Magazine PBRO April 2015

PresbyterianBorderRegionOutreach

US/Mexico Bi-National Ministry - Edition No. 02, April 2015

NEWS FROMTHE BORDER

and observed. One doll is male and the other is female. A child is asked to point to where the doll has been hurt and then asked what size bandage is needed. The child places the bandage on the doll and is told the bandage helps the doll feel better and better.

Soon the child understands and tells the therapist when the doll doesn’t hurt anymore. Then, the child is asked what happened to the doll. What part of the doll was hurt It’s an interview but without a lot of questions. The therapist wants to be sure the child identi�es with the healing of the doll.

Thanks is given to God that the doll feels better. The child is asked how long the bandages need to remain on the doll. Since open-ended questions can be confusing, time frames such as one, two, or three days are given as options. The child understands that she/he has helped to heal the doll. This enables children to understand they, too, can be part of their own healing process.

I am grateful for the Presbyterian Border Region Outreach and all they do to share the love of Jesus in a hurting city and for all those in our churches across the United States who are seeking just and fair immigration reform. Unless we understand our profound connection as children of God to people everywhere regardless of borders that have been created by humans we face a future of pain and misery.

Yours,James WinklerGeneral Secretary and President of the National Council of the Churches of Christ

Article taken from Presbyterian News Service and used with permission from O�ce of the General Assembly’s Teresa Waggener, Manager of Legal Services of the O�ce of Immigration Issues

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Edition No. 02, April 2015 PresbyterianBorderRegionOutreach

President John Nelsen

“Our PC(USA) co-workers Amanda Craft, Omar Chan, and Mark Adams, along with El Paso pastor

Jessica Vaughn Lower and O�ce of the General Assembly’s Teresa Waggener, provided

wonderful and insightful hospitality. The folks at Divino Salvador Presbyterian Church feasted us.

The event was a reminder that there are no geographical borders to God's love. ”

The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the Reverend Gradye Parsons, and members of the O�ce of the General Assembly and World Mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) were honored in February to spend a day with our ecumenical partners from the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) and international partners from the Waldensian Church of Italy addressing issues of migration and border policy in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The NCC lends their collective voice to issues of migration and wrote a powerful statement just this summer addressing our country’s treatment of families and children �eeing Central America.

PC(USA) mission coworkers, Amanda Craft and Omar Chan, from World Mission’s binational ministry in Texas, hosted the group of twenty-two as they visited ministries and outreach organizations on both sides of the border. The day ended with a dinner at Divino Salvador Presbyterian

Presbyterians host NCC at the Texas-Mexico Border

Church in El Paso, Texas, where Teresa Waggener from the O�ce of Immigration Issues, the Reverend Mark Adams from World Mission, and the Reverend Jessica Vaughn Lower from Grace Presbyterian Church, shared about U.S. immigration policy

and how it a�ects the communities they each serve.

Parsons, also an o�cer of the NCC, said of the event, “Our PC(USA) co-workers Amanda Craft, Omar Chan, and Mark Adams, along with El Paso pastor Jessica Vaughn Lower

and O�ce of the General Assembly’s Teresa Waggener, provided wonderful and insightful hospitality. The folks at Divino Salvador Presbyterian Church feasted us. The event was a reminder that there are no geographical borders to God's love.”

General Secretary and President of the National Council of the Churches of Christ, James Winkler, wrote a piece about his experience of this day for the NCC’s weekly newsletter. Read more below:

Femicide At The BorderLast week, the executive committee of the National Council of Churches met in El Paso, Texas at the Lydia Patterson Institute, a United Methodist school for 7th-12th graders, most of whom are from Ciudad Juarez. During our time on the border we traveled to Ciudad Juarez, where we visited a Presbyterian Church and “Casa Amiga,” an organization providing services to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Hundreds of women have been murdered or gone missing in Juarez over the past 20 years as a result of the rise of drug cartels, “maquiladores" (factories) on the border, and a deep-seated culture of misogyny.

At the church of Pasos de Fe we heard a Bible School teacher who is also a plumber and electrician tell of the skill-building classes he has developed for young people who would otherwise be on the streets. He told us he wants to help them be spiritually prepared to deal with the world, and to have skills to get an honest job. For several years, when the violence in Juarez was at a peak, ministries such as his had to be put on hold.

The local pastor, Roberto, told us he has been waiting for answers from God and asked for our prayers. Now, his congregation is developing a health ministry and a community kitchen. This church is located within sight of the US-Mexico border. As I drove along I-10 in El Paso and looked into Mexico I saw miles of extremely modest housing. It was a reminder to me of the systemic nature of poverty and exploitation that bene�ts the United States over Mexico.

“Femicide” is the term that has been coined to refer to the crisis of mass killing of women in Juarez. At Casa Amiga, a prevention program director explained to us theirs is the �rst organization in Juarez to receive women who are victims of violence. Their response to this crisis is to provide psychological, medical, legal, counseling, and emergency housing services to the women and children who survive.

Our group was privileged to observe a therapist demonstrate to a group of prospective counselors a technique utilizing dolls to help children open up about violence they have experienced

Members of Pasos de Fe Juan Antonio Garcia (left) and Roberto Mendoza (right) with Amanda Craft (center)

and observed. One doll is male and the other is female. A child is asked to point to where the doll has been hurt and then asked what size bandage is needed. The child places the bandage on the doll and is told the bandage helps the doll feel better and better.

Soon the child understands and tells the therapist when the doll doesn’t hurt anymore. Then, the child is asked what happened to the doll. What part of the doll was hurt It’s an interview but without a lot of questions. The therapist wants to be sure the child identi�es with the healing of the doll.

Thanks is given to God that the doll feels better. The child is asked how long the bandages need to remain on the doll. Since open-ended questions can be confusing, time frames such as one, two, or three days are given as options. The child understands that she/he has helped to heal the doll. This enables children to understand they, too, can be part of their own healing process.

I am grateful for the Presbyterian Border Region Outreach and all they do to share the love of Jesus in a hurting city and for all those in our churches across the United States who are seeking just and fair immigration reform. Unless we understand our profound connection as children of God to people everywhere regardless of borders that have been created by humans we face a future of pain and misery.

Yours,James WinklerGeneral Secretary and President of the National Council of the Churches of Christ

Article taken from Presbyterian News Service and used with permission from O�ce of the General Assembly’s Teresa Waggener, Manager of Legal Services of the O�ce of Immigration Issues

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The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the Reverend Gradye Parsons, and members of the O�ce of the General Assembly and World Mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) were honored in February to spend a day with our ecumenical partners from the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) and international partners from the Waldensian Church of Italy addressing issues of migration and border policy in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The NCC lends their collective voice to issues of migration and wrote a powerful statement just this summer addressing our country’s treatment of families and children �eeing Central America.

PC(USA) mission coworkers, Amanda Craft and Omar Chan, from World Mission’s binational ministry in Texas, hosted the group of twenty-two as they visited ministries and outreach organizations on both sides of the border. The day ended with a dinner at Divino Salvador Presbyterian

Church in El Paso, Texas, where Teresa Waggener from the O�ce of Immigration Issues, the Reverend Mark Adams from World Mission, and the Reverend Jessica Vaughn Lower from Grace Presbyterian Church, shared about U.S. immigration policy

and how it a�ects the communities they each serve.

Parsons, also an o�cer of the NCC, said of the event, “Our PC(USA) co-workers Amanda Craft, Omar Chan, and Mark Adams, along with El Paso pastor Jessica Vaughn Lower

and O�ce of the General Assembly’s Teresa Waggener, provided wonderful and insightful hospitality. The folks at Divino Salvador Presbyterian Church feasted us. The event was a reminder that there are no geographical borders to God's love.”

General Secretary and President of the National Council of the Churches of Christ, James Winkler, wrote a piece about his experience of this day for the NCC’s weekly newsletter. Read more below:

Femicide At The BorderLast week, the executive committee of the National Council of Churches met in El Paso, Texas at the Lydia Patterson Institute, a United Methodist school for 7th-12th graders, most of whom are from Ciudad Juarez. During our time on the border we traveled to Ciudad Juarez, where we visited a Presbyterian Church and “Casa Amiga,” an organization providing services to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Hundreds of women have been murdered or gone missing in Juarez over the past 20 years as a result of the rise of drug cartels, “maquiladores" (factories) on the border, and a deep-seated culture of misogyny.

At the church of Pasos de Fe we heard a Bible School teacher who is also a plumber and electrician tell of the skill-building classes he has developed for young people who would otherwise be on the streets. He told us he wants to help them be spiritually prepared to deal with the world, and to have skills to get an honest job. For several years, when the violence in Juarez was at a peak, ministries such as his had to be put on hold.

The local pastor, Roberto, told us he has been waiting for answers from God and asked for our prayers. Now, his congregation is developing a health ministry and a community kitchen. This church is located within sight of the US-Mexico border. As I drove along I-10 in El Paso and looked into Mexico I saw miles of extremely modest housing. It was a reminder to me of the systemic nature of poverty and exploitation that bene�ts the United States over Mexico.

“Femicide” is the term that has been coined to refer to the crisis of mass killing of women in Juarez. At Casa Amiga, a prevention program director explained to us theirs is the �rst organization in Juarez to receive women who are victims of violence. Their response to this crisis is to provide psychological, medical, legal, counseling, and emergency housing services to the women and children who survive.

Our group was privileged to observe a therapist demonstrate to a group of prospective counselors a technique utilizing dolls to help children open up about violence they have experienced

"Not One More". Cross at the Mexican border of the International Bridge that stands in memory of the women and girl victims of femicide in Juarez.

Edition No. 02, April 2015


Hosting a special visitor: PCUSA Moderator Dr. Heath K. Rada On February 13th, Dr. Heath K. Rada, Moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) arrived in El Paso, TX. He was accompanied by his wife Peggy. Their time in El Paso was part of a visit to Tres Rios Presbytery in February 2015. We were pleased that the ministries in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico were included in their visit. General Missioner of Tres Rios Presbytery Rev. Dr. Jose Luis Casal was instrumental in organizing the visit. Jose accompanied by his wife Cecilia, Rev. Dr. Dan Saperstein, Co-Leader for Mission and Partnership of the Synod of the Sun and Bart Teeter, Moderator of Tres Rios Presbytery were part of the visiting group.

We, Omar Chan, Facilitator for Presbyterian Border Region Outreach (PBRO) and Amanda Craft, Regional Liaison for Mexico and Guatemala were invited to host the Radas for lunch on Friday and guide them through a visit of several sites in Ciudad Juarez. We discussed ministries along the border, historic and present, that have touched so many. Since 2012, the six sites along the border had renewed their commitment to working more closely together. With a new name, Presbyterian Border Region Outreach (PBRO), came a new mission: to address root causes of poverty and violence, especially as they a�ect women and children. We highlighted work from a variety of sites – ministering to migrants and at-risk children, providing preventive health care services, and Café Justo. The lunch ended with an o�ering of gifts of several books highlighting the work along the

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border and co�ee from Café Justo.After lunch we trekked into Ciudad Juarez. In Juarez, Pasos de Fe counterparts were waiting for us. Our �rst stop was at a monument created in memory of the murdered or missing women and girls of Juarez. The monument was constructed on land where six young women’s corpses were found in two days. It now stood as a reminder of these atrocities and for the ongoing need to keep investigations alive in search of the many still missing. Crosses stand in

memory of the women who lost their lives in this place, and plaques adorn walls remembering others who have lost their lives in other locations. In a special moment, PCUSA Moderator Dr. Heath K. Rada led us in prayer to remember the lives lost, those who continue to search and hope, and those who are working to make life safer.

The next visit led us to Casa Amiga (Friendly House); one of the few organizations in Ciudad Juarez that o�ers holistic care for victims of violence – women, men, and children. They provide psychological, medical, legal, and social work support. There is also a secret emergency shelter available for women who are in immediate danger and need immediate protection. After learning about how those who work in this place risk their lives to do what they do, Dr. Heath K. Rada o�ered a powerful prayer for their safety, for those who are victims of violence that they may �nd

healing, and that we may all be called to act against root causes of violence.

Our last stop was to PBRO ministry site Pasos de Fe. We were treated to meeting a special group of young men who come from homes that su�er extreme poverty. They are at risk of falling into gangs and organized crime as their families struggle to provide them with meals, shelter, and education. Hermano Isaias Ramirez started working with these and others o�ering a training program teaching electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning duct work. The skills help them �nd jobs around town supplying economic sustenance. The pay from the jobs they do helps them continue their studies and purchase additional supplies. Pasos de Fe provides space, economic, and spiritual support for these individuals. The boys told the group about why this has been important saying the program provides them something that will bene�t them in the future and that it’s fun to do with friends. Moderator Rada answered kindly. He encouraged them to stay involved with the program and their studies. He could see how encouraged they were by it and he in turn was encouraged by what they can do. At

the end of our gathering, Dr. Rada prayed again, ending this time together and blessing the wonderful work he experienced during the visit to Pasos de Fe.

We thank Moderator, Dr. Heath K. Rada and his wife Peggy for their meaningful visit. We thank Rev. Dr. Jose Luis Casal for making the visit possible.

PCUSA Moderator with distinguish guests visiting with Omar Chan Facilitator of PBRO.

PCUSA Moderator Dr. Heath Rada meeting Pasos de Fe Board members in Ciudad Juarez


Join us in giving thanks to God for what He is doing

in our midst!

In just the �rst few months of 2015, Proyecto Amistad has almost doubled its size by expanding programs into the rural indigenous Presbytery of the Huastecas (Huastecas region of the Mexican states of Hidalgo and San Luis Potosi). Late in 2014, Proyecto Amistad �nanced a training program for ministry leaders in the presbytery so that they might initiate Club Amistad programs in their communities. To date, seven congregations have begun ministering to approximately 200 children! Using the AMO® Curriculum developed by Chrysalis International, the Clubs provide weekly studies of the Bible, classical Children´s literature, the arts, and music, along with developmental recreational activities

Proyecto Amistad Grows Beyond the Border

This program grew out of a workshop on stewardship of creation shared during a meeting of the Presbytery of Chihuahua. So now we are recycling paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum; however, we collect mostly plastic bottles and cardboard.

We receive very little money in pesos from the recycling; for example they pay 40 cents Mexican pesos for 2.2 lbs. of paper or cardboard. However, we are promoting care of the Creation (environment) over the cost of collection and payment per pound.

We found an urban legend that many people here like to tell that the Oncology Hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico could provide chemotherapy treatment for a poor child with cancer for 1000 caps

Compañerosen Misión The tale of 1000 plastic bottle caps

from plastic bottles or other containers. Even though this story is not true, people like to believe in it.

The reality is this:

1. The hospital was created and equipped with everything needed by the federal government of Mexico.

2. The Mexican government covers all of the hospital’s expenses – the equipment, the maintenance, the doctors, the sta�, etc. 3. Each chemotherapy treatment runs more than 100,000 pesos (6,450 USD). It is impossible that 1000 plastic bottle caps


and a meal. Materials and �nancial resources are provided by Amistad. Local churches implement the program with volunteers. Amistad has also rewarded scholarships to �ve high school students and two seminarians in the Huastecas in an e�ort to slow the

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News From The Ministry Sitescould cover this cost.

4. There is an o�ce within the hospital that runs this recycling program to gather funds for many people who live in di�erent parts of Sonora or even from other states that do not have money for food, for transportation, for lodging, for medicines, etc. The funds raised from this recycling program help these people during their visits to the hospital.

And from where do these bottle caps come? From many places – brothers and sisters from the Iglesia Sol de Justicia (Sun of Justice Church) in Nogales, Sonora gather caps; and during our visits to the prison in Nogales Sonora, several prisoners turn in their collected bottle caps. There are also brothers and sisters in churches in the United States who collect caps. Recently we were informed that hospitals and schools in Tucson are gathering thousands of bottle caps weekly due to the work of one of Compañeros en Mision’s board members, Lucy Greenleaf. We may not be covering chemotherapy treatments, but we are helping those who need the assistance.

attrition rates in the area which can be as high as 80% due to lack of �nances and adult encouragement.

Amistad is also excited to announce Susie Frerichs´ return to the ministry. Susie served Amistad from 1994-2006 as US Coordinator and in late 2006 she was transferred to the Presbytery of the

Huastecas where she served the Presbyterian Church (USA) until the partnership with the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico was severed in 2011. Having married a man from the area just a month before, Susie continued to serve the Presbytery as a local missionary. Now she is also back at Amistad, coordinating Amistad´s expansion into the Huastecas and maintaining contact with the ministry´s US partners from her home in Ejido El Frijolillo, San Martin Chalchicuautla in the state of San Luis Potosi. Susie and her husband Abraham serve in ministry through The Antioch Partners, a mission sending agency of the Outreach Foundation and Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship.

Coordinator Dr. Jorge Pasos with representative of recycling program

Susie Frerichs de Hernandez Coordinator for Ministries in the Huastecas with her husband

Abraham Hernandez



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There is a common perception that many United States immigrants -documented and undocumented- come to the U.S. chasing the “American Dream.” Ask some of the people who formed and maintain the Mexico-based co�ee company Café Justo and they’ll tell you otherwise.

“Uni�cation of the family, I think that’s the dream,” said Daniel Cifuentes, a manager at Café Justo in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, and one of the founders. “I think that’s the dream of all of us, to be united with our families.”

“To be able to go forward in life … to see our children grow,” whether in the U.S. or in Mexico, he said.

That’s why he and his cohorts at Café Justo are working to empower Mexican and other co�ee growers to earn a fair wage. Formed in 2002 by members of Lily of the Valley Presbyterian Church in Agua Prieta, Café Justo is a network of co�ee grower cooperatives that grow, roast,

Frontera de CristoMexico-based co�ee cooperatives empower growers, eliminate need for migrationBy: Toya Richards Jackson-O�ce of the General Assambly

Pueblos HermanosCalling Us to be Faithful

package, and ship their own co�ee.

“We started with two workers here in Agua Prieta and now we have seven working here … and three more in the state of Chiapas” said Cifuentes, whose family has been growing co�ee since they were indentured by Germans in the early 1800s.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Mission Co-worker Mark Adams, with Presbyterian Border Ministry in Agua Prieta, was instrumental in the co-op’s founding, and today both he and his wife, Mission Co-worker Miriam Maldonado Escobar, continue to work collaboratively with Café Justo.

Over the years Café Justo also has received support from the PC(USA)’s Self-Development of People program and Presbyterian Women.

“The idea was to share the experience that we were living as farmers, as an organization, with other communities in

Mexico, but also outside of Mexico,” Cifuentes said, adding that Café Justo’s work extends into Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Haiti as well.

He said when they began Café Justo many families were leaving their communities and heading for the United States. “Now, with what Café Justo is doing, we’ve seen the return of some of those families.”

Members of Café Justo cooperatives are paid roughly three times the amount that growers are typically paid by standard commercial operations.

“We at Café Justo have adopted a vision, and the vision is to reduce the percentage of migration of farmers to the United States,” Cifuentes said. “We think that this is the best way, and helps families be able to stay in their place of origin.”

Café Justo’s Carmina Sanchez said in the past when there wasn’t work she had thoughts of going to the U.S., but she’s very content now working with the co�ee co-op. “That possibility of crossing into the United States has gone from my mind.”

For consumers of Café Justo co�ee, “each time you drink a cup of co�ee you have in your mind that you are helping a family,” Sanchez said. “You can be sure you are helping those families remain together, and they don’t have to separate.”

At Pueblos Hermanos we continue to seek how God is calling us to be faithful. One such moment was through a participating bi-national relationship-building caravan that featured stops at two churches in Tijuana, Ensenada and Maneadero. Pueblos Hermanos Bookkeeper Marge Guentzler and Salud y Vida Nurse Martha Gonzales Rojas gained insight into the needs and potentials of the work in Baja California Norte.

We also had the pleasure of a visit from Presbyterian Border Region Outreach (PBRO) Facilitator, Omar Chan (center). During his visit San Diego Presbytery

Executive Presbyter Rev. Dr. Clark Cowden learned about the new structure of border ministry under PBRO during Omar’s orientation tour of Puebleos Hermanos with Bob Batten�eld. Rev. Dr. Cowden also outlined Hispanic Ministries within the Presbytery. Other conversations took place on such topics as immigration with Rev. Mike McClenahan and Rev. Juan Daniel Espitia at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church; and we visited churches in Tijuana that were founded by Pueblos Hermanos: Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Vida, and Dios Es Amor.

Co�ee growers in Chiapas drying co�ee beans.

Rev. Clark Cowden, Omar Chan, Bob Batten�eld


Puentes de Cristo renews its vow to continue ministering the Good News of the Gospel in a comprehensive manner through various programs, projects and evangelistic activities that strive to:

- Share a message of redemption and repentance to every human being.

- Fight causes of poverty among sectors of the most marginalized people in the US-Mexico border area.- Promote reconciliation and peace in the midst of the current culture of violence that exists in this part of the world.

- Foster respect and dignity of nature and human life particularly for the most vulnerable people such as children, women, the elderly, and immigrants.

- Provide opportunities for dialogue, education, and cultural exchange between Christians, north and south of the Gran Rio Bravo.

Puentes de Cristo is a Presbyterian ministry in the geographic jurisdiction of Mission Presbytery in Texas. The mission focus of Puentes endorses the vision of Mission Presbytery to extend ministries to establish healthy Christian communities and share the gospel of Jesus to every human kind; and therefore, Puentes plays the role of a missionary gift and extension of the work of Mission Presbytery to the border lands.

Puentes de Cristo encourages and invites all churches and Presbyterian constituencies in Texas and beyond to join e�orts, gifts, prayers, and �nancial resources to uphold this testimony of Christ here at the border. The rupture of relations with the Presbyterian Church of Mexico has not closed the call of God to minister in this place, but has instead opened unexpected opportunities to bring signs of the Kingdom in the midst of dramatic history that Mexico lives today.


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Puentes de CristoMinistering the Good News in the US-Mexico borderlands

What a great start to year 2015 for Pasos de Fe! We received two great groups in February – a delegation accompanying the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dr. Heath K. Rada and a delegation on behalf of the National Council of Churches in Christ in the USA (NCC). Both groups deeply a�rmed the ministry we are engaging.

Pasos de Fe also continues to support and enrich a ministry with at-risk children and youth in the Colonia de Guadalajara in Ciudad Juarez. These children and youth come from families that �nd it di�cult to feed them su�ciently and �nd funds to send them to school. They have found an alternative to the struggles and chaos they would �nd on the streets.

The ministry started on the day hermano Isaias Ramirez saw a group of young boys waiting to �nd work at a local mechanic’s shop. He asked if they had eaten breakfast, and went to quickly buy a gordita (small tortilla sandwich of rice and meat) upon hearing that they had not. The next day he returned to the mechanic’s shop looking for them. After learning where they lived, hermano Isaias

Pasos de fe Accompanynig Children and Youth

went to ask them what they needed, what they hoped for. They explained that day labor in the mechanic’s shop proved to be di�cult physically and they were paid poorly for their time. The boys wanted to �nd a job that was digni�ed and paid enough to help with the family expenses. A thought quickly came to hermano Isaias. What was he going to do with his trade skills once he left this world? So, he decided they would be better invested if he would teach the boys these skills.

A small group started coming to Isaias’ small home to learn how to do electrical, plumbing, and duct work. The group quickly grew to 10 children and youth of boys and girls that come to his house 2 to 3 times a week for a meal, skill training, and assistance with their homework. They are growing with the program, enjoying what they are learning, and helping others. The income they have earned from jobs has helped several children with school supplies and uniforms. They are working this year to cover school costs for one of the older boys so that he can continue his formal studies.

Pasos de Fe helps the program with �nancial support and lends space so that the larger group has a place to work more easily. The Presbyterian churches in Ciudad Juarez also assist with �nding the group jobs and by buying di�erent products they produce like metal dustpans. There is ongoing conversations within several women’s groups of the churches to provide meals. Pasos de Fe is also working on securing several volunteers to assist the group with basic health check-ups and personal care, to provide computer training and English classes, and accompany the children and their families with spiritual support. The following quote by PCUSA Mission Co-worker Amanda Craft illustrates how this ministry is providing an alternative for these youth. “It was a sunny day in Ciudad Juarez, but inside the cinderblock building, it felt chilly. However, the warm encouragement and support being shared with several adolescent boys from the neighborhood warmed the space. It was a privilege to be present in that moment.”

God is guiding Pasos de Fe to be present in a new way through a meaningful ministry. We are grateful to see the ministry grow.

Two of the Youth during training

Rev. Jessy Gonzalez, Omar Chan and Andres Garcia


Getting InvolvedFor more information about how to be involved through PBRO including hosting a speaker from the organization, please contact Omar Chan at [email protected]

Giving OpportunitiesFinancial donations can be given at www.presbyertianmission.org/donate/E047933.

It is through your thoughtful and prayerful support that PBRO can engage in these transformative ministries along the border. THANK YOU very much!

- PBRO Team


Six bi-national border ministries sites at PBRO Contact US 1. Frontera de CristoDouglas, Arizona/Agua Prieta, Sonorawww.fronteradecristo.orgP.O. Box 1112 Douglas, AZ 856082. Pueblos HermanosSan Diego, California/Tijuana, Baja CaliforniaChula Vista Presbyterian Church 940 Hilltop Dr. Chula Vista, CA 91911Phone: 619.599.44713. Compañeros en MisiónNogales, Arizona/Nogales, SonoraPO Box 1966Nogales, AZ 85628Phone/Fax: 520.287.3060 Email: [email protected]. Pasos de FeEl Paso, TX/Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua244 N Resler, El Paso TX 79912Phone: 915.584.58225. Puentes de CristoMcAllen, Texas/Reynosa, TamaulipasPO Box 1499Hidalgo, TX 78557Telephone: 956.843.7277Fax: 956.843.7279Andres and Gloria Garcia , US CoordinatorsEmail: [email protected]. Proyecto AmistadLaredo, Texas/Nuevo Laredo, TamaulipasPO Box 6777Laredo, TX 78042Phone: 830.719.5812Email: [email protected] Roberto Medina, Mexican Coordinator Email: [email protected]

From Douglas, Arizona & Agua Prieta, Sonorato Salvador Urbina, Chiapas

• Walk the trails on which many co�ee farmers have migrated.• Visit the Just Co�ee roasting facility.• Get an overview of the U.S. border policy.• Have conversations with ranching families a�ected by migration.• Tour the Douglas Border Patrol Station.• Enjoy fellowship and meals with families who have migrated from Chiapas.• Spend time in biblical re�ection and prayer.• Have fun at the �esta with the members of The Just Co�ee Cooperative.• Participate in harvesting co�ee.• Enjoy fellowship and meals with the families of the cooperative.• And much more...

Co�ee, migration & faith

For more information or to register, contact Trisha Maldonado

at [email protected]

2015 Border to BorderNovember 6 -14, 2015

Documents

Magazine PBRO April 2015