Experiencing the Body of Christ on the Border

Last month, in response to an appeal by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to religious communities in the United States, Sr. Shawn Marie Doyle SND served as a volunteer for Annunciation House, a Catholic organization that accompanies migrant, homeless and economically vulnerable peoples of the border region, providing services, advocacy and education. During the same time period, Sr. Joyce Marie Bates SND from the Toledo Province also volunteered.

“Taking people to the bus stop [or airport] was worth everything. I was on a tiny piece of their journey.”

Sr. Shawn Marie worked eight to ten-hour shifts, sorting clothing for those who needed fresh articles, making hygiene packs with small toiletries and wash cloths, cleaning bathrooms, helping in the kitchen preparing sandwiches and snacks for the migrants’ long journey ahead, and lots of laundry! She was also asked to assist in transporting individuals to the airport or bus station to be reunited with friends or family. During her many trips she encountered people from all walks of life, each of them holding a story in their heart. Sr. Shawn reminisced, “Taking people to the bus stop [or airport] was worth everything. I was on a tiny piece of their journey.” While she deeply appreciated these opportunities to be of service, she admitted, “my greatest reservation was not knowing enough Spanish.” She commented that while every single individual made an impression on her, one of the most notable stories was that of a mother and father with two small children, ages two years and ten months old, who had walked for a month from Honduras.

The parents’ greatest fear was that by the time their two-year-old son turned five, he would be kidnapped by the Honduran gangs who run the area and be forced to steal and kill for the corrupt organization. This family planned to travel by plane to meet with relatives in Ohio, then drive to their final destination in Kentucky.

Since 1978, Annunciation House has been operating houses of hospitality for migrants and refugees in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, approximately ten blocks north of the U.S./Mexico border. Their website points out, “Our proximity to the border shapes the work we do and the life we live; we are truly a border community!” Volunteers place themselves among the poor to gain a better understanding of more just relationships between people, countries and economies. Currently, Annunciation House helps to relieve overcrowding in the detention centers, serving approximately 3,500 refugees who are released from the centers each week. Each refugee receives a warm welcome, a clean bed, a change of clothes, food and the gift of hope.

During her two-week stay, Sr Shawn Marie learned many things about the status of the border crisis and about herself. When asked what her biggest take away was, she smiled, saying, “My biggest take away is to be kind to each other. It’s not an us and they, it’s we. We are the Body of Christ.”

Photo Caption: While working 8 to 10 hour days, Sr. Shawn Marie Doyle takes a break with other volunteers from Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas.