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Cultivating Relationships
and Understanding
Across Borders
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Participating in cross plantings to honor those who died on our desert is one way we can be "purposefully present" in the borderlands. | |
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Delegation from New York helps
prepare a meal at DouglaPrieta Trabaja
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THEY JUMPED INTO THE BOAT! IN February, a delegation of ten (five adults and five teens) from the state of New York took a deep breath, faced any concerns, fears, or trepidations about the unknown, and made a trip to the borderlands. They visited Frontera de Cristo and their partner ministries for a very busy week of listening, learning, singing, engaging, eating great food, playing, and praying.
In preparation for their visit, faith groups are asked to read the Gospel of Mark and select passages that are particularly meaningful.
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Once the group arrives, they work with FdC staff to select passages that will accompany them during their time in Douglas/Agua Prieta. Each day, time is set aside for biblical reflections—connecting the selected passages from Mark with the deeply felt and impactful experiences of their visit.
The first selected passage for the New York delegation was Mark 4:35-41 and during the period of discernment, two phrases quickly became particularly meaningful—
Mark 4:35 …he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat…
37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat…
[Jesus slept until wakened by his frightened disciples and
after calming the storm…] 40 He said to them,
“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”…
Embracing their faith, the delegation had stepped into the metaphorical boat and crossed over into the binational borderlands of Arizona and Sonora. Indeed, they experienced some fears, but as people of deep faith, they emerged from their time with Frontera de Cristo having experienced meaningful relationships and deeper understandings. Stronger together, they encountered border realities of migration and poverty while surrounded by understanding and compassion. As they prepared to leave la frontera, they were already planning to share their boat trip with all its fears and with its expanding faith.
We invite you to “step into the boat and cross to the other side.” Like our new friends from New York, together we will face our fears, experience new relationships, expand our knowledge and understanding, and grow in our faith.
Bienvenidos,
Catherine, Dan, and Jocabed
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Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteers'
Binational Spring Gathering
Saturday, March 18 in Agua Prieta
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Send young adults from your church to the Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteers' (YAVs) day of service, justice, and faith in Agua Prieta on Saturday, March 18. The deadline for buying tickets is midnight (Arizona/Sonora/Pacific time) on March 14, 2023. | |
Les invitamos a aprender sobre el servicio, la justicia y la fe en la frontera de EE. UU./México con otros jóvenes de EE. UU. y México. Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteers es un programa que se dedica a construir relaciones binacionales para que los jóvenes trabajen por una comunidad fronteriza más justa, equitativa y relacional. Los participantes del lado mexicano se reunirán en Centro de Recurso para Migrantes a las 10 a. m., Calle 1 y Avenida 3. | |
Come learn about service, justice, and faith on the U.S./Mexico borderlands with other young adults from the U.S. and Mexico on March 18 from 10 am to 4 pm. Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteers is a program that is dedicated to building binational relationships for young adults to work for a more just, equitable, and relational borderlands community. Participants from the U.S. side will meet at the Carl's Junior in Douglas, AZ at 10 am. You can park at 105 5th St, Douglas, AZ and we will then walk together into Agua Prieta. All participants will need a valid passport. | |
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Purposefully Present
by Julia Pinto, Intern with Franciscan Mission Service
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IN THE FIRST WEEKS OF ARRIVING IN THE DESERT landscape of Arizona, I journaled: “Why does God have me here? What can I do in my smallness and limitations? This is my home for the next two years? This seems like a land of pain and scarcity. But there’s also resilience and abundance all around me.”
I am a lay missioner with Franciscan Mission Service (FMS), a Catholic nonprofit which equips and sends mission volunteers to Washington DC, Jamaica, Bolivia, and the US-Mexico border.
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Julia and Zeyla, both interns in Agua Prieta | |
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A Cold, Wet, Desert Day of Mourning
by Dan Abbott, FDC Liaison
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IT WAS BITTERLY COLD — I MEAN shivering, sock-cap-down-over-your-ears, scarf-around-your-neck cold.
A handful of us had come to a spot just outside Douglas where a border crosser had drowned in a stock tank—a long pit filled with water for the Angus cattle that are raised on the grass of the Sulphur Springs Valley. It was just 4 or 5 miles north of the border and not half a mile from the main road between Douglas and Bisbee.
It was a “cross planting”—a tradition begun by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Crosses are “planted” at the locations where human remains are discovered: sites where people have perished as they crossed the mountains and deserts of Southern Arizona. ...
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You Can Support Our Border Ministry Supply Drive | |
VILLAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KANSAS has very kindly set up an online supply drive for the Migrant Resource Center (MRC) in the form of an Amazon Wish List, and you can participate. | |
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Migrant asylum seekers trek across Mexico on foot for months to reach the US border. When they finally arrive, many suffer from serious foot injuries.
Currently, the most pressing need at the MRC is for thick, warm socks for the thousands of men, women, and children they care for each month.
If you'd like to support our brothers and sisters on the border, you can purchase socks or other items from Village Church's Amazon Wish List.
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Your order will be shipped directly to Frontera de Cristo in Douglas, Arizona, and then delivered across the border to the MRC in Agua Prieta. We so appreciate Village Presbyterian Church for taking the initiative to do this drive, and we thank you for participating and providing this kindness 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. | |
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Mission Dinner & Book Club: Session Two
with Miriam Maldonado & Mark Adams
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THE SECOND SESSION OF Miriam and Mark's 2023 Mission Dinner & Book Club is coming up on Thursday, March 16, starting at 6:30pm Eastern Daylight Time.
You are invited to gather in person or on Zoom, meet the author, 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.
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Whether you attend in-person or at a distance, the first thing to do is email Mark Adams 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! | |
Border-to-Border 2023: The Dates are Set! | |
Click the image to download the flyer. | |
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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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 mark@fronteradecristo.org to inquire about the date you'd like to host them.
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