Borderlands… Thoughts from Home

APTS Students on the steps of First Presbyterian Church Brownsville, TX

    We’ve been home now for not quite 48 hours from our Borderlands trip. I’m still processing all the personal testimonies that were shared and all the voiceless testimonies we witnessed. It was a beautiful week, but it was hard, unsettling and has stirred my spirit in unexpected ways. When asked today, “what was the hardest part of the trip for you?” several images made their way to the forefront of my mind. The first thought I had was of the refugees we served at that the Sacred Heart Relief Center. When we show them where the showers are, we have to take their old clothes and shoes and throw them away (Health Department regulations). They were given new clothes and shoes, but there was a clear feeling of loss on their faces. There was one woman in particular whose expression is still vivid to me. She seemed both sad and a little relieved. Each of the refugees had little to nothing that had brought with them and they had to watch us throw out some of their last remaining items from home.

   On Thursday we heard a presentation from the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church and it was based on Matthew 25 – that when we offer food, clothes, hospitality to the least of these, our brothers and sisters, we offer it to Jesus. There is a lot of good work being done along the border to help the incoming refugees. 

So much more than you or I will know. It is not publicized or media highlighted. There are many unknown heroes and angels doing everything they can with the limited resources available to receive the people coming in. But as I have meditated on this Matthew passage and reflected on my time at the border, I find I’m unsettled in my spirit. The text says that when we meet the needs of the least of these, we are meeting the needs of Jesus. 

We don’t just go to “be Jesus” to others but to “see Jesus” in others. If I were greeting Jesus in the bus station and bringing him back to the relief center, would I be ok with giving him someone else’s cast off (though laundered) underwear to wear? Would I not find the best that I have to clothe him? We in the church have a biblical call to the alien, the stranger, the least, the lost, the broken, the harassed and the helpless - to offer them a home and restore their dignity. 

When we would ask, what is their best hope, what is next best step, we were told that we were their best hope. We are the next best step. So I would ask that you seek God’s heart for the Borderlands and her people. Pray for eyes that see the face of Jesus in the “stranger” and not just someone who is “other.” Pray for us live into the call to be their hope.

 Michelle Vernone