MISSIONER NEWSLETTER – Advent 2024
Coralis Salvador, U.S.-Mexico Border
Missioner Coralis Salvador ministers at Casa Papa Francisco, a hospitality shelter in El Paso for migrants and asylum seekers that serves pregnant women and women with children.
“Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.” – L.R. Knost
EL PASO, TEXAS—Greetings from El Paso! The last quarter of this year has been filled exceedingly with events that challenged my grounding.
The above quote reminded me of the wisdom of Sr. Ambrose, of the St. Joseph Sisters of Kenya. Whenever I tell her my concerns, she always says, “Coralis, just love them, love them, love them.”
I am also reminded of how the faith and hope of asylum seekers are so alive despite the darkness they went through to reach Juárez, Mexico, where they can use the CBP One app to apply to come into our country.
One mother with three sons delivered a baby two months ago and the father has not yet seen his new daughter.
Among the places I minister is Casa Papa Francisco, a hospitality shelter for migrants and asylum seekers that serves pregnant women, women with children, and elderly women. At the shelter, there are three mothers with their children waiting for months for their husbands to be released from the detention center. One mother with three sons delivered a baby two months ago and the father has not yet seen his new daughter.
Men and women are placed in separate units at the detention center; the children stay with their mothers and are often released immediately. It is a hardship for these mothers to move on to their destinations without their husbands.
The delay in their release is dependent on their court dates and/or other reasons. It is a family separation. In the meantime, our shelter arranges for the school-age children to be sent to a nearby school.
This year, our Encuentro Project—which offers a faith-based, multi-faceted immersion program in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border region for participants to experience a deeper understanding of the complex migration reality and of this community—hosted 20 groups from various high schools, universities, and organizations from around the country. I love this ministry because it opens the eyes and hearts of our participants to the border reality, especially that of the migrants. For me, these participants are the “light” in our world’s darkness.
To quote one of our participants, Kaler Bole: “The Encuentro Project awakens our senses which in turn challenges us into action. It shakes our mindset on the border reality while opening to the challenges migrants face. This process moves us with the true history and background of their human condition.”
As we close the year, I am thankful to have this ministry serving the asylum seekers and the opportunity to enlighten our Encuentro participants. Do visit our website: www.encuentroproject.org and perhaps you and your friends can come and see.
Most of all, I am grateful and appreciate your partnership, prayers, and financial support. It enables Maryknoll Lay Missioners to serve our marginalized brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and at the Border.
Let’s continue to pray for one another, to keep our hope and light alive. May you have the spirit and joy of Christmas and may the New Year be a blessed one.
Much love,
Coralis
Please consider supporting my mission work at the U.S.-Mexico border with a donation through the link below.
I invite you to walk with me as a “COMPANION IN MISSION.” Companions in Mission are friends and generous donors who give financial gifts on a regular (usually monthly) basis. For more information, visit Become a Companion in Mission. Thank you so much for your generosity!
Coralis is a community volunteer at a shelter for asylum seekers released from ICE or CBP detentions and at “La Tilma” feeding program of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas. She previously served with Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya for 19 years. She is the co-author of the Orbis book What’s So Blessed About Being Poor?
