May 11, 2019

Patrice, Deb and I boarded our flight out of Erie at 6 a.m. for what we hoped would be an uneventful trip to El Paso. An hour into the flight that left Chicago for El Paso, the Captain said there was a problem with the one engine and we would have to return to Chicago for a new plane but not before flying for an hour to use of enough fuel so we could land. Back to Chicago we flew. We finally reached El Paso about 5 p.m. (7 p.m. EST) and found El Convento, the convent of the Sisters of Loretto who have provided rooms for us during our stay. After finally finding our rooms, we ventured out to pick up some groceries at the market down the street. Back at El Convento, we met other volunteers who are working at the Warehouse, the new facility for Annunciation House where there is no water so all of the refugees and volunteers are using port-a-potties. Many of the volunteers at the Warehouse are sick but still reporting daily to serve. They are averaging 1,000 people per day coming through the shelter. We will be working at a new site that has reopened called the Annunciation House worksite. It is an old hotel and we are scheduled to start our shift tomorrow at 8 a.m.

My prayer today is that we can serve with empathy and compassion. Lord, please guide us as we assist Teva, our Site Supervisor, in getting the Annunciation House worksite up and running. I’ll continue to keep you updated on our experiences here so you can share our journey.