After breakfast on Thursday, which I already told you about, the group of us sat down with a few of the women and heard their stories through Ray as our translator. They were so sad. We heard from Alisa, Erica, who as her family says "talks crooked", meaning she's a little slow, and Sandra who just came here a month ago in December.
At 3:00 we had a lunch of hominy stew with pork and tortillas (the above pic).
Then after lunch, Ray introduced me to the women as the English teacher, so I had my first class with a few of the women. They taught me some new words, and I just taught them words they wanted to know right then, like good morning, how are you, and such. I told them I'd help them with their English, and they had to help me with my Spanish! For supper that night, the women and our group went out for tacos at a local taco stand. They were really good!
On Friday, we had some kind of chilies for breakfast (above pic). They were good, but very spicy! They burned all the way down!
After breakfast, we participated in the self-defense class for the women that Ray teaches. It was about techniques of how to get away from someone who is bigger and stronger than you. Later he said, "It's about giving the women a voice, because their voice has been taken away from them, and so have their bodies. The class is so they won't have to be afraid to walk down the street and to find their strength."
After the class, we went on a trip through the city. Our first stop was to the children's school. They have 1st through 6th grade at the school. This school is special because it is one of the only schools in the city that work with special ed students and students with disabilities.
After visiting the school, we went to a low price health clinic they have in the city. Actually there are three. Filadelfia 1, 2, and 3. They offer health services for a lower price. While we were there, a woman was having a C-section and we heard the baby crying. It is a christian run health clinic. They also offer dental services as well.
For lunch, we went to Ray's favorite taco place. I got chicken quesadillas for lunch and we all tried the dessert tacos, which were my favorite! They were like crepes. They were chicken, with mango and pineapple inside, wrapped in melted cheese, and covered with a strawberry sauce. So yummy!
After our wonderful lunch, we drove around the city for a while and checked out the sights. When we got back to the shelter, I helped some of the women make supper. We made cheese quesedillas. It was fun to talk, laugh, and cook with the women. Maggie made chocolate (hot chocolate) while I worked on the quesedillas. It was very good!
After supper was cleared and put away, the group and I decided to give the women and girls manicures and pedicures. We had stopped earlier, and bought some stuff for it, and I'd brought some polish with me as well. We had so much fun, and the women really enjoyed it too!
Yesterday, Saturday, we had eggs with green beans in them, beans, and oranges for breakfast.
After breakfast, we took off for a day trip. We stopped at a beach for a bit, and watched for whales migrating south. While driving, we saw a few. Then we went on to Ensenada. We walked along the boardwalk, and then had fish tacos for lunch. I didn't think I'd like them, but I actually did!
After lunch, we traveled on to La Bufadora, or The Blowhole. This is a place in the rocks where when the tide comes in, water sprays up into the air, like a whale. At La Bufadora, there were many street stands selling all kinds of things, along with food vendors. I tried clams cooked in their shells with cheese and pico de gallo, churros, and pina coladas, which were pineapple and coconut juice mixed together and drank from a hollowed out pineapple. All of the food was very good! I also did a bit of souvenir shopping there as well.
Later, on our way back to Tijuana, we stopped in Puerto Nuevo for lobster. They had a special of five lobster tails, rice, beans, tortillas and a drink for one price. I tried the lobster, and ate two tails, but I didn't really care for the taste or texture. Sorry to all you lobster lovers out there, but it's not for me. Give me a pork chop though, and I'm happy!
On Sunday, we got up and had breakfast with the women and children before heading off to church. The church we went to was just the next building on the same hillside as the shelter. Church was interesting, but difficult because it was of course, all in Spanish. Luckily for me, the group from Philidelphia's professor was sitting behind me translating the whole service. Next time though, I won't be so lucky. One really neat thing about the church service though, was we sang Blessed Assurance in Spanish. I love that hymn, and it was great to have something familiar in an unfamiliar place.
After church, we went back to the shelter, and had lunch. After lunch, Ray loaded all of us in the van and took us back to Las Playas, the Mexican side of the fence. There, we talked about how people come to the wall looking for encouragement or understanding. Ray had brought along paint and brushes, and some of us decided to paint our own voices and sentiments on the wall for others to read. I was one of them, and actually put two quotes up. I'll put up pics later.
When we had finished our paintings, we discussed the other main attraction and tourism industry in Tijuana, human trafficking and the sex industry. We drove through the
Red light district of town. It was so sad to think about the women who are being so misused and in circumstances such as these, with no other options or hope. Then, we drove thought Agua Caliente, Hot Water, the rich part of town. The comparison was so striking and horrifying. On our way to the red light district though, we did something really neat. We took turns saying what our favorite hymn or praise song was, and then we sang as much of it as we could remember. It was amazing, because we were going into a horrible place, but we found a way to bring God and his light in with us.
On our way back to the shelter, we stopped at basically the equivalent of Hy-Vee. There, we bought 2 cakes, and some pastries to take back to the shelter. When we arrived at the shelter, the women were in the process of putting the children to bed. After that, our group served the women of the shelter. For supper there were cheese quesedillas and beans. For dessert, we had the cakes and pastries. After we had all eaten, the group took turns sharing about their experiences at Deborah's House and the connections made with the women and children. Then the women shared how much they appreciated us being there.
During this, one woman asked the "translator" if I was leaving as well. She assured her, that I was not, and that I was going to be there for two months. Through the translator, she informed me, that I need permission to leave, and it is to be written and given with 48 hour notice. I asked how many bags I'd have to buy from their store to be able to leave. I was told 20 bags. We negotiated it to 4 bags, an apron, a jacket and a skirt. It made me feel good that they didn't me to leave yet.
Today, Monday, we had breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, yogurt, donuts and oranges. Then we loaded up the van with the group's luggage, and took off on our trip. We drove through Mexico to the east, until we crossed back into the U.S. at Texacale. Then we continued on through California. We arrived at El Campo, a place where the border issue was taken into the hands of the civilians. Minute Men, as they called themselves, would set up camp along the border, and shoot at and kill Mexicans trying to cross. We then drove up further into California, and stopped at a ravine along the highway. There, we walked through the terrain and set down jugs of water for travelers. Some of the group found possessions of people who'd made the journey there. There was a child's backpack with clothes, lipstick, shoes and tin cans.
We continued on to El Centro, California, where we met and spoke with a chaplain who works at the detention center there. He informed us that it is not just Mexicans who are in the center. He has people from 6 continents. Not all of them there are illegal either. Some are simply people seeking asylum, and are being held there until their status is determined.
After that, we went to a cemetery outside of the town. First, we had to pass through a private cemetery with nice stones on them. We then walked along a dirt road, to a county cemetery. There, we found simple bricks containing a name and row number of people who have died and have no identification, or were never claimed. Many of the graves said John Doe. These were people who had died in the crossing, and whom people didn't know who they were. A group had come before us, and left crosses on the graves that said, Not Forgotten. It is so sad to think, that their families might never know what happened to them, and not be able to visit their graves and mourn.
We grabbed lunch at Subway, before heading to San Diego, where we hung out at Ray's house. The group from Philidelphia, will be flying home tomorrow and so are staying the night here to be close to the airport. There is also another group flying in tonight to spend some time at the shelter, so we will go pick them up soon. It was nice to watch a movie, eat pizza and laugh and forget for a bit, the sadness we had seen today.
But I also don't want to forget. No one should be forgotten, and their trials should be acknowledged by someone. Regardless of how you feel about the immigration issue, there needs to be a better policy. I have never been in the situation where I have to do something illegal to survive and I hope I never will be. I think though, that if my children were starving, I would do anything I could to give them a better life. Why can't we see the humanity and the desperation in these people? What right do we have to judge them for their choices, when we've never had to face such a decision? Jesus said, "Love thy neighbor". These people are our neighbors, even if we've never met them. I don't have the answers, but I think compassion needs to be our first response to situations like these.
Well, I'm all updated now. I will add pictures later when I am back at my own computer. Please keep praying for me and the women at the shelter. Thanks. Cassandra
