News & Events
Encuentro…
“Come… Walk with me…”
Nancy Braceland, CSJ, Julianne Shanklin, CSJ Candidate, Ann Kaufman, CSJ
Sorting homemade hand embroidered bags with Columban Lay Missionary Christine in Christo Rey Parish of Anapra, a neighborhood of Juarez
Real time…real people…real struggles… real accomplishments… BUT, it takes a village. Nancy Braceland, CSJ, Annie Kaufman, CSJ, and Julianne Shanklin, CSJ Candidate, partnered with Pax Christi, Little Rock, AR, with the Encuentro Project in El Paso, TX, for a week of education, experiential learning and direct service about the present realities for those migrants seeking to enter the US. Meetings with Border Patrol Officers, a visit to the fence, legal and academic presentations on immigration law by historians, advocates and activists, all within the context of Catholic Social Teaching, framed their week.
Live testimonies of those in the process of entering, those serving through shelters and community resources, as well as an opportunity to visit Cuidad Juárez, Mexico, and speak with those companioning our dear neighbors on both sides of the border. Deirdre Griffin, SSJ, presently working in El Paso, accompanied the Boston CSJ’s during the week. Though some information and stories were overwhelming, there were moments of great joy and hopefulness. Accepting an invitation to know and accompany and experience the stories of those crossing the border… and those on the borders assisting our dear neighbors…was a graced encounter.
We look forward to sharing this story in person.
Nancy, Annie, and Julianne working on the brownie dessert for supper for 45 residents at the Casa Papa Francisco shelter in El Paso.
Chatting with Montessori students at the Santo Nino Proyecto Center which serves children with special needs in Anapra under the direction of S. Carol, SC.
Being immersed in the correct factual information about the broken immigration system helped me learn that there is not a crisis at the border but a crisis in the process of acceptance and resettlement. My heart was filled with sadness by stories of asylum seekers’ mistreatment and trauma along their journeys. When they reach the border they can face kidnapping for ransom or offers of help for a price which are false. Then there is the wall. The height itself is daunting, but the cruelty of additional coils of barbed wire wounded my heart even more deeply. The reality of the inhumane, convoluted pathways to receive multiple court hearings requiring years of waiting, postponements, and the anxiety and uncertainty of their ever being accepted is overwhelming. It is hard to process these horrific conditions. Yet, we met those in the shelter in El Paso and in other ministries nearby including Juarez where hope survives and patient endurance is visible not only in those waiting but also in those ministering to them. The makeshift baseball game with the children at the shelter was a moment of normalcy and joy for all of us and the adults watching as well.
– Ann Kaufmann, CSJ
S. Nancy Braceland, CSJ with Immigration lawyer S. Deidre Griffin, SSJ during the Encuentro Project’s Border Immersion week in El Paso, TX
Julianne pitching to Louis during an impromptu baseball game outside of the shelter where he and his family are staying while they are waiting for their documents.
God is so much bigger than the ways we place Him in a container… and He shows Himself in small clues hidden in real life. I saw them; I felt them as l listened with my heart.
– Julianne Shanklin, CSJ Candidate