It is difficult for me to understand why a family should suffer just because they live on the south side of a line literally drawn in the sand by railroad contractors and soldiers in the 1850's. The people I help here on the border have no one on their side. They have no one fighting for them. Police rob them as they travel north through Mexico, their guides abandon them in the scorching mountains of the Sonoran Desert, only to be caught by the Border Patrol and repatriated back to Mexico without eating food, in many cases for days at a time. And if they do cross successfully, and many do, they are taken advantage of by employers in the United States.
So, how have I felt God calling me to do this? I have read that we should love our neighbors as our selves. So if my neighbor is hungry, I'll give him or her a burrito. If my neighbor is thirsty, I've give a cup of coffee or a glass of water. These people who cross the desert, and often die in the process, are moms and dads, children, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Most importantly they are children of God.
This shouldn't sound so revolutionary, but for some reason, it is. The ugly wall that stretches as far as the eye can see, dividing the United States from Mexico, is not the only border that we have put up. We have borders surrounding us, all the time. So if you feel like the border that the United States and Mexico share is too far away from you, think about borders closer to home. And try to break those borders down, and love your neighbor as your self. Not only is this a charge for you to love your neighbors, but its a charge for your neighbors to love you.
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