Day 1: Hospitality Center/ Weaving for Justice/ Hope Border Institute

Dear friends and family, 

Today as trip leaders we were greeted by the local cat we named Chunky, when we woke up bright and early at 4:30am (Josh) and 7am (Alex and Ellie) to wake up our pals by screaming and pounding on the door. We went to breakfast at 8am where we had french toast, cereal, and bacon. Shortly after, we met Ashley, the immersion coordinator at BSC, who took us to the Hospitality Center where we made cards for the incoming immigrants and got a tour of the facility. Brett had a creative idea to make a Dr. Seuss card. Good job Brett! We had lunch at Santorini, a Mediterranean hot spot for NMSU students, where we bonded and played fun games together. Later on our journey we visited Weaving for Justice, hosted by a local church, where we learned about the many challenges the people of Chiapas, its partners, experience. There, several of us bought pieces of their art including bags, shirts and turtles. At around 2pm, we took a much needed brain break at Milagro's Coffee Shop where we further bonded and unfortunately baked in the 90 degree weather. Finally we topped off our day at the Border Institute where we had the pleasure to speak with Crystal who talked to us about the many complications of immigration. We showered her with questions and learned about the hardships immigrants face attempting to seek asylum. Now back at the Holy Cross Retreat Center and writing this blog alongside Jesus (see picture for context), we are looking forward to our dinner and playing games later tonight. Tomorrow, we are really looking forward to going to court and exploring the surrounding community.

                    Until tomorrow!

                                - Alex, Josh and Ellie

PS I hope this is good enough for you Mom and Dad. Tell Koko and Naya I say hi and miss them - Ellie

PSS Say hi to Tucker and the cat for me!!! - Alex

Pictures from the day are below, starting with a picture of us blogging about the day:


Morning icebreaker at Holy Cross Retreat Center (where we are staying)

Hearing about and getting a tour of Border Servant Corps.




Welcoming new immigrants with notes


Lunch at Santorini (Las Cruces, NM)

Hearing about Weaving for Justice




Learning about the difficult asylum-seeking process






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