Maria's reflection from the border
Overview of the Summer Internship Program
By Anyra Cano
Fellowship Southwest kicks off a new pilot program this summer to invite college and graduate students to 1—Serve alongside our experienced partners who work arduously to provide hospitality and welcome to migrants. 2— Learn about immigration policy and advocacy. 3—Empower new networks of students to be advocates, storytellers, and witnesses of Fellowship Southwest's work of compassion and justice.
At the end of May, we welcomed our first cohort of interns in San Antonio for orientation, who will serve for five weeks. Two are serving in Brownsville, with Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville, and two with Primera Iglesia Bautista Piedras Negras in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Each intern has already impacted our ministry with the gifts, talents, networks, and willingness they bring to Fellowship Southwest. You can see what they are doing through our social media and newsletters. They will be sharing videos, testimonies, stories and blogs. You will hear from Sejana Yoo in today's newsletter.
Pastor Carlos said about the interns, "They are doing excellent. Wow. I'm very impressed. They do everything. I mean everything." Pastor Israel shares, "The interns are providing the children and youth with something to do during the day, such as bible studies, games, and activities that keep them busy as their families wait for their CBP appointments. Can they stay longer?"
Please keep Sejana, Maria, Christina, and Zoe in your prayers. We know that they are making an impact in their assigned places of service and at home, where their communities are excited to learn about their experiences.
Generous donors make programs like these possible; thank you for partnering with us.
intern reflection #4: Maria Mendoza
During my time here: I have learned, served, and observed.
I'm in the last week of a five-week internship service at Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville’s migrant ministry, Ministerio Golan. This ministry assists Latin American asylum seekers and refugees by providing free transportation to the Brownsville and Harlingen airports, clothing, food, and basic hygiene care. They also offer a respite home for pregnant women, families with children with disabilities, and Southwest Keys 'age-outs' to stay overnight while they await their flights. The church uses these points of intersection to share the gospel with them and provide emotional and spiritual support.
I assist with all aspects of Ministerio Golan. This includes going out three times a week to serve food and share the gospel with migrants as they cross the border for their U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP One™ ) appointments. I help migrants find clothes within the church's closets so they can bathe and change out of their detention center uniforms. We offer daily transportation to the airports, helping many first-time flyers and non-English speakers understand boarding and flight procedures. Additionally, we’ve supported migrants at the respite home, allowing them to share their stories and experiences.
The Great Commission
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. ” Matthew 28:18,19
I’m not sure if I’ll ever go on a mission trip to countries like Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, or Ecuador. But people from these very countries are making a pit stop here, in my hometown of Brownsville. As a future campus missionary this fall, seeking to mobilize college students to fulfill the Great Commission is not only part of my job description but also my heart's desire. Observing what’s happening here in Brownsville, I can’t help but notice the obvious: The nations have come to us.
Haitian Families
But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3
Haiti has two official languages, Haitian Creole and French. However, after spending several months in Mexico awaiting their scheduled appointments to present at a southwestern port of entry through the CBP One ™ application, Haitians are often left with no choice but to learn Spanish. I noticed that within Haitian nuclear families, not everyone learned Spanish, but the fathers did. I was in awe of the beauty of seeing these men lead their families. In unfamiliar places, they became their families' safe spaces, serving as translators, protectors, and leaders.
Love, Our Primary Duty
For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. Galatians 5:14
Paul indicates that the entire law can be summed up in one operative word—love. Believers can fulfill every demand of the Mosaic Law by loving others. When looking at the Ten Commandments, the first four deal with loving God and the next six deal with loving others. It can be hard to love a people that appear to be flooding our nation ‘unlawfully’. And that’s okay it doesn’t always come easy and naturally for us to love the way God calls us to love one another. Sacrificially. But I’ve found that it takes serving someone hand to hand, face to face, soul to soul to soften our hearts not for their basic security needs, but for Jesus.
Good Works Break Up The Hard Soil
Break up the unplowed ground; do not sow among the thorns. Jeremiah 4:3
I overheard Roberto, a man from Colombia, talking on the phone with his family. He mentioned that some 'angels' picked him up at the city influx, took him to church, and gave him somewhere to stay. Shortly after the service ended he told us he wanted to serve God with us. Our work for the kingdom can often seem in vain, as we don’t always see immediate results. However, I've learned the purpose of these services and interactions (which can often seem meaningless) when serving the migrants. I hope this makes you think of all the different types of people you serve and of your interactions with them. I believe it’s us working alongside God and the work He is already doing in their lives. The work of breaking up the hard soil that doesn’t allow for the seed of His Word to sprout. That the love we show them makes them think about the God we serve.
We Need The Local Church
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 (CSB)
Lastly, during my time here, I’ve learned no matter how strong we think we are as leaders, teachers, or evangelists, or how many believers across the nation know our names, the work continues with or without us. Rather, we need the local church. We need the opportunity to serve alongside our church body to those who can give us nothing in return. We need to be at the frontlines serving someone face-to-face. Otherwise, how can we ever grow in love for a people group we've never interacted with, served, or loaned a hand to… When the local church allows us to serve inside and outside the four walls they’re allowing us to grow in love, humility, and goodness. An opportunity to exercise biblical love which is sacrificial, unmerited, selfless, and most importantly a choice. Being a part of the local church gives us the opportunity we need to be inconvenienced by a fellow brother or sister in Christ, a nonbeliever, or a migrant.