Hope Film Series 2018: Who Will Stand In The Corner?

Good afternoon. Below you will find the full text my closing remarks at this year’s Hope Film Series, a fundraising effort for the Marcus Ewing Memorial Fund……

Good Evening. If we have not yet met, my name is Chris. Like always, I want to convey my family’s deep gratitude for deciding to be a part of this 8th Annual Hope Film Series. More than a time for fellowship and film, this annual event represents the sole fundraising effort for the Marcus Ewing Memorial Fund as it supports Shiloh’s HI-DEF mentoring program.

HI-DEF aims to enrich the lives of teenage children with unceasing love and unrelentingly encouragement supplied to them by incredible mentors such as Angela and Allison. The Hope Film Series intends to see such enrichment endure for generations to come. As we end our time together this evening, I would like to take a moment to connect our cause with the man whose name inspires us to gather here each year. Because in many ways they are one in the same.

First, the man…and lets be honest, in some ways a man-toddler, Marcus Ewing. Much like in our film tonight, Marcus Ewing had to fight when it came to his education. Whether it was fighting to catch up with his other classmates at Ruth Moyer Elementary, or battling against “professional educators” at Highlands High school telling his mother verbatim, “Marcus isn’t college material.”

In both fights, however, Marcus won by knockout when he achieved a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Cincinnati. Yet despite this amazing achievement, Marcus found himself in one fight after another when it came to battling against the stigma of having a noticeable speech impediment. Other than Adrienne, I’m sure any of us know just how many rounds Marcus went to convince teachers, employers, and others that he was not incompetent or inferior.

Besides his own battles, Marcus Ewing also fought with great vigor to preserve opportunities for children and their families that he encountered in New York City. Like Rocky’s encouragement to his son, Marcus frequently advised the children of HI-Def to not let others stick a finger in their face and tell them they were no good. When a child at HI-def wanted to blame something keeping them from where he or she wanted to be, Marcus routinely reminded them that they were better and stronger than that.

For Marcus Ewing did not submit to many who assumed that children born in New York City were fated to misfortune. Marcus Ewing refused to concede to some who hypothesized that a child’s access to a great education depended on affordability or genealogy. Marcus Ewing could not yield to others who presumed that higher education was reserved only for those with ivy league aspirations.  

While it remains difficult to measure or quantify Marcus’ impact on the lives of the children of HI-Def, there are two thing I am certain of. First, the boys and girls of HI-DEF became confident they could go the distance in any fight knowing that Marcus Ewing was in their corner. Second, the boys and girls of HI-DEF grew in assurance they could absorb the hits of life trusting that Marcus Ewing would never throw in the towel on them.

Now when it comes to the fight for quality education in America; many students, parents, teachers, counselors, principals, and superintendents also find themselves on the ropes. If not battling against state legislatures slashing their budgets and pushing ineffective curriculum, schools today also fight without success to find any apparatus of the federal government willing to enact meaningful measures aimed at improving their safety.    

 Instead of committing all their time to reading and mathematics, students today find themselves having to dedicate precious class time to active shooter drills and anti-bullying seminars. Rather than worrying about graduating or going to college, students today find themselves most concerned with getting out school alive.

And therein lies the cause that unites all of those who feel Marcus’ absence the most. Without Marcus, who will commit to fight for children not just in New York City, but across America? Without Marcus, who will pledge to stand in corner of children ducking the jabs of statistics and skeptics? Without Marcus, who will promise to not throw in the towel on children repeatedly knocked down by prejudice and injustice?

In light of Marcus’ lingering absence, I would submit that it is you and I who can train and encourage students unsure of their ability to make it through the next round. As the problem of bullets and bullies continue, students today need someone in their corner to tell them, “keeping moving forward no matter how hard you get hit.” So long as high rates of suicides and dropouts persist, students today need someone to keep him or her from throwing in the towel on themselves.

No matter the amount, our donations to the Marcus Ewing Memorial Fund help HI-DEF in its effort to provide an occasion for young boys and girls to get off the ropes of illiteracy and truancy.  We aid HI-DEF in its desire to offer an opportunity for young boys and girls to get up off the mat of aggression and depression. We support HI-DEF in its hope to supply a chance for young boys and girls to deliver the knockout blow to generational poverty and cyclical inequality.

It is true that Marcus very much wished to see the boys and girls of HI-DEF become victorious in all their bouts with adversity and disappointment. However, Marcus Ewing fostered an even greater desire for the young boys and girls of HI-DEF learn about how life’s most important fight, which Jesus Christ had already won for them.

In times when hate and vengeance seemed to be winning, Marcus tried to assure the boys and girls of HI-DEF that the reviving mercy of Christ would stay unbeaten. In moments when violence appeared to be succeeding, Marcus worked to convince the boys and girls and HI-DEF that the refreshing peace of Christ would remain unchallenged. Even in instances when death and grief looked to be prevailing, Marcus attempted to persuade the boys and girls of HI-DEF that the resurrecting love of Christ would go on undefeated.

CJE

En el borde: Día Ocho

This morning began with quick shower and packing up my small suitcase as I prepared to leave the border to head home. After a double checking the room I headed for the front desk to check out. I had several hours before my flight and thought stopping at the local IHOP for breakfast was a good way to start the morning. 

This turned out to be a great decision and after paying the bill I walked another 20 minutes before reaching the airport. The airport in McAllen marks the first time I saw no line at the ticket counter or at TSA security screening.  

Now I’m at the gate with another hour before my flight to Dallas, then to Cincinnati. I thought I would use this time to provide a couple final thoughts about my time at the respite center. Some might be wondering why I haven’t posted any pictures of the immigrants themselves. Besides the respite center forbidding the taking pictures of any new arrivals, I felt a part of restoring human dignity was to treat them like human beings. These immigrants are not zoo animals or some museum exhibit put on display for our enjoyment. Rather, they are flesh and blood human beings living through perhaps the most vulnerable and tenuous moments of their lives. 

If there is any photographing or video recording, Sister Norma does an exceptional job at monitoring those requests. For Sister Norma is fully aware of the importance of raising awareness about the plight of the immigrants coming to the respite center. However, Sister Norma also never permits any form of media to address the immigrants without their consent, nor allow the media to pry too deeply into their affairs. 

Therefore, the best way to see the immigrants is to meet them as you serve them a cup of warm soup or hand them a set of clean clothes. And when you meet them you are likely to discover what I discovered this week. First, you will not find a single terrorist, gangster, or thug. Instead, you will encounter small children with no clue as to gravity of their situation and greet middle-aged adults with little formal education unsure of where they will be able to find work. 

But Chris, “ I don’t understand why these immigrants can’t pursue immigration through the proper legal channels already in existence even if it takes longer?” Well this leads me to the second discovery I made this week. These immigrants who disregard laws and procedures are not unintelligent or ignorant, nor are they reckless or disrespectful. In reality, these immigrants are simply desperate.

What do I mean by desperate? Well my co-volunteer, Mark, relayed to me a story told to him by a immigrant father he encountered this week that defines what it means to be desperate. The father had a small business back in his home country that did well enough to provide for his family. Then one day a local gang approached the father with an ultimatum. Either hand over all future profits from your store or we are going to harm your children. 

Rather than waiting for visas or green cards, this father made the choice to pack up his family as quickly as he could and head for safer ground. And for whatever reason this father believes that America will be a place where he and his family will be safe. I pray that he is right.

If you still find yourself not understanding the choices immigrants make, then most likely it’s because you’ve never been desperate. And when I consider the absence of desperation in my life, I confess that I don’t understand either.

CJE

On The Border: Day 7

It’s hard to believe that the week is over, but was my last day serving at the respite center. I arrived about quarter til 8:00am and went to survey the shower trailer. I found the trailer more or less in the same state of disarray after a morning round of showers.

I met more volunteers today than any other day I spent at the respite center. I suppose that’s because it’s Friday and the start of the weekend. So a couple new volunteers and myself took it upon ourselves to start the washers and one working dryer, throw away dirty clothes, wipe out the drains, clean the shower floors, and sweep the floor.

After restoring order the shower trailer, we moved the storage room to start making sandwiches. However, we found there wasn’t much deli meat left and made as many sandwiches as we could. I then returned to the laundry where one volunteer was transferring loads between the washers and dryer. I took over the laundry briefly while she went to lunch.

Soon after I left the laundry it was time to replenish the snack pack shelves. This didn’t take long with all new volunteers on hand. So many volunteers that there were enough to form another group to unpack and sort clothing donations by size and gender.

Then it came to my attention that a father and his toddler needed to get to a local Western Union to retrieve funds for expenses when they reached their final destination. I offered to walk with Juan and his, Diego, the seven blocks to the Westren Union. While on our way to get the money, I learned that Juan and his son had travelled from Honduras before being detained at the border. Unfortunately we found that the pawn shop listed as a Western Union outlet no longer fulfilled Western Union transactions. So the three of walked the seven blocks back to the respite center where I found a volunteer with a car willing to drive to the nearest operating Western Union outlet. 

As the noon hour approached I helped again to serve soup to the children in between checking on towels and supplies in the men’s shower. Not long after serving lunch I was asked to help remove the broken dryer to make room for a new dryer scheduled to arrive later in the day. 

Towards the end of my time at the respite center I spent my time delivering snack packs to departing families and collecting trash as the new arrivals finished eating their soup.  Overall the number of arrivals today was down slightly numbering about 200.

Before I left I made sure to say my good-byes to Sister Anne and Sister Norma. They were both extremely gracious and kind at expressing their deep appreciation for my willingness to serve. I expressed to them my desire to return and perhaps bring senior high students from my church’s youth group with me.

As I headed back for the hotel my thoughts were with both the respite center’s staff and the immigrants they served. For the respite staff I pray that God supplies them with the resources and energy they need to assist immigrants in need. For the immigrants I pray that God keep them safe and provide them with the better life they all have come such great distances hoping to secure.

CJE

On The Border: Day 6

Well four days down with one to go. Today I again planned to work at the respite center from 8:00am-4:30. After stopping at a local Burger King for a cup of coffee, I got to the respite center a few minutes before 8:00am. I signed in and saw I would need to make my name tag with scotch tape and a sharpie. One must certainly have an appreciation for improvisation if he or she wants to enjoy their time at the respite center.

With my scotch tape name tag I headed for the shower trailer. I got the washers and dryers running, and folded the clean towels I pulled from the dryers. I gathered up dirty clothes on the floor, wiped out the shower bottoms, and restocked the toothbrushes. 

Now it was time to head for the stock room to assess the amount of sandwiches in the fridge and the number of snack packs on the shelves. There were exactly 4 packs of sandwiches remaining despite having filled it to the brim before leaving yesterday. From the 12 full shelves of snack packs present yesterday afternoon, there were only two shelves of snack packs left.

Thankfully we had several mid-morning volunteers to help with making the snack packs. Some were locals from McAllen and some from Missouri. While filling the shelves with snack packs, we discovered that the same Methodist church delivered another 300 premade sandwiches for the respite center. So immediately after finishing up the snack packs we started to bundle up the sandwiches in groups of four. And just like that we had a full fridge of sandwiches again. 

Now for the past five days the laundry had been run and operated by two wonderful women from Minneapolis. Unfortunately yesterday was their last day and it was left to me to wash, dry and fold towels most of the day. The proved challenging after discovering that the right side dryer was not working. I can’t I was surprised given the fact that both dryers have been going nonstop all week. I can only imagine how many more dryers the center will go through over the next year.  

In between loads of laundry, I checked on the sandwiches and the snack packs, emptied out garbage cans, served soup, and helped restocked items for the snack pack assembly team. One fun fact today came when I learned that one of the regular volunteers at the respite center actually spent time living in Dayton, Ohio. She had recently moved back home to McAllen to help care for her father whose health was becoming more fragile.  

Now by the time my day ended I was able to load the dryer with the last round clean towels. I then folded the remaining dry towels and made sure both the men’s and women’s showers had an adequate supply of towels. 

I left the shower trailer to my gather things and head back to the hotel. As I passed through the waiting area towards the center’s entrance I came across a familiar scene. A large room filled with men, women, and children unsure of what tomorrow will bring. Where will they go? When will they get there? Will they be able to remain there? So many questions. I hope and pray that tomorrow can provide answers to some of them.

CJE

On The Border: Day 5

This morning I arrived at the respite center just after 8:00am to find yesterday’s arrivals wiping down and putting away the thin blue mattresses they slept on overnight in the respite center’s waiting area. After signing in I headed straight to laundry closet attached to the showers trailer. Sure enough towels needed to switched out of the washer and put in the dryer. I then gathered the dirty towels from the 1st round of morning showers and started a new load in the washer.

Next on the agenda was to wash out shower floors, remove hair from drains, wipe down sinks, throw away dirty clothes, and mop up as much excess water as I could. All week I have found little adherence to putting dirty clothes and towels into their assigned baskets despite having clearly marked signs in Spanish as to where each should go. But then I reminded myself that immigrants arriving at the respite center were most likely illiterate and unable to read in any language. 

After tending to the showers, I went to check on the supply of sandwiches only to find two immigrant women and a young immigrant boy already hard at work making sandwiches. Immigrants wanting to help has been a constant occurrence since I arrived on Monday, but today presented an even more special opportunity in this regard.

So the two women and young boy assembled the sandwiches, while I followed behind to package the sandwiches in ziplock bags and store them in the fridge. It wasn’t long that we had exhausted what remained of the bread for the morning, but thankfully the fridge was mostly full by that time.

I next turned my attention to the snack packs and found what remained from yesterday’s supply (see above). I processed to arrange an assembly line of snack pack items. By the time I was ready to begin making the snack packs there were two young boys passing through and asked if they could help. This proved critical because a number of other adult volunteers had been called away on shopping errands for the respite center. So Danny, age 13, andosualou, age 7, dived right in to help to replenish the snack pack shelves until we ran out of space. I pointed to each snack item and said how many of each were to go into a snack pack. They caught on very quickly and soon  these two boys were filling packs so fast that I found it was me running behind to refill boxes of the snack pack items. What little Spanish I know allowed me to ask the boys how old they were, when was there birthday, and if they had any brothers or sisters?

After thanking the two boys for their awesome effort, I found it was time to serve soup to the children. So I took my tray of six soup bowls and took them out to the children until all of them had been served. Sister Anne then came and asked if I could reorganize one of the pod storage units behind the respite center. She wanted to make room for several gallons of water and other supplies that the city’s local food bank would deliver later in the day. With a little creativity I managed to make enough space for the food bank’s delivery. 

Another delivery came soon after, which had been rather unexpected. A local Methodist church dropped close to 200 deli sandwiches to included in the snack packs. This incredible example of inter-faith cooperation was crucial because we had run of bread by late morning and our sandwich supply had begun to dwindle. But thanks to the Methodists our fridge was busting at the seams with sandwiches.

I finished the day checking on the men’s showers, helping a couple families find new shoes from the donation closet, serving more soup, and handing out snack packs to families leaving for the bus station. 

I also learned a little more about how the immigrants make their way to the respite center. Some cross the border on rafts and some on foot. Some have tried their best to elude ICE and the border patrol, while others cross fully expecting to be picked up.  

Once they are picked up, a couple of scenarios begin to play out. Many will seek asylum, some will make some other kind of petition for entry, and others will be sent back. Anyone with children are pretty much assured they will be able to plead their case.

However because the determination process is so long, the border patrol cannot hold these immigrants indefinitely. Once it is determined that they will not be sent back right away, the adult immigrants are given a GPS track that is fasten around their ankle. In addition they are given a kind of “electronic router” that is to be plugged in as soon as they arrive at their next destination and they must remain within 12 miles of that router at all times.

From there it is a series of court dates and other legalities that will determine if their stay will be permanent or not. I don’t have the time right now to discuss how this process is not only incredibly flawed, but totally unsustainable. 

But the one thing I can say for now is that if one thinks that ICE, the border patrol, detention centers, and lengthy court proceedings act as deterrents to illegal immigration, then consider the respite center’s new reality. A reality where 500 arrivals a day is no longer an anomaly, but the expectation. Yeah you’re math is right, 500 x 365 days a year= 182,500 immigrants arriving at just one small humanitarian respite center in one small border town. If this does not meet the definition of crisis, then I’m not sure what does?

CJE

On The Border: Day 4

Back at the hotel now.  Hope to get some rest after another fruitful, but busy day at the respite center. After dinner I plan to watch a couple innings of the World Series before watching this week’s episode of This Is Us.

This morning it became clear that the first place to start at the respite center each day will be the showers trailer. So I wiped down the eight shower stalls top to bottom with a can of Comet that I bought yesterday.  Once the showers were washed and the drains cleaned out, I moved to gather any dirty clothes left behind and designated them for the dumpster.

Shortly after finishing with the showers trailer I was able to meet Sister Anne. As the day unfolded it would become clear that Sister Anne, like all committed to doing the Lord’s will, was the unstoppable force that kept the respite center operating in the face of overwhelming needs arriving at their door.

As was the case yesterday, the fridge needed restocked with ham and cheese sandwiches. However, I found myself spending the next two hours just trying to put in as many sandwiches as were being taken out for families leaving for bus station. Eventually me and another volunteer were able to get ahead and the fridge  was filled with close to 200 sandwiches.

The next item in need of restocking were the snack packs. Again, we first were just trying to keep pace with bags going out. I lost count of how many snack packs we assembled, but we filled both racks to ceiling. And by morning all but one or two shelves of snack packs will remain. 

In between checking on sandwich and snack pack inventory, I helped serve more soup to newly arrived children and their relatives. Every 20 minutes or so, I also went to tidy up the men’s showers and take dirty towels to be washed. Then there was the taking garbage to the dumpster, cleaning up soup spills and doing my best to greet everyone I encountered with a warm smile.

My last task of the day was to accompany Sister Anne to the grocery to gather supplies for soup and breakfast. It was great chance to hear Sister Anne express her joy about how was providing for the center, while at the same time sharing her fears about the growing number of arrivals that shows no signs of letting up.

Yesterday I saw the center shower and feed a little over 500 people. Today was no exception with another wave of 500 plus people arriving from the detention center. And so many of the arrivals continue to be small children including several infants I saw in the waiting area today. 

I’m thinking that tomorrow will be more of the same. Consequently, I will tomorrow to try my best to explain the detention and release process that these immigrants experience before being dropped off by the border patrol at the bus station. For now, I just ask that you pray for all the families being aided by the respite center and pray often. 

CJE

On The Border: Day 3

Just finished dinner after an 8hr day at the respite center. I arrived at the center around 8:30am to find it already humming with activity. The first thing you notice is how many children under 10 have made the journey with a parent or relative. Next I signed in on the volunteer log and met briefly with one of the center’s coordinators, Cesar. Cesar appears to be in his early 20s doesn’t get much rest for one working at the center full time and going to school full time.

Cesar proceded to lead me outside to the back of the building where the Department of Health and Human Services parked a mobile shower unit.   This mobile shower unit is essentially an semi-trailer with 3 showers for men and 3 showers for women. It was there that I met another out-of-state volunteer from Seattle.

He was a retired police officer who had visited with a group last month to volunteer. Then last week he got a call from one the nuns operating the center to tell him how the center was being overwhelmed with new arrivals. So he decided to come down by himself and give another two weeks of service to the center.

My first job was to help him clean the showers and wash the towels after the morning arrivals finished showering. Clean the showers amounted to refilling the soap dispensers, wiping out the shower bottoms and removing any hair left behind, throwing away dirty clothes, and collecting used towels for the washer. 

In between loads of laundry, we moved to our next project of filling the refrigerator full of turkey sandwiches that would be included with snacks packs each arrival would recieve before moving on to their next destination. Each sandwich got two pieces of white bread, 2 thin slices of Oscar Meyer turkey meat, and a slice of American cheese. 

Once the fridge was full, we then replenished the supply of snack packs. Each snack pack includes two bottles of water, two granola bars, two small bags of chips, animal crackers, small bag of goldfish, and a small bag of pretzels. In between assembling snack packs, we also served a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a glass of lemonade to the morning arrivals.

After all the morning arrivals were served, we went back to filling snack packs. In addition, we were put in charge of putting together the last 5 gallon batch of chicken noodle soup from ingredients previously prepared by a pair of saintly women earlier in the day. 

Soon it was time to get ready for the afternoon arrivals that would be arriving at the bus station just after 3:00pm. Not surprisingly, the head count for morning and afternoon arrivals changes day to day. The count for this afternoon’s arrivals...500. 

I was asked to assist with meeting first two bus loads of immigrants released from the detention center and escort them the two or three blocks from the bus station to the respite center. Like when I first entered the respite center, you immediately notice the number of small children coming off the buses. I personally took two trips of 20-30 men, women, and children to the respite center. 

By the time I escorted my second group it was almost 5:00pm and I decided I’d better call it a day if I want to avoid burning out on the first day. So I signed out and headed out to find dinner and return to the hotel. Overall it was a great day filled with doing exerting work and meeting precious souls created in the image of God. But what I will remember most are the children.

CJE 

On The Border: Day 2

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?17”

James 2:15-17

Good evening all. This morning I woke up a little after 7 to get ready for the day. The weather report called for scattered rain showers throughout the day. Thankfully I packed my rain jacket and beach sandals to avoid soggy socks and shoes. I packed my backpack with a pb & j sandwich, pretzels, pistachios, a liter bottle of water, directions to places I wanted to see, and my passport (because you never when you might need it, right?).

From the hotel, I sat out to find the humanitarian respite center so I don’t get lost tomorrow. There is only one building over 15 stories in McAllen and it houses offices for Chase Bank. This looming structure helps me to know where I am in the city. I took a couple shots of street corners I came across on my way to the humanitarian respite center.

It turns out that the walk from the hotel to the humanitarian respite center takes about 25 minutes, which isn’t bad at all. Though I haven’t stepped inside yet, I already know that I am going to love this place. I’m not sure if you can read the sign hanging above the entrance. In bold texts it has the name of the organization, “Catholic Charities: RGV.” But then underneath in italics reads the center’s mission statement saying, “Restoring Human Dignity. ”

Simple, and yet tremendously powerful. It is probably the best mission statement I’ve ever come across. It immediately sparked two thoughts in my head. First, I thought about how many Fortune 500 companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into consultants and focus groups to craft the perfect mission statement, and still fall short of matching the quality and magnitude of the respite center’s proclamation. I suspect even the bishops and cardinals in charge of the operation struggled to convey the center’s purpose. In my mind I envision an elderly and frail nun while in the midst of taking the minutes for the meeting of church bigwigs stop, raise her voice and say, “what about, Restoring Human Dignity?”

Second, by focusing on human dignity the statement correctly identifies the nature of the problem not only in McAllen, Texas, but in every corner of the earth. And that problem continues to be an increasing disregard for human dignity.

I’m almost 40yrs old and there are still moments when I am shocked at how quickly and easily some treat human dignity as optional or worse, irrelevant. When it comes to winning job promotions, wars, or elections; human dignity always serves as the first casualty. Consequently, I think the respite center’s statement also poses the question, “how much of human dignity can the world afford to lose before it becomes extinct altogether?”

I love the spotted owl and bald eagles as much as anyone, but what efforts are being done to keep human dignity off the endangered species list? Well in McAllen, Texas, there exists a small contingent doing what they can to see human dignity flourish and I count myself blessed to support their efforts this week. 

Before the week is out I might just ask the center’s director if I can make their mission statement my own. On letterheads, business cards, and resumes it simply read... “Chris Ewing: Restoring Human Dignity.” 

From the respite center, I decided I would another couple miles to catch a outside glimpse of the Ursula detention center I read about from news articles like this: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mcallen-texas-immigration-processing-center-largest-u-s-n884126

I stood across from the detention center long enough to take this picture and briefly wonder what life must be like inside those walls. After Iooking upon the Ursula detention center I started back for the hotel.

By time I reached the hotel I had accumulated over 28,000 steps. 28,000 steps. Not likely to impress the immigrants I will be serving this week. Humility and awe are the two emotions I feel most when I consider the millions of steps immigrants and their families take in pursuit of a better and safer life. It makes me ask myself, “how many steps am I willing to take for promote justice? How many steps am I willing to take to defend equality? How many steps am I willing to take to preserve human dignity? How many?

 CJE  

On The Border: Day 1

So after your typical delay out of DFW I reached my destination just after 11:00am. I retrieved my luggage at the gate because there was no room in the overhead. I decided not to rent a car and intend to walk to each of my destinations this week.

McAllen airport is your typical small town airport with a handful of gates and short walk to the exit. Being a small town airport also allows for the airport to be situated in the center of the city, where as big city airport operate several miles away in the suburbs. The walk from the airport to my hotel was approximately 1.3 miles. So not bad at all.

Back in August, I found a cheap online rate @ The Red Roof Inn. It’s a perfect location to both the airport and the humanitarian respite center where I will be volunteering. Upon checking in, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice and clean room was. 

Once I unpacked I needed to walk to the nearby grocery to get my food for the week. It’s going to be breakfast shakes in the morning, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and then cheap lite fast food for dinner. Snacks range from humus, pita chips, pretzels, pistachios, ginger snap cookies, cheese sticks, and chips and salsa.

After dropping the groceries off at the hotel it was time for lunch @ Taco Palenque on 1000 S. 10th St. I ordered a Taco Al Pastor and a Taco Chicken Fajita with a side of refried beans. It was delicious. My only regret is that Mexican food back home will seem so inferior now.

After lunch I headed back to the hotel for shower and a nap. Before dinner I thought I would watch a movie. As for dinner, I continued with the Mexican theme by walking to Mi Taco Ponchos. I choose the steak nachos and was not disappointed. 

And now I’m back at the hotel watching Game 7 Dodgers vs Brewers. The plan for tomorrow includes walking the route from the hotel to the humanitarian respite center and also walk down to the border to see Rio Grande. Check back tomorrow to see what I find along the way. 

CJE  

Heading For The Border

 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

-  1 John 3:16-17

Good morning all. At airport getting ready to board flight to Dallas, and then on to McAllen, TX to spend the next week working at a humanitarian relief facility for immigrants recently released from ICE dentition. 

Over the next week my aim is to remind immigrants and myself as to what love is. Will update when I reach the border. 

 CJE