Campus News
Mission to Mexico
A group of Thiel students take a trip south of the border and end up expanding their view of the world. Thanks to countless movies, television shows and media reports, many people think they know what Mexico and Mexicans are really like. But, as a group of Thiel College students and faculty learned, reality can be quite different. In January, Rev. Dr. Derek Nelson, associate professor of religion and campus pastor, took 11 Thiel students on a journey that would help them understand what life is really like for many people living in Mexico. The group included William Bowden ’13, an e-commerce and Web design major; Kayla Ohlin ’13, a business administration and accounting major; Rebecca House ’12, an elementary education major; Rachel Yorlets ’11, a biology major; Cheryl Marshall ’14, a youth ministry major; Joseph Hertzog ’13, a history and pre-seminary major; John Newman ’11, an international business major; Katelyn Young ’14, a biology and neuroscience major; Jamaal Dorsey ’12, a religion major; Crystal Mitchell ’13, a psychology and sociology major; and Tyler Comp ’14, a theology & youth ministry major. Many of these students were fearful and nervous about where the trip would bring them because of the things that they had seen on television and in the news. However, they put that aside and had an experience that changed them and their outlook drastically. The journey began on January 3 when the group departed from Pittsburgh and headed to San Diego, Calif. Upon their arrival, they met their guide, Gilberto Martinez, who traveled with them during the trip. Martinez is the managing director of T.W.O., Transformational World Opportunities, a group that arranges educational trips into Mexico and several other countries to help people better understand the global community. T.W.O trips are designed to allow people to learn and serve communities within other cultures. While in San Diego, the “Mexicrew,” as they dubbed themselves, stayed at Christ Lutheran Church–Pacific Beach until it was time to cross into Mexico. During their time in San Diego, the group visited Chicano Park, a historic park located in the Barrio Logan community, just south of downtown San Diego. At the park, they were immersed in paintings, photos, sculptures and other art highlighting Mexican-American culture. Seeing the park allowed them to learn a bit about the history of Hispanic culture and the kinds of things they would soon surround themselves with while in Mexico, said Kayla Ohlin. 2
The Bell • Spring 2011
The next day, many in the group were anxious to finally cross the border and dive into the real cultural experience that they had been waiting for, said Nelson. Their first stop was the city of Tijuana where they would spend three days and two nights. One of the first things they experienced touched a lot of the students and opened their eyes to the reality of many of the problems they would face in Mexico. Martinez took them to a large wall along the border that stretched for miles and was made of old garage doors and scrap metal. This wall was covered with thousands of small crosses and graffiti that represented all of the people who had been killed while attempting to cross the border into the United States. “Knowing that they were risking their life just to cross the border didn’t stop any of these people from wanting a better life for themselves and their family,” said Ohlin. During their time in Tijuana, the Mexicrew stayed at La Casa del Migrante, or House of the Migrant, a shelter that helps men who are deported from the United States and returned to Mexico as well as those who are stranded in Tijuana while attempting to cross the border to the United States. The staff helps these men get back on their feet by allowing them to stay for 12 days while looking for a job and a home. During their time at the house, the students helped by serving meals to the residents and listening to stories about their experiences. “I was really touched by one of the migrant workers that I talked to at the house. He talked to me about his family and he told me about his wife and six children. He and his wife came to America illegally over 25 years ago and all of their children were born in the United States,” said Ohlin. “Some of his children are in college just like me and one had even served in Iraq. It’s hard for me to understand how his son can put his life on the line for our country only to have his father deported. He had one positive thing to tell me and that was to keep my faith despite whatever struggles life might bring me. That was one of the most touching things I have ever been told.” Since La Casa del Migrante opened in the late 1970s, it has helped over a quarter of a million people to get back on their feet and start a new life. The group also spent their time in Tijuana working in a local dump that thousands of people call home. Schools, houses and a community center there are built mostly out of old garage doors and scrap metal.