The Darien Gap has become a symbol for the magnitude and complexity of the global migration crisis. The 10,000 square miles of rainforest connecting Central and South America is a natural labyrinth where migrants face the immensity of nature and the constant danger of getting lost. Steep mountains, vast swamps, rushing rivers, wild and deadly wildlife, extreme weather and disease are the order of the day on this stretch that has become one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Last week, I was tasked with writing an article for my local paper that would help people take a “deep breath” from initial reactions after the election. And honestly, I think Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to brush up our skills that keep us out of the pits of despair. In this column, I tried to offer my perspective on a common theological quip (God is in control) that, when reframed, is able to help us through dark times.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the “Leading the Way Conference,” hosted by the National Immigration Forum (NIF). This event brought together law enforcement, faith leaders, and business executives to discuss the profound impact of immigration across various sectors. Speakers included economists, business leaders, sheriffs, police, border security officers, and faith leaders.

Fellowship Southwest does not and will not endorse or oppose any political candidate for office. However, elections have consequences, and we must now face the reality that the winner of the presidential election built his campaign on the backs of those whom we love and serve. More than that, President-elect Trump has made racists, xenophobic, and hateful lies about immigrants the very cornerstone of his political career. The prospect of his administration fills us with dread.

Puede ser que no necesitemos recordarte que hoy es el día de las elecciones, y como organización comprometida con la justicia social, reconocemos que las elecciones tienen un impacto social.

Lo más probable es que ya hayas votado, pero si no lo has hecho, permítenos animarte y mostrar el amor a tu prójimo por medio de tu voto. En lugar de preguntar como las políticas nos benefician personalmente o cómo nuestros puntos de vista particulares podrían ser avanzados, tal vez deberíamos considerar ¿si aquellos a quienes elegiremos promoverán políticas que alimenten a los hambrientos, vistan a los desnudos, curen a los enfermos, reciban al forastero, consuelen al prisionero o cuiden a la viuda o al huérfano?

We don’t need to remind you that today is election day, but as an organization committed to perusing justice, we know elections have consequences.

Most likely you have already voted, but if not, let us urge you to love your neighbor with your vote. Rather than wondering how policies might personally benefit ourselves, or how our particular viewpoints might be advanced, perhaps we should consider if those we elect will promote policies that feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, welcome the stranger, comfort the prisoner or care for the widow or orphan.

President Biden visited Gila Crossing Community School in Laveen Village, Arizona, on October 25 to make a formal acknowledgement and apology for the Federal Indian Boarding Schools. As “one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” the boarding school system was a government and Christian church collaboration to take on the “Indian problem,” called the Civilization Fund Act. 

Fellowship Southwest just returned from a vision trip to the Rio Grande Valley, introducing church leaders to our border ministry partners in Brownsville, Reynosa and the colonias. We were joined by ministers and lay leaders from the Austin-Waco area including Restore Austin, Vox Veniae and UBC Waco.

Since Indigenous Peoples’ Day is next week, I asked Mariah Humphries, our Native Justice Consultant, for advice about what we should do or say to mark the occasion. She sent me what she wrote last year (which I’ll share with you), and then said something to the effect of, “If it’s important to you, why don’t you write something about it.” The subtext being, we keep asking people from the marginalized communities to do the work for us, and it’s time that the rest of us speak up. So here’s what I have to say about the upcoming holiday.

As the U.S. presidential election looms just four weeks away, the landscape along the U.S.-Mexico border has changed dramatically—both in policy and in the rhythm of migrant flows. In recent months, border pastors who compose Fellowship Southwest’s immigrant relief ministry have seen their work adapt to the new conditions Notably, the number of migrants entering the U.S. has significantly decreased, and shelter dynamics in northern Mexico continue to evolve.

If you're a music fan, you've been mourning the passing last weekend of Kris Kristofferson. The singer, songwriter and actor lived a life so remarkable it reads like fiction. In addition to his well known accomplishments in the arts, he was also a Rhodes scholar who studied at Oxford, an Army Ranger, a helicopter pilot, a college football player, and as a young man had such a promising future as a boxer he was in Sports Illustrated.

On August 20, 2024, dozens of community leaders and agency representatives gathered at the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in Pharr, Texas, to confront one of the region’s most pressing issues: hunger. Organized by Bread for the World, the House of Love and Justice (HLJ) and the Food Bank, the event sought to spotlight the growing crisis of food insecurity in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). 

Fellowship Southwest partners with a new organization in the Rio Grande Valley that focuses on serving the colonias, House of Love and Justice. So many of our border partners work on the Mexican side of the border, so we are thrilled to support the ministry of Caly Fernandez and join her in serving our neighbors on this side of the border in the colonias. 

A few weeks ago my wife, Deborah and I took our daughter on her first trip to New York City to celebrate her tenth birthday. Though I’d been to the city many times before, almost every other trip was short and tied to work or another occasion. With more free time and my daughter in tow, I was determined to take a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I’m so very glad we did.

Did you know Connection is as vital to Fellowship Southwest as Compassion and Justice? When people of faith who care about similar issues connect, we can collaborate and learn how to best serve, love, and advocate for our neighbors. This is what happened last weekend when two of our 2024 FSW summer interns shared the pulpit at Austin Heights Baptist Church in Nacogdoches, TX.

The Latino community can be a force to be reckoned with when we unite.

That is one reason why Fellowship Southwest is thankful to partner with the Latino Christian National Network (LCNN), and as a Latina myself, it is a personal privilege.

LCNN is an ecumenical network of Latino leaders working to provide Latino and Latina Christian leaders with a respectful space for dialogue, mutual formation, cooperation, amplifying our prophetic voice, and civic engagement for justice.

Are you or your church interested in sponsoring refugees but need financial assistance? Now is the perfect time to act.

The administration invited a group of faith leaders, including Elket Rodriguez (CBF Global Migration Advocate) and Jennifer Hawks (CBF Director of Advocacy) to a meeting in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House. On August 1, they gathered to mobilize the faith-based community to boost participation in the Welcome Corps in the coming months.

We should all unequivocally denounce political violence. In doing so, it is tempting to claim that killing political leaders is un-American, to believe we are beyond such atrocities more common in developing nations and young democracies. History teaches this is not the case.

On Monday, July 1st, Fellowship Southwest joined the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas for its 2024 Annual Gathering and sponsored the Young Latino Track of its program.

Last weekend, the Church Without Walls in Houston, TX, hosted Pastor Edrei Rodriguez of Mercy without Borders, one of FSW’s newest partners working with Migrants in Reynosa.