment to the poor of Padre Miguel and his dynamic wife, Marielena, were impressive. The suffering and poverty we saw were deeply moving. The spirit and reliance of the people we met were inspiring. As we returned to Austin, we returned with a clear sense of the various ways the Holy Spirit is working in one Border town.
END OF MARTHA WATSON ARTICLE
Penelope Medina, a reporter for the Zocalo Saltillo newspaper in Piedras Negras wrote the article below about the seminarians. Peter Fabre, a member of the class and a one-year seminarian from the Diocese of Arizona, translated the article and offers in comments in brackets.
Translation with anecdotal comments by SSW seminarian Peter Fabre [in brackets]:
Anglican seminarians arrive
By Penélope Medina
JAN/11/2009 - 04:00 AM
Piedras Negras, Coah. - Seminarians from the Anglican Church arrived in the city as part of their pastoral education, having come from Austin and San Antonio, Texas.
Students in the seminary class on pastoral/social studies came to Piedras Negras with the objective of seeing the work being done along the border in regard to migrants. For this reason they visited grupo Beta [a search and rescue division of the Mexican equivalent to the US INS - The National Institute of Migration], the Federal Migration Offices, the YMCA [a shelter for children deported back into Mexico while their parents remain in the US being processed], Border Dignity [misprint - a place we did not visit], as well as several of the [extremely poor] settlements, including Colonia Colosio [where people live in shacks in the railroad right-of- way, and where we participated in feeding about 180 people while a train roared through effectively bisecting the neighborhood, as they do throughout the day and night], Colonia Periodista, La Laja [where we participated in an evening service conducted in the shell of a church under construction, and helped distribute clothing to the needy], and different orphanages in the city [we actually visited a home for abandoned children who were severely disabled, a shelter for migrant families, and a makeshift refuge for undocumented migrants from Central America].
The visit took place over a span of four days, during which they were able to learn about the culture, as well as about the needs of the people, in some of the places they visited delivering blankets and food, as well as teaching classes in English [we distributed food, clothing, and blankets - but the reporter was actually referring to a group of Episcopalians from San Antonio who were in Piedras Negras at the same time to conduct English classes and help with other mission work].
It is worth mentioning that these activities have been going on for the past five years [actually four years] providing the opportunity to know first-hand the needs, practices, and customs of border towns, indicated Fr. Miguel Ángel Cristerna [our host] rector of El Buen Pastor Anglican Church of Mexico in the Colonia Guillén [district of the city]. [The lady standing next to Padre Miguel in the picture is his wife, Mariaelena, who is the vicar of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer across the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. Together, they are doing the work of the Gospel in wondrous ways on both sides of the border].
