5/27/19

Now that I am home, as I look over the past two weeks, there are people I will never forget. We have been privileged to serve and it is in that serving we gained so much more than could be imagined. I will never forget the 23-year-old mother of two whose husband was killed six months ago by the gangs. She came to the United States seeking safety for children. I will never forget the children who, in the midst of a difficult journey, were resilient and joyful. They played in the halls and filled them with laughter. I will never forget the fathers who came here with very young children, often leaving behind their wife and other children. They want to settle here and then send for their family. I think of the mothers of those children who must wonder if her child is safe, happy and well. Surely her heart is breaking. The difficult decisions some of these families have had to make to be here are more than I can imagine.

We were blessed to be able to serve and in serving we have received much more than we could ever give. We have not just walked along side of the people we served, we became one with them. We shared their sorrows. We laughed. We talked. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we communicated because love knows no language barrier. Love transcends. We wiped tears. We fed bodies. We provided clothing when it was available. We hugged mothers and they hugged us as we all understood that we are one. Mothers allowed us to hold their babies. While we were here, two children were sent to the hospital because of their fragile medical states. Again, we did not just walk along side, we walked with. We worry about the children as if they were our own.

The Charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph is love of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God, without distinction. Those words took on a whole new meaning as we lived them. This experience has changed me forever. It is my hope that I can take the best of this experience and share it in a way that others will desire to be one with their neighbor. My prayer today is that I never forget the lessons I learned and that all of the people who I had the privilege to serve find the peace, happiness and safety they desire.

The road to El Paso: we all came here from a different place but as we met with one another, I’ve discovered that we are all journeying on the same road. In the end we are all the same. We all want to find happiness, security, safety and peace. In the end, the road to El Paso was filled with love.