Heartbreak and Hope Found through Encounters

A letter from Amanda Craft, serving as Regional Liaison for Mexico and Guatemala

Fall 2015

In times of challenge it can be easy to lose our way, to forget what we have been called to live out and live into with partners.  As we are certain you have heard recently, World Mission is experiencing a financial shortfall.  Changing giving patterns by PC(USA) membership and a decrease in available funds through endowments have created a funding shortfall for World Mission.  This has led to a reduction in the number of mission workers serving.  However, this does not mean that mission work has stopped, and we hope the following story helps shed light on the good work that continues.  We also thank you for the support you have provided to make this work happen and invite you to pray how to continue being a part of something unique and genuinely faithful.

Amanda sharing the story of encounters along this part of the U.S.-Mexico border

In mid-September Tres Rios Presbytery hosted a mission forum in El Paso, Texas, called ‘The Mission of the Church in a Changing and Conflicted World.’  A convergence of several partners in mission made this experience very special.  Participants came from two PC(USA) presbyteries—Tres Rios and Miami Valley—and two international partners—the Presbyterian Church of Colombia and Pasos de Fe, the border ministry shared between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.  Around 50 participants took part in the event, sharing about how issues like poverty, migration, and racism affect their communities and their congregations.  It was exciting to hear how people are working against human rights violations in Colombia, how churches in Juarez are responding to migration issues, and how people in the United States are addressing those issues in the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

As part of the visit Omar and I prepared a time of education and prayer along the fence that stretches between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.  We all stood on the U.S. side in a small park that is part of historic El Paso, a barrio named Chihuahuita.  We talked about past and present encounters experienced in this place.  Generations before us, first peoples crossed the land without worrying about present-day state demarcations.  Then came the Spanish conquest in the New World and as nations won independence from the Spanish crown, the place where we stood became part of the United States of Mexico.  Through a variety of other identities, Texas became the 28^th state of the United States of America in 1845.  Even after annexing Texas, legal and military battles continued for several years as the United States acquired additional land along the Rio Grande River.  A place of encounter.

The group of Colombians, participants from PC(USA) presbyteries, and partners from Pasos de Fe border ministry site

The creation of national borders drew lines between families and peoples.  It became a border that peoples still tried to cross, legally or not, due to traditional movement.  Commerce and labor have been two major factors in this movement.  In fact, El Paso has long understood it has survived because of Juarez’s vitality. As Juarez grew, people from El Paso would cross the border to shop, to enjoy cultural activities, to visit families. Since the 1980s many border towns in northern Mexico have provided inexpensive labor to U.S. businesses, especially manufacturers.  Ciudad Juarez became a manufacturing hub for many companies, and as employment became available, people rushed north in search of work as subsistence farming became difficult.  On the other side of the river from where we stood many cultures from all over Mexico and Central America blended together.  A place of encounter.

However, life in Juarez started to slowly unravel in the 2000s.  Drug cartels battled each other for secure routes to move drugs into the United States.  Cartels found border towns to be of strategic interest and Juarez became their battleground.  Kidnappings and extortion, especially of young women, were on the rise, and all-out violence erupted in 2008.  During this time the United States began to increase border controls and policing to combat the flow of undocumented persons crossing the border. A place of encounter.

Manufacturing had been slowly moving to Asia during the 2000s as well.  With the increase in violence and lack of employment, life became very difficult in Juarez.  Those who could fled to El Paso.  Those in El Paso stopped crossing into Juarez.  The population and economic viability of Juarez dropped significantly.  Crossing the border became more and more necessary.  A place of encounter.

Biblical reflection from Isaiah 60:18 along the border

Historic Chihuahuita, located on the northern side of the Rio Grande near one of the international bridges, now plays an important role for those who do decide to cross the border to the U.S.  This small barrio is a starting point for many newcomers.  They land here as they stabilize and find economic footing.  A place of encounter.

Once families are more secure, they tend to move out of this border community and find housing east or west of downtown.  Some move on to find other family or friends in other cities or states.  Most continue to maintain connections with family members in Juarez.  A place of encounter.

Since 2013 relative peace started to take hold in Juarez once again.  An unofficial agreement between cartels has decreased drug-related violence and crime.  Families have started to move back.  With increased costs for production in China due to a raise in the minimum wage, some manufacturers are returning to Mexican border towns again.  Many people in Juarez jokingly say that if you cannot find a job in Juarez it is because you do not want to work.  People from El Paso are hesitantly returning to Juarez to enjoy the social life.  However, vestiges from the former Juarez and pressures from the United States still exist.  U.S. transnational businesses continue to demand cheap labor, while thousands of young women are still missing.  Illicit organizations continue to provide an uninterrupted flow of drugs into the U.S. while mass graves of trafficked women are yet to be discovered.  People are still seeking safety and protection in the United States while U.S. border security is at its most stringent.  Houses and businesses in Juarez still remain empty.  Families in El Paso still worry when loved ones visit that city.  A place of encounter.

The people of this border region have experienced too much conflict, separation and heartbreak.  Pasos de Fe and Presbyterian churches in El Paso in coordination with other organizations are striving to make a difference, to write a different narrative, to be a presence of hope and peace.  In Isaiah 60:18 we read, “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”  May this become a place of peaceful encounter through ministries of partnership.

We invite you to be a part of this important and significant witness along the border.  Your contributions of prayer and financial resources help us to work with these partnerships to build encounters of peace in this place.  We invite you to be a part of something distinct, a part of a ministry that brings light in the midst of confusion, pain, and struggle.  God’s good work is present.  Thank you for the contributions you have already given.  And we thank you in advance for additional assistance.

Blessings of peace and praise,
Amanda and Omar (Alejandro and Matteo)

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 44