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Cultivating Relationships
and Understanding
Across Borders
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Join Miriam & Mark for their Mission Dinner & Book Club starting February 24th. Details below... | |
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Dear friends,
Buenos Días a todos. We send you warm greetings from la frontera and wishes for a good New Year.
Some of the work of Frontera de Cristo slowed a bit as staff took time to celebrate Christmas with family, friends, and each other. However, the support for our migrating brothers and sisters does not stop for holidays and special occasions—the work is constant, day and night, 24/7 (as we like to say in the US). Just yesterday, I worked a shift at the Migrant Resource Center. This time, the experience meant something different for me. A lovely woman taught me a lesson in humility—a lesson I hope to grow with (see the article "I Can't Fix It" below). Gracias a Dios.
If you would like to provide material goods to the Migrant Resource Center, you can do so through Village Church's Sock Drive.
In the meantime, we hope you'll join Miriam and Mark for their Mission Dinner and Book Club meetings starting February 24th. Download the flyer, order the books, and sign up for the e-Minders. You'll be glad you did!
In peace,
Catherine May, for~
Jocabed Gallegos, FDC Coordinator
Dan Abbott and Catherine May, Interim Ministry Liaisons
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Mission Dinner & Book Club
with Miriam Maldonado & Mark Adams
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YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN Miriam and Mark for their 2023 Mission Dinner & Book Club starting February 24th. You'll read 4 books, gather in person or on Zoom once a month, meet the authors, and have a discussion. Those who live near Clover, South Carolina, have the option to attend a Mexican cooking class that afternoon, and learn how to prepare those marvelous meals we've come to enjoy. | |
Whether you attend in-person or at a distance, the first thing to do is email Mark Adams at [email protected] and he'll email you the Zoom link, the recipes, and monthly e-Minders (email reminders). Click on the flyer above to get all the details, and order your books now! | |
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I Can't Fix It...
by Catherine May, FDC Liaison
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HER NAME WAS ROSA. We met for just a short while, thirty minutes or so, and likely we will never meet again. Yet, she has touched a place in my heart and soul.
Rosa and two other women arrived at the Migrant Resource Center (MRC) in Agua Prieta around 4pm. They were wet and shivering in the cold. We gave each of them a blanket, hot coffee, water, and food. We asked, “Are you feeling okay? Do you have any medical concerns?” Rosa shared that her left eye hurt and all she could see was white through the injured eye. Of course, we can only address small health concerns at the MRC: Advil, a bandage, some antiseptic cream, and in Rosa’s case, some eye drops.
Continue reading ...
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The welcoming entrance to the Migrant Resource Center | |
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God Manifested in Me ...
Looking Back at the Blessings of 2022
by Marina Forero, Director, Children's Enrichment Ministry
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...THROUGH THE AFFECTIONATE HUG OF Maximiliano, an-8-year-old boy who always says that he is not accepted by his classmates at his primary school, but he feels that he is loved here.
…when I hear Mayiliany, an-11-year-old girl, crying. She deeply misses her grandmother who raised her. Her Christmases are “dark” because her grandmother died at Christmas time. Now Mayiliany writes letters to relieve her pain and remember her grandmother not as someone who left, but as the one who gave her the best and most beautiful moments of her childhood.
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Gratitude
by Bridich Saragos, Assistant Coordinator, Migrant Resource Center
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IN MY TIME WITH FRONTERA DE CRISTO as the Assistant Coordinator for the Migrant Resource Center (MRC) [in Spanish, Centro de Recursos para Migrantes, or CRM], I have faced a lot of challenges that have made me cry, grow, and above all, learn. In 2022, the MRC served 41,868 migrants who had been deported from the US under Title 42. Having to receive more than 100 people a day is clearly a challenge...
Continue reading Bridich's reflection on gratitude.
Lea en español.
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You Can Support Village Presbyterian's Sock Drive | |
VILLAGE CHURCH IN PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KANSAS has very kindly set up a "Border Ministry Online Sock Drive" in an Amazon Wish List, and you can participate. | |
Migrant asylum seekers trek across Mexico on foot for months to reach the U.S. border. When they finally arrive, many suffer from serious foot injuries. The Migrant Resource Center is in desperate need of thick, warm socks for the thousands of men, women, and children they care for each month. | |
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If you wish to support our brothers and sisters on the border, you can purchase socks from their Amazon Wish List. Your order will be shipped directly to Douglas, Arizona and taken across the border to the Migrant Resource Center in Agua Prieta, Mexico. We appreciate Village Presbyterian Church for taking the initiative to do this drive. We thank you for participating and providing this measure of help to our sisters and brothers on the border. | |
Coming Soon: Café Justo 20th Anniversary Photo Book | | |
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ORDER THE NEW CAFÉ JUSTO 20th anniversary photo book now, for spring delivery. Just $20, shipping included. See how your coffee grows from seed to cup and how this amazing coffee co-op grew from just a few coffee farming families to the wide-reaching co-op that ships delicious organic coffee all across this country today. | |
Love Mercy, Do Justice, Order Coffee | |
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FRONTERA DE CRISTO AND CAFÉ JUSTO CREATED the "Love Mercy, Do Justice" initiative to provide coffee for migrant shelters across the southern border. Thousands of women and men each week are greeted with a cup of coffee, a meal, and vital medical attention when they are repatriated into Mexico. You can help support this effort with a donation to Love Mercy, Do Justice.
In the mean time, why not order some coffee for yourself today? You will enjoy delicious 100% organic coffee cultivated, roasted, and shipped by the Café Justo cooperative. To order by mail instead of online, just download this form.
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Laura Labrada mixes a frappe
at the coffee shop
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Interpretation Assignment | | |
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MARK & MIRIAM ARE TRAVELING THE COUNTRY NOW on "Interpretation Assignment." We invite you to connect with them when they're at a church in your area.
View their speaking schedule for the year (subject to change). They welcome opportunities to fill in the blanks. Just email [email protected] to inquire about the date you'd like to host them.
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