A Week in the Life of a YAV

A Week in the Life of a Young Adult Volunteer

I wrote most of this blog a few months ago, but never finished it until now.  Here is a depiction of one of my many full, challenging, and joyful weeks during my YAV year.

Sunday, Oct. 26th, 2014

I start the day by visiting my coworker's Spanish-speaking Pentecostal church.  Unsurprisingly an hour service turns into three hours of singing, laughing, praying, and eating.  My coworker, Nancy, sings beautifully and also stars in a biblical skit about David.  Apparently, Apostle David was blonde...

Nancy dressed as David

Next, I come home to discover that we have spontaneously decided to host a barbecue for 15 people so I start chopping and marinating.  A beautiful mixture of coworkers, volunteers, and refugees show up with an array of foods and drinks.  We sit outside and enjoy the balmy late-October weather Arizona has gifted us.  The evening morphs into a time of sharing musical talents.  Hanbyeol plays the flute and sings a high-pitched, airy Korean song.  (Listen here.)  Emily chimes in with a deep, soulful tune.  Jean Marie, a Burundi refugee, sings "He Raised Me up."  I sit back and marvel at the rich culture and talent that surround me. 


Monday, Oct. 27th, 2014

After work, I go to my first Academia Liderazgo (Leadership Academy) meeting, the first of an eight-week course on community organizing and social justice issues.  As I sit and eat my Domino's pizza I note what it feels like to be one of the two White people in the room.  We go around the room to introduce ourselves, where we are from, and what organization we represent.  The room is full of people involved in diverse political and social groups that serve the Latin American immigrant community in Tucson.  We go through the syllabus, which includes topics such as systems of oppression, machismo, and Zapatismo.  I am excited to be learning about these issues and am especially grateful to be learning side-by-side with Spanish-speaking individuals who have experienced the negative effects of immigration policy and have decided to get involved to educate and uplift their communities.  I feel privileged to be in this space. 


Tuesday, Oct. 28th, 2014

I get to work at 7:30 AM and jump in the van.  We drive for an hour before arriving at Florence Detention Center.  I check to make sure I am prepared: close-toed shoes, no revealing clothing, and an ID.  I've been briefed on what to say and do, but I am still nervous.

As I wait for the guards to escort me into the visiting room, Norlan, a local day laborer, and activist, walks out of detention.  Just by coincidence, I was there at the exact moment he was released.  Finally outside the prison walls, he walks swiftly up to his beaming partner Marbel, gives her a hug and kisses his baby girl.  I feel so happy to see him reunited with his family.  I met Marbel and her baby, Genesis, on my first day of work at BorderLinks.  They were the first family I had ever met that had experienced detention.  I feel grateful that I have been able to witness this part of their story and congratulate them on Norlan's release.  
Read my blog about meeting Marbel.

Marbel, Norlan and baby Genesis together at last!

I walk into the detention visiting room and meet Estrella, a trans-gender person from Guatemala.  We sit down, introduce ourselves, and exchange awkward smiles.  First, we chat about Guatemala and then she tells me her story.  She migrated north to escape cartel and anti-trans violence.  Read my blog entry about Estrella.  Although, she has experienced much trauma, she keeps a positive disposition.  We laugh, draw pictures, and she even predicts my future through palm reading.

***Estrella was released from detention in December and is now fighting her asylum case from a safe place.  I was thrilled to learn she'd been released!

Picture take mid-January: Estrella and me at my house

Wednesday, Oct. 29th, 2014

After work, I walk home and cook dinner for my housemates.  We have a community dinner once a week where we eat together and go over any house business.

Thursday, Oct. 30th, 2014 

I have no recollection of Thursday. Ooops.

Friday, Oct. 31st, 2014 

On Fridays, we have a Community Day.  This means that instead of going to work, my roommates, my site coordinator Brandon, and I spend time together as a community.  We do many things such as discuss books, worship, explore vocational discernment, go to events in Mexico and Cascabel, or go hiking.

On Halloween, we went on a beautiful hike through Pima Canyon.  We crossed many streams and admired the cacti.

Halloween hike in Pima Canyon

View of Tucson from Pima Canyon

After Community Day, we went downtown to celebrate Halloween!

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day!

In honor of the faithful activist Martin Luther King, Jr., I would like to share a call and response text I read at Saint Mark's Presbyterian Church yesterday.  I found Martin's quotes to be both touching and timely.  

Our Response in Faith

Call

Response

We remember the conviction of Martin Luther King Jr. that "freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

Therefore, let us pray for courage and determination to stand by those who are oppressed. (Silent prayer)

We remember Martin's warning that "a negative peace which is the absence of tension" is less than "a positive peace which is the presence of justice."

Therefore, let us pray and work for justice for all people that we may live in peace with one another. (Silent prayer)

We remember Martin's insight that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

Therefore, let us pray that we may see nothing in isolation, but may know ourselves bound to one another and to all people under heaven. (Silent prayer)

We remember Martin's lament that "the contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.  It is so often that arch-supporter of the status quo.  Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are."

Therefore, let us pray that neither this congregation nor any congregation of Christ's people may be silent in the face of wrong, but that we may be disturbers of the status quo when that is God's call to us. (Silent prayer)

We remember Martin's hope that "dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not-too-distant tomorrow that radiant stars of love and true community will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."

Therefore, let us be a people of hope as we work and pray toward a world of peace and justice.  Amen

Assumptions Enforced

Assumptions Enforced
(or not)

I work at BorderLinks leading educational trips or delegations that introduce people to the border and immigration issues.  Groups come from colleges, graduate schools, seminaries, and churches across the country.  During a delegation, participants meet with different immigration stakeholders such as immigrant-led political organizing groups, border patrol, and pastors involved in the sanctuary movement.  In addition, participants learn about topics like NAFTA, Popular Education, border history, and the prison system in interactive workshops led by BorderLinks staff.  Delegations are an intense whirlwind of complex ideas, personal stories, and strong emotions.  Days are often long, challenging, and eye-opening.  Participants leave broken-hearted, inspired, and determined to change our broken immigration system.

I got back from winter vacation ready to lead my second delegation.  I was excited, but nervous as it was the first delegation I would plan completely on my own.  Reading my participants' applications, I felt uneasy.  These students were very different from most people who I know and have grown up around.  Most were from the midwest, studying criminal justice, and hoping to go into law enforcement.  One of the male participants was planning on joining the Border Patrol after graduation.  About half the group had never been outside of the country and most had not lived in multicultural settings.  How would this group react to BorderLinks' liberal ideology?  Would they feel comfortable in this immersive cultural environment?

After meeting the group at the airport, I breathed a sign of relief.  They were great.  When I asked them to help put luggage on the roof rack they immediately organized as a team, volunteering to help.  Driving back to the office, several of the group members talked about football and hunting.  I chuckled, thinking about how different this was from my San Francisco upbringing.  When we got into the office, one of the men asked me if there was something to drink.  I responded, "There's only milk in the fridge."  His face lit up as he said, "I love milk.  I'm from Wisconsin."  I smiled and thought, this'll be fun.

As the week went on I got to know the participants better.  Over meals, we cracked jokes and talked about our personal lives.  Many of my participants work at least one job in addition to going to school full time.  One of the women goes to school, works as a waitress, and works the night shift at a gas station (10 PM - 6 AM).  She only sleeps a few hours from Sunday to Tuesday.  I was amazed by my participants' work ethic and persistence.   Many of them are first-generation college students, forging their own path.

About halfway through the week, the participants stayed with host families in Tucson.  These families are made of immigrants who are active in their community.  BorderLinks routinely organizes home stays so participants can meet people who are directly affected by immigration issues.  As I dropped off the participants, I noticed several were anxious as they had never done a home stay and they did not speak much Spanish.  I assured them that all our home stay families are friendly, welcoming, and have hosted many students before.

The next morning, I got up early to pick up students from home stay houses.  While driving, I got call from the group leader notifying me of "a situation."  The college president had found a student's Tweet (from Twitter) that said they had been "kicked out of their lodging, forced to live with illegals, and not allowed to call Homeland."  My heart sank.  Who wrote this?  Did someone actually want to call Homeland Security on these immigrant families?  Was someone going to call ICE?

Source: Google Images

Comments like this on social media can be vague, unintentional and extremely hurtful.  To me, this Tweet was a threat.  My jaw clenched as I thought about the families who had generously and bravely opened their houses to these students.  Where they now in danger?  Had I put these people in harm's way?  

Hurt and panicked, I began to doubt the trust I had put in these students.  After reconvening, I immediately sat the group down and explained the severity of inflammatory comments on social media.  Also, I described what it would look like if someone called ICE on one of these families.  Imagine flashing lights, crying children, not being able to contact your family for days, detention, an expensive bond, and a chance of being deported, separated from your home and family.  Disappointed and perplexed, I looked out at the group for reactions.  Most participants were shocked and apologetic as this Tweet did not reflect the majority's opinions or home stay experiences.  In fact, the Tweet was not written by someone in the delegation, but by their friend who did not fully understand the context.

Although I still felt violated, I breathed deeply, knowing that the Tweet should not be taken seriously.  Yet, I reflected on why this may have happened.  Many of my participants grew up in environments that have a high respect for cops and believe you should do your best to enforce the law whenever possible.  As many are going into policing, they maybe experienced an internal conflict or cognitive dissonance when living with a person had immigrated illegally.  Using this logic helped me understand my participants' perspectives, but did not shift my opinion that this Tweet was a callous, disrespectful display of entitlement and power.

Although I dutifully follow most laws myself, I try to think critically about the law.  I do not think that government-dictated rules necessarily have higher moral authority than personal or religious values.  Even though laws are powerful, foundational structures that control our lives, they can be changed quickly with a politician's signature.  In the last couple years, huge cultural concepts such as our legislative definition of marriage has changed.  Laws are a flexible, impermanent cultural constructs.

Mike Wilson, a member of the Tohono O'odham tribe in Arizona, is known for his controversial work distributing drinking water for passing migrants on the Tohono O'odham nation.  Although, this is against his tribe's laws, he continues to do it because he believes the God's law is greater than any man-made law.  If we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, we would give them water.  If we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, we would help them through deadly terrain.  If we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, we would let them live in peace with their families.  

Acts 5:29: "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'"

Despite this negative moment during my delegation, the rest of the trip went well.  The participants expressed a greater, more complex understanding of immigration policy, undocumented immigrants, and minority-police relations.  One participant wrote, "The most impactful part for me was the home stay...being able to talk one-on-one with them really opened my eyes... This will inform my decisions in my career in law enforcement for my whole life."

I thank this delegation for opening my eyes.  They taught me more about police work, the military, and what it is like to live in a different part of the United States.  I think we both shocked, challenged, and comforted one another.  Most of all, we reminded each other to meet people where they are in their life journey without making hurtful comments or assumptions.