April 20-27
This week our group arrived in Tucson by plane on Monday and drove to the border towns of Douglas and Agua Prieta. We spent the week doing activities planned by the organization Frontera de Cristo. We started by visiting the border fence and learning the history that led to the fence that we 
see now. We also visited several sister organizations. They taught us about the support for the migrants passing through and we met with agents from the border patrol and had time to ask them questions. We were honored to take place in a cross-placing ceremony that commemorated the lives of two migrants who died in the desert. The community invited us into their homes for many great meals.
Over this past week, we have traveled from Mexico City to San Francisco to the border of Arizona and Mexico. It has been a shift of perspective and realities as we have moved further north in Mexico to work with an organization named Frontera de Cristo, which translates to Christ’s Border. For most
of the group, this was the first time that we had seen the wall, which in reality is a fence with mesh and barbed wire, and it made things much more real for me. Coming from our time in Mexico City where we worked and listened with a group of migrants at Casa Tochan, I couldn’t help but think what their futures will look like when staring at a border that is designed to divide and keep people out. With this, we also had the opportunity to learn more about the infrastructure of the wall, see changes that were made during different presidencies, and also hear perspectives from all sides, such as hearing from two border patrol agents.
Through all of this, my perspective has been changed and pushed because the more we have learned the less I feel I know. The situation at the U.S. – Mexico border is complex, but what I do know is that all people deserve human rights and respect. No matter what side of the border or what status a person has, they are a loved child of God.
Thank you Frontero de Cristo for your hospitality and learning opportunities.
-Rose Short
