It was around 3:30 p.m. when we veered off Interstate 10 onto the southern loop around El Paso. We'd been driving all day and were itching to get out of the car. But all thoughts of our impending arrival evaporated as we came face to face with the border wall that towered above us along the freeway. This formidable barrier would be at the center of our experiences all week long as we served at the Lydia Patterson Institute.
Our team of eight youth and adult volunteers settled into the old house that LPI provided for its volunteers just across the street from campus. While it provided a roof over our heads and a safe place to land each day, it also had its quirks...including a swamp cooler as air conditioning. As you can imagine, we had an army of box fans and ceiling fans whirring all week long to keep our home-away-from-home comfortable!
We met with LPI's head custodian, Jaime Huichochea, on our first morning, but before we dove into the work, he sat us down in the school's conference room for a primer on LPI. Jaime shared some of LPI's hundred-year-old history with us as well as what a typical day looked like in the life of its students. Almost 90% of LPI's student body crosses the border from Juarez, Mexico, each day to attend school--a journey that often lasts anywhere from two to four hours each way. These young people view LPI as a safe place to learn with teachers who love and challenge them. Many students receive scholarships to attend LPI, and they work hard to keep them. In fact, students who are accepted to LPI can change the future for their entire families; it's an honor and privilege that these young people value and protect.
Our team scraped peeling paint from outside school walls, repaired and painted indoor office walls, took apart furniture, and built furniture. We added new paint to curbs and columns and porches. And we reorganized Jaime's basement office and storage area. It felt really good to share our energy and enthusiasm with a place that offers such life to its students, teachers, and surrounding community.
While it was incredibly rewarding to serve in such a special place, it wasn't lost on our team the significance of our location. For five days, we slept and worked and ate just five blocks from the border wall. We talked about this separation of people and wondered how to create change. We found ourselves empathizing with all of the humans around us on those downtown streets...whether migrant or citizen, brown or white, rich or poor. And we raged with the news of precious people dying in the back of a tractor-trailer because they were desperate for a new life alongside us. Father Richard Rohr says that change can only happen through great suffering or great love. I believe our team experienced both in the shadow of the Lydia Patterson Institute, and we cannot be the same.
Now that we're back, I hope you'll ask us about our trip to El Paso. We have so many stories to share, and we want you to love LPI the way we do. So many thanks to our team: students Dylan Corso, Gavin Jernigan-Puett, Reed McLallen, Daniel Shelly, Abby Smith, and leaders Shawn McLallen, Darrell Smith, and Stacy Smith. And thank you to AHUMC for your support and prayers.
