Sights and Thoughts from the Border

Most people who come to Mexico through the Tijuana border crossing have the image stuck in their mind of long lines, pushy vendors and dogs sniffing under their car. But if you follow the border fence all the way out to the west coast, you'll find yourself in the town of Playas. Playas is where the old YWAM Tijuana base used to be located and this town has a long border fence that continues out into the ocean.

I hear long ago families on either side of the fences used to meet there to talk or throw food and other goodies to their loved ones on the other side. With new border laws in the U.S. this is no longer possible and the border fence on the Mexican side has just become a place where people can come to remember those days and dream for better ones to come.

It has been reported that several hundred Mexican men, women and children die every year trying to cross the border into the U.S. Now, it's easy to make some kind of political argument about the why and who's fault it is, etc., But recently, I was humbled during a visit to the border in Playas by the site of hundreds and hundreds of small wooden crosses hanging from the fence...

Each cross represents the life of some desperate father, mother or child in search of a better life, but never made it. The immigrants that died crossing the border are not just a number, not just a political statement. They are real people, and I am meeting them every day. Everyone here has a story of a brother or a mother or a son or a daughter that left to go to "el otro lado" (the other side) and they never saw the again.

It is a great joy for me to be serving God in Tijuana, but I still feel like I have so much more to learn about the people here. The border culture of Mexico is completely different from other parts of Mexico I have visited. My heart breaks for the the grandmother who has said goodbye to a her son years ago and doesn't know if he made it and whether or not he is dead or alive. My heart aches for the mother who is struggling so much in her present situation that she lives dreaming about a place she may never get to and a life she probably will never have. And my life is committed to helping the children here who have no hope for a future better than their parents had - committed to teaching them the value of who they are in Christ and that their dreams are possible here in their own country, if they will work hard and follow the right path, "with God all things are possible". I will work tirelessly with my kids to make sure they do not become another cross hanging on that fence. That's why I'm here!!!

The sign says "Tijuana is the corner where dreams from a country in need of peace bounce back."