Interrupted by a bus

A few days have passed and since I received a prodding email, it must be time to blog again. Monday was the first day our site didn't receive any new refugees and on Tuesday, we shut down the site there, moved everything to one room for storage, and an hour later found out we were popping up a new site in New Mexico, not far away.

So after a lovely Texas BBQ style meal with our new best friends from NY, a final meal of sorts as we were sent to different sites, at 9pm we pulled into our new hotel and started setting up first thing Wednesday morning. I read somewhere that instictually, you don't sleep well the first night in a new place because you are on alert for predators. No predators here, but I am on my 5th new room in 8 days....

Monday and Tuesday were fun as I got to operate as a shift coordinator. That means being the go-to person with problems, arranging the rides, ensuring the meals are served, and a thousand small tasks, one of which was activating a burner cell phone for a man who purchased it a phone and minutes but needed the internet to activate it all. So after only 30 min of effort, including getting him an email account so he could open a cell account so he could register a new phone number at his new address, only then did we realize there were no places nearby that sold international phone cards. So he called his sponsor to call his wife in Guatemala to give her the phone number so she could call him! Phew!! I'm exhausted just describing how much work it took!! So rewarding to connect the two of them. 

Also, without the background worry of a bus coming and the constant turnover of people, it was actually quiet enough to have a coloring club. While I finished my bus poster, a few little ones came in and colored with me. I learned the Spanish word for some colors, and they the English words. We counted a bit and giggled a lot. It was adorable!!

Meanwhile, Cathy and Maco spent the daytime enjoying a quaint nearby town and taking a short break. Little did they know we would end up in that town before the night was over!

So, it's been a good few days. I only now have time to write because we are waiting for the bus to....

Update 5 hours later.... 

So the bus arrived as I was typing that, we welcomed 90 people to a brand new site, and now at 9pm are waiting as their families call to tell us about the tickets they bought. Crazy day!! 

Tonight I go to bed, hearing the sounds of my two roommates just a bit ahead of me asleep, so grateful for their patience, knowledge and amazing work ethic, going for 13 hours straight! I have a lot to learn. 

A bell hop artist

Today feels like the longest day yet - do I keep saying that?? It was full of rewarding, fun moments and the ache of my calves is evidence of the many people and visitation moments that were shared.

I spent the night in the on-call emergency room, not sleeping too well for fear I wouldn't wake up, and hoping I wouldn't be called on with a rush of Spanish words in the middle of the night. Luckily, the only knock was at 6:50 from a man needing some supplies before his 7am transfer. Phew!! I jumped into making sandwiches and by 10am, while Cathy put the bags together, I went through 13 loaves of bread, 4 jumbo jars of peanut butter and 5 jars of jam. 158 sandwiches were ready to go on the road!

A doctor came to check on two patients we were concerned about, one who it turns out has strep and was leaving a few hours later. The kind doc called the prescription in and we had the boy medicated before he left, drugs in hand! To add some hope about their treatment in the ICE facility, one 2-year-old girl came with influenza, and the expensive drugs to treat it, having been seen at the ER while she was in custody. That quick follow-up confirmed she is doing well and it was lovely to see her up and running around today, after sleeping all day yesterday. 

I had to say goodbye to my sweet wee one who followed me around, patted my back, and chartered constantly like I had any idea what she said. That is hard - you are happy the people are going to meet their families, but they are so sweet and some touch your heart so much, you don't want to see them go (until you do!!)

Today I helped serve lunch for the first time, as the people came off the bus at 1pm just as we were cleaning up, we brought it all back out and we're able to serve them! We are told by one teenager that the only thing he was served during the 10 days (where ever he was) was tortillas with nearly raw meat. He got so sick after the first day, he didn't eat the next 9. So, when the people came off the bus, it was emotionally exhausting and infinitely rewarding to look each person in the hand, pass them a big plate of food, smile and say "Bienvenido", and to the kids "Hola!! Cuantos Anos??", and no matter the answer, reply with "muy grande"!!

I find myself being stretched in all kinds of ways while volunteering. While the organization and chaotic pace comes naturally, today I was asked to pray before the lunch meal. They always begin meals with a grace, and today I led it, namely because one of the focuses of my congregation is interculturality. I learned the "Our Father" in all 4 languages where are sisters are (Japanese, Spanish, French, and English). Learning it in Spanish was one of the first things I did at the novitiate, and since we often say it during evening prayer it has become wrote. However, I have never said it alone and to a group of 60 native Spanish speakers. By the end of the prayer, I was the pinker than pink and prayed (while praying) that I wouldn't skip a line or repeat one. I was encouraged when I heard a few people saying it under their breath, and thanked God that it went well, and this first moment was able to put some peace in their hearts. 

Immediately after lunch, I was the bell hop (one of the many "runners"), directing people from the office through the supply rooms to their rooms, and dealing with any "wrong" assignments or dirty rooms. While waiting to go in, people look at a colorful placemat of a map of the US that I found at Target at Cathy's request. We labeled a "you are here" and spend a few moments with people showing them on the map where they will love, and including anecdotes like "muy Frio" or "es bueno!!" and estimating the time on a bus or plane to that destination. This is the second time I get to see the adults all smile and relax. (The first is when they see the food). The new friends elbow each other and wonder at how far away they will be living from each other. It is a rare moment when you see a sparkle in their eyes, brimming with hope in a good future. 

They also read the signs I got to make explaining what to expect in the airport, stealing the idea and nearly every aspect of the poster from a different Annunciation House annex. I am working on a bus one now, but have to get help with the translation of the nuanced differences (tonight's activity).

In the gospel today, we were encouraged to share our talents. It's so neat to get to put my scrapbooking experience to good use. Realize - we have no computer and no printer, but with today's technology, my phone and the walgreens website was all I needed! The people stood around commenting on the pictures, and I'd love to know what they were saying. There was some fear and trepidation on their faces, and I am so glad we can accompany them through security to the gate. I am told that many of the people are quite scared about the connections and it's hard not to jump on a plane and help them the whole way. (I haven't been through security yet). 

Afterwards, (now 6:40pm) Maco and I brought two people from the capital of Honduras to an obscure bus company (that took some effort to find), and when we returned we decided to take the night off and let someone else make the bags for tomorrow! I was in my room by 8pm, for a nice early night, sitting down to enjoy lunch... And supper.... And dessert. 

Before you worry too much about me, worry and Maco and Cathy more, as they are keeping nearly the same schedule and have a few years on me.... (Ha). A hot bath relieved my achy muscles and I am excited for what tomorrow will bring! I am on shift at 7am, so I leave you for tonight with the memory of the little girl in my arms tossing my hair back and forth, the laughter of the people hearing how cold Minnesota is, and how hot my face felt when I led my first Spanish prayer. 

Two coins and shoelaces

The latest in the seemingly trivial but hugely inconveniencing and dehumanizing treatment of the people we see is that they are coming without shoelaces. The laces are removed before going into the holding centers and never returned. Children, adults, infants... they don't discriminate.

Luckily, since we are in the middle of a city, we could do a quick run to the local Target and Dollar General to buy all of their laces, and hand them out, through the need is definitely greater than the supply. 

In relation to this, I got to thinking about the characters you meet in a motel, from the Tesla owner to the woman with two pennies. In the parking lot yesterday there was a Tesla, probably the only one in all of El Paso, here in the La Quinta parking lot. It belongs to one of the people who provide meals regularly for our 100+ guests (amazing volunteers bring in the food for lunch and supper to keep our guests fed, generally local churches or kind families). 

After Instagraming the Tesla, I passed a woman who appeared to have lived a hard life, exhibiting the signs of a drug addict, very irritable and likely in between "doses". She was complaining about the kids and the noise - well let me tell you - these kids don't peep. Librarians are louder than these little ones. I was told she is probably "working" out of her hotel room, and judging by her much happier mood today, I assume things went well for her last night. Before my high horse gets too mighty though, (I am about to be knocked off), she reached out to us and donated a bag of new kids socks she mistakenly bought and then gave us 3 bags of her own clothes to hand out. I can't imagine she has too much extra, since she is living out of the motel, and I think I understand why Jesus just watched as people put money in the Temple funds. 

This woman and her two coins (or three bags of clothes) gave what she had, and it probably meant a lot to her. While I am grateful for the meals from the Tesla owner, he definitely gave from his abundance, and this woman, who's name I don't even know, gave so much more, even if we can't use it all. 

Tonight I am musing that I saw a Bible story played out in real life completely unscripted, and am reminded to not judge or assume so much. I am eager to see what other lessons life in a hotel will bring. 

Tetris - hotel edition

Too tired to really write tonight, worked alongside Sisters Maco, Cathy, and the whole team until 10pm. The bus arrival time is unpredictable, and today that meant a late arrival of 5pm. It took 5 hours to process 70 families, with two amazing Spanish speakers on the phones to get them registered. When the people come in, we take their information down, call their family, and explain to the family to "buy them a bus or plane ticket from El Paso Texas... no...Houston isn't close....(A 12 hour drive)". Then the people get to talk to their family member for the first time. While we don't try to rush them, it's hard when there are 68 people waiting outside in the cold desert night to be registered too. It is great to see their face instantly change when they take the phone and say hello to their family, for the first time from the same side of the border.

Then they are assigned a room, and that's where I worked today. I felt like I was playing tetris, trying to maximize the rooms and putting appropriate people together in a room. Since almost all of the people that come are a parent with a child, two families share the rooms with 2 double beds. Part of the strategery (SNL reference circa 2000 Bush election Will Farrell golden era) is to ensure there are two women in a room together or two men, with similarly aged children. Sometimes matching the gender of the children matters too, especially with the teenagers, but less so for the 5 year olds (so long as they are both 5). Using a system of sticky notes and poster boards, we try to determine if a name is masculine or feminine and match the people up one at a time. It is fun but tiresome. 

Then they proceed to the clothing room where Cathy worked and the toiletries room where Maco was. Then they are shown to their rooms where they meet their roommates. I dropped one group off towards the end of the night and his roommate was already stripped to his underwear, stood there smiling, apparently unaware of his lack of clothing. I giggled, waved, and said "Buenos niches" on my way by.

One neat story: a man was one of the first to be registered, and while the rest of the people were going through registration, his family bought him a ticket, called back, and he was off to the airport hours before registration was finished! That never happens. Even more interesting, I noticed he was going to the same town as where one of our volunteers lives. She's a religious sister as well, and during the car ride to the airport, she was able to offer the man a job to work on the congregation grounds! How great is that!?

Okay too tired to tell more. But I am quite excited to say: I go to bed tonight with the memory of a two-year-old reaching up for me to hold her and cuddling right in While she patted my back, and hearing a little one, maybe 7 years old, from the day before call me 'Tia' (auntie) as we had so many interactions in such a short time! My legs are tired, eyelids heavy, but my heart is very full!

Here is a photo of Sister Karen, her niece Kaleigh, and Sister Maco with the bus behind. There are 100 souls laying their heads on pillows here in the hotel tonight! What a great feeling!

Resiliency

Today (Thursday) the word that rings truest is resiliency. It's the word of the day. Maco witnessed one of the women who was being aggressively patted down as the image of strength and resilience. The woman walked up to TSA, and rather than merely acquiescing to the TSA's demands, she stood there practically in superman's power pose, not defiant, but simply strong, ready to take on whatever challenge is brought to her. 

Another woman was brought to the hospital (by Maco.... perhaps she should be doing this blog....). The woman came in yesterday complaining about her shoulder, and though she took Tylenol, the pain didn't go away and she could barely move her arm. We thought perhaps her arm was dislocated from sleeping on the concrete floor for two weeks (her suggestion) so she went to the hospital. It wasn't dislocated, but she does have a "frozen shoulder", with basic pain meds as the answer and a loose sling. When I saw her after returning from the hospital, she was so grateful to Maco, and bravely faced the pain as if it was nothing. She wasn't bitter or mad about the injury, just relieved to begin treating it. 

A third example, just from today, is a woman who walked into the supplies room, asked for Vaseline, (which I handed to her), then she began to pull her pants down (with the hotel door wide open) and showed me a huge bruise on her butt. I had no idea what I was supposed to do to help her, or even why she was showing me. She tried to explain in Spanish as I smiled dumbly, repeating for the millionth time "lo siento, no comprende". Then I handed her my phone with the Google translate app up, she typed in Spanish and I read in English that the penicillin shot she was given apparently caused the bruise. I finally realized she wanted icy-hot, and luckily we had some. It's unclear as to whether she got the vaccination at the border or in Mexico before crossing over, but she made me think of resiliency immediately, not letting a simple shot slow her down, nor modesty stand in her way of getting what she needed. That woman will do just fine in America to get what she and her family need. 

The final example I have makes me sad and I hesitate to include it. One of the other volunteers, a religious sister coincidentally from NY as well, explained how she saw TSA inspecting a young baby. Normally, the children are given to the volunteer while the parent is being patted down. This time, apparently TSA took the baby and inspected all of the blankets and clothing laying the infant on a table and opening layers of blankets and clothing then actually patting them down. I asked if the baby was crying but apparently not. This resilient little one sat there taking an extreme level of inequity I've never even heard of - and didn't fuss or complain. I can only imagine what's she's experienced already to be okay with a stranger removing her from her mom, putting her on a table, and touching her, but then again what an amazingly strong character that she is starting life with - this little one has a big future ahead. 

Tonight I go to bed in awe of the people in the rooms around around me, and with the prayer that this is the beginning of a new and different life for them, with the hardships they experienced firmly in the past. To them I say, "bienvenidos"!

Sandwiches Sandwiches Sandwiches

What day is it? What month is it? What country am I in? Life in a hotel can be disorienting. Our offices are bedrooms with the bed merely a soft table. Our storeroom and workspaces are also bedrooms with boxes flowing throughout the room, sometimes on a bed, leaning next to a bed, or on top of the dresser with the TV pushed aside. Even the microwave becomes a storage rack!

What that doesn't leave is workspace.... So when your task is to make hundreds of sandwiches, you have to make a spot. Cathy chose to stand by the bathroom sink. As a good novice, I chose the kneeling position by the bedside table.

What that doesn't leave is workspace.... So when your task is to make hundreds of sandwiches, you have to make a spot. Cathy chose to stand by the bathroom sink. As a good novice, I chose the kneeling position by the bedside table, praying to the God who made peanut butter.

Why do we need so many sandwiches? Well the people who travel by bus travel for up to 2 days and need food for the journey. The people who travel by airplane need sustainable too, but no liquids and less because it tends to be faster. So for a two-day bus journey, we supply each person with 6 pb&j sandwiches (one per meal), a few pieces of fruit, some snacks (chips and a granola bar, maybe a few cookies), and some combination of water, juice and Gatorade. People traveling with babies also get a blanket. These packages are typically made the night before for morning trips and that morning for the evening trips. 

This means I stayed for 12 hours again today, despite being relieved of my duties after a more reasonably-lengthed day. It's not just because I have trouble leaving an unfinished job (yes it mostly is). Well, after making hundreds of sandwiches with Cathy, I decided to reorganize the entire room so we could sit at the table to create our next culinary masterpieces. 

Within minutes of christening the newly organized room to resume sandwich making,  we were given an extra room and I got to reorganize the sandwich fixings and newly streamlined care package creation station in the new room, leaving behind all the medicines and toiletries (but not before reorganizing all of those in the more spacious room once all the food was out). 

So, after a day of organizing 2 rooms (three times), I made the packages the for the next day. It was a good day with many interactions as I met the new refugees right off the bus with snacks and drinks. It was so cool to see the worry melt away and their faces relax once they realized that we were friendly and they would soon see their families. Also, shortly after they arrived, since I was primarily in the room with the medicine and toiletries, so many people came through excited to get to shave now that they had a razor, brush their teeth and wash their hair. It was a pretty cool room to be working in. It will certainly be quieter when I move to the sequestered pb&j room, but we might have to install a coloring station near the extra bed....

Also, Maco and I served lunch today: leftover (but amazing) costco pizza. It had been in the fridge and with no way to heat dozens of pizzas, Maco explained over and over how to use the microwave in their rooms. With a few practiced words, I tried to explain too "Caliente pizza....micro....cuarto" but then just pointed them to Maco to explain with sentences. 

I initially thought I would have nothing to write about, but today really was full. Also - I am happy to report that my sick mama from yesterday is doing fine today, her sons were happy to show me that they were bringing her pizza (and she was well enough to eat it though not yet out of bed). 

Tonight I go to bed with heavy eyelids, smelling of peanut butter, but feeling so relieved that the rooms are organized! All my type-A's say heeeyyyyyy!!! (Heeeyyy!)

Uber to the rescue!

On our first full day (Tuesday Week 1), we may as well have been Uber drivers! Maco and I ran a group of 6 people to the bus station at 5:40 in the morning, sending half the group off in an Uber and having the privilege to accompany a young mom and her four month old boy in our car (There was an extra cat seat available, phew!! Although the boy was wrapped in so many layers of fleece and blankets, he would have been cushioned during any sort of accident!)

We walked into the bus station with the travelers and made sure they understood why they had an accordian full of tickets for their multiple-day journeys to Baltimore, Chicago, and Florida. Each received a bag of food with enough sandwiches for 2 days, and some drinks, snacks, and fruit (Cathy's domain and organizational haven). We parted with warm hugs from the boys and their dads, and a brave smile from the girl.

Arriving back at hotel headquarters, still not yet 7am, we turned around and headed to the airport. Maco went through security with the mom and beaming four-year-old girl, who was handy a fancy airline wings pin at check-in. We were surprised and saddened my the amount of extra security and attention the woman was put through, including a pat down and complete unpacking and repacking of her small backpack, while Maco and the other passengers walked right through. 

Our local CND (Congregation of Notre- Dame) community (Maco Cathy and I) shared a fancy breakfast together before going separate ways for the day. Cathy prepared the food packs,unloaded the many supplies we brought from generous donations, and organized the supplies room. Maco spent the rest of the day in cars with Uber drivers and travellers going to the bus station and airport, because I had the car and a special group of travellers. 

A mom wasn't feeling well, an underscored description to save you from hearing about the details of weeks of dehydration, malnourishment, and extreme temperatures experienced during her travels. We are told from the refugees that the detention facility is kept at freezing temperatures, air conditioned to be colder than outside. They are given aluminum blankets, sleep on the floor and were recently given access to ice-cold showers, if they want to clean up. A hard hello to the USA. It's no wonder this woman was weak. 

A guide to the airport (found at a different)

This mama, her two sons (15 and 13 years old), and I went to a different Annunciation center annex to see a nurse, who advised us to go to ER. I got to see how another center operates and while some things are the same, such as the kind of food that goes into the bags, the policies and amenities are completely different. This center had toys (we don't), but only one big room for sleeping (instead of hotel rooms), and a smaller number of guests, at most 50 compared to our bus loads of over 100 people. 

I had my first moment of shock at this center, too. I asked if we had time to go back to our hotel before the ER to get her papers, as their passports, birth certificates and really all forms of identification are confiscated at the border and they are given a 5-page document in English with their picture and told this is their only identification. We would of course need this at the hospital. 

That's not what shocked me. The nurse agreed we needed the papers also asked if they had their chargers. I was surprised that she would be so involved with their phones, but then the mama lifted her jeans to reveal a tracking device bolted to her ankle. It seems Maco learned this same harsh reality when one of the teenage boys asked if they had to tell security about their device. Fighting back tears, she nodded her "yes". These ankle bracelets need the battery changed/charged every 3 hours, effectively anchoring the people to a wall plug until they go to court. How they handle the 2-day greyhound trip, I can only wonder. 

So by noon, mama, sons, the chargers, papers, bag lunches, and I headed to the ER, where we were attended to immediately and couldn't have met nicer staff. Everyone I've encountered in El Paso so far has been over the top kind to the people we are with, even though they see many through their day, each requiring extra time and attention. 

We were at ER for at least 5 hours, given great care, and for the last hour when the mama was finally able to smile and interact, we shared broken sentences and learned a bit about each other, smiling that we were the same age, she had two kids and yet I had none. The youngest boy and I counted a bit in English and he helped me with some Spanish words, including "do you have games on your phone?", a not-so-subtle hint to pass my phone over. The joke was on him though, as all my games are puzzles or word teasers. 

After returning the tired but grateful family to the hotel, Maco, Cathy and I finished the day in community, sharing a meal together at 6pm, brought by a local community group. I suspect both of my companions are asleep by now, and I'm not far from it. For what is turning into my daily check-in, I confess to you that tonight I go to bed with the memory of a mama finally relieved of her pain, the sweet cheekiness of the boy and tender care he gave his mom while she was ill, and the warmth of the 4-month old headed off to a new life. God is good. 

Not quite day 1

I started the day by reminiscing my years spent in the Southwest, with an early morning roadtrip from Phoenix to El Paso, watching the sun rise with the brilliant pinks and oranges cresting over the jagged craggy mountains that only Arizona can offer.

My sweet serenity was occasionally punctuated with the memory of a political opinion that was thrust upon me forcefully the previous evening, completely unprovoked, while this person and I were witnessing the eclipse.

To this little non-confrontational doe of a girl (me, just to clarify), I sat in stunned silence while I was told how this country could be fixed, eclipsing what was a lovely evening with the shadow of righteous elitism. "Feelings shouldn't come into it" was the concluding statement, though I am still confounded as to what the person was advocating for, only being sure of what they are against (answer: refugees). 

It was good fodder for thought as I arrived at my destination: a motel/emergency annex, where I was greeted by dozens of smiling faces, people so relieved to be out of the icy government facility and into the warm environment Annunciation house provided (even in their annexed location). It seemed almost comical that these friendly, smiling refugees were the same people that were perceived as criminals, sneaks, and lazy vagabonds (according to my friend from the previous night), and yet I do hold with me my friend's expression of fear, wanting to preserve a country they love. As nonconfrontational and noncommital as I was with my friend, I need to acknowledge that coming to El Paso is a choice and statement in itself, to not leave feelings out of it and see the people behind the wall of fear. 

I picked up two fellow sisters from the airport and we went through orientation together at the motel, now more knowledgeable about the processes and duties we will have here. Jumping right in (around 10pm), we escorted a woman and her daughter (who were released today from an ICE facility) to a different annex location, where her husband and second daughter were staying. The family traveled all the way from El Salvador separately, and all 4 just happened to be released at a similar time. They were reunited tonight for the first time since October! This is the story I will take to bed with me, dreaming of a new life for this hopeful, determined family and the good fortune that brought them together. 

Our next run to the bus station starts early tomorrow at 5:40am, helping 6 people get on their way to their families across the country, so I better catch some Z's myself. One thing I am sure of - these next two weeks will not be monotonous!

Just North of the border

Time for an update! The second year of the novitiate has focused on ministry and mission, with me spending the fall months in Toronto working with people who are homeless, and the spring months will be spent in North Carolina working with the people of Appalachia. 

In between, (tomorrow!!) two sisters and I will go to the US/Mexico border in El Paso, where 500 people are being released from ICE (Immigration Control and Enforcement) facilities each day. A nonprofit organization called Annunciation House helps these newly landed Americans get on a bus or plane to where their family is, and provides shelter, food, and a change of clothes until their scheduled trip begins. (I'm told that's how they get out of the detention center - their sponsoring family member buys them a ticket and guarantees a place for them to stay). 

Because of the recent influx of people crossing the border seeking asylum (following the appropriate US legal processes), Annunciation House asked for volunteers, making a specific request to the religious communities. So, two sisters and I are fortunate enough to have the time and resources to get to El Paso to respond to the call and help out. 

For the next two weeks, we will be living in an annex of Annunciation house in a motel (possibly sharing a single room) with an ever-changing population of people who will be passing through, destined for their families in different parts of the US, where they will wait for their court date at their new home. 

Not speaking Spanish will certainly be a limitation, but I expect to change a lot of beds, hand out tons of clothes, make a bunch of meals, and as one person explained to me, "you just need to be a loving presence. You can imagine the hard looks they received while in detention. Your expression of love is all the communication you'll need". 

Smiling? Now that I can do! Keep us in your prayers and we'll keep you updated on one town in the US of A with a lot of happenings. 

Here's the link our community posted about our adventure with some photos:

http://www.cnd-m.org/en/news/article.php?id=1547223919