{"id":537,"date":"2012-02-16T18:58:09","date_gmt":"2012-02-17T01:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/?p=537"},"modified":"2012-02-16T18:58:09","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T01:58:09","slug":"loaves-and-fishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/?p=537","title":{"rendered":"Loaves and Fishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many things I encounter at the comedor in Nogales, Sonora, remind me of Bible stories. Today is no exception. As the Samaritans approach the humble comedor shelter, there is a large crowd assembled in front. One hundred or more are inside having breakfast. Outside another one hundred migrants gather on this windy cold February morning waiting for some warmth and nourishment.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

the multitude<\/p><\/div>\n

I just read this very morning in the New York Times that the numbers of immigrants at the US\/Mexico border are down. I don’t get it. This is the largest crowd I have seen this past year.\u00a0 Two hundred hungry cold travelers.\u00a0 Maybe it is the full moon and the mild winter we have been experiencing? The desert is aglow in the moonlight making it easier to hike and the temperatures have been reasonable these past few weeks. And of course the moonlight makes it easier for Border Patrol (la migra<\/em>) to spot these desert travelers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

a prayer for guidance<\/p><\/div>\n

Our Samaritan group hurries inside the comedor and forms an assembly line of breakfast servers. And the kitchen is running out of food—the stew, the beans, the eggs are down to the last dregs in the cooking pans. What to do? <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ask and ye shall receive<\/p><\/div>\n

Suddenly from out of nowhere a truck pulls up and men begin carrying in boxes of tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. As the first shift of migrants finish their meal, I see several of them hanging back and washing dishes, wiping down tables, and peeling potatoes and eggplant for the next group of 100 hungry travelers. We all pitch in and quickly peel and chop and soon the glorious smell of frying potatoes and chilis and vegetables fills the air. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

eggplant choppers<\/p><\/div>\n

And I remember the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes with 2 fishes and a couple of loaves of bread. Wasn’t it 3,000 in that throng? 4,000 maybe? It is a story I loved as a child, because I have always believed in miracles and this was one I could understand. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not like some of those Biblical parables that I still struggle to comprehend. Not like our immigration policies which are incomprehensible to me. Not like a Congress that rewards the rich and stomps on the poor. Not like the politics of Arizona that make it a crime to cross the line in order to survive and work. Not like…<\/span><\/p>\n

But I digress.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

sorting the beans and making a miracle<\/p><\/div>\n

Food is tangible. You wash it, peel it, cook it, and nourish the body and soul. Perhaps I am a simple person that enjoys this sort of instant gratification. The Samaritans may not be saving the world and making huge dents in our broken immigration policy, but we are helping to feed 200 people this morning and putting warm clothes on their back. And we are making friends in the process as we listen to their stories and work together peeling a bushel of potatoes. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

serving breakfast<\/p><\/div>\n

Soon we are handing out warm clothes to the weary travelers. Underneath the piles of jackets and flannel shirts there is an expensive pin-stripe suit, fit for a banker or Wall Street broker. Perfect for a stroll across the Sonoran desert in February. Right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

zoot suit for the desert<\/p><\/div>\n

Shura, who has no fear or inhibitions it seems, grabs that suit and puts it on, strutting about like a racketeer from the 1940’s. She is a zoot-suiter. Or Rupert Murdoch. Whatever. It is another classic moment of laughter and pain.\u00a0 Despair and joy run side by side this morning. The migrants are laughing as much as we are. Sometimes it is all you can do when the chips are down and you are truly stuck in a place that stops you cold. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

kitty on the speaker<\/p><\/div>\n

And I think to myself as I walk back to the U.S. with my Samaritan friends that being witness to the dignity and strength of the Latino migrants is a miracle—a miracle of human endurance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

warm blankets for February nights<\/p><\/div>\n

I am a person who no longer attends church or buys into organized religion, and yet I am continually reminded of how the Spirit resides and lives on this border. The migrants I meet are truly children of God. Being with them here today stops me cold. And fills me with warmth and awe. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

water at the well--an image at the comedor<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So many things I encounter at the comedor in Nogales, Sonora, remind me of Bible stories. Today is no exception. As the Samaritans approach the humble comedor shelter, there is a large crowd assembled in front. One hundred or more are inside having breakfast. Outside another one hundred migrants gather on this windy cold February […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":562,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions\/562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}