A letter from Omar Chan serving at the U.S./Mexico border
November 2014 - Roberto’s Story
“Omar, welcome to the border. We are glad you’re here” is the greeting I receive as I sit down for lunch. I had just finished my first board meeting with the Pasos de Fe border site between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. We were sitting down to share in a lunch of fish tacos.
Pastor Roberto didn’t stop there. He continued to share his personal story. He invited me into his life and the work on the border with what he shared. Roberto is a young pastor and has only been in Juarez for a few years. However, his life has crossed ministries along several U.S./Mexico border sites and it highlights the transformative work that has occurred.
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Pastor Roberto with his son at a Father's Day activity
When he was an adolescent, Roberto was trapped in the desperation of having few options. Employment opportunities were difficult to come upon, and university studies never fit. He floated in and out of part-time work and soon found a remedy to his problems in alcohol and drugs. Both drugs and alcohol were easy to find and many of his friends used, too, so it did not seem like he was choosing the wrong path. However, quickly he became addicted to both. As his addiction grew stronger, his life began to spiral, and his family and friends began to notice.
Fortunately a family friend encouraged him to seek help, letting him know that he could find his way out. This friend even offered to accompany him to a ministry program at one of the Presbyterian churches in town. This ministry was one organized by Compañeros en Mision, one of the border ministry sites of Presbyterian Border Region Outreach (PBRO), and it helps addicts find medical assistance for their physical addiction, psychological assistance for their emotional addiction, and spiritual help for their brokenness. Roberto found a place there and responded quickly to the positive environment. He became immersed in the world that opened as he participated in Bible studies that allowed him to look at Biblical teachings in a new way. Even in the midst of a dark chapter in his life, Roberto was invited to receive God’s love and forgiveness. He made close friends while taking part in the program. His life was transformed.
Once he completed the program, Roberto had a new outlook on and calling in life. He felt a great need to attend seminary. This ministry had saved his life and the Word had brought him back to life. He knew there was something different God was now asking him to do. Roberto was given a second chance, and he wanted to give back. Seminary training seemed like the next logical step. He attended seminary with a good friend from the program, and they continued to encourage one another. Roberto successfully completed his seminary studies and quickly sought a call as a pastor. He served several small churches in northern Mexico before coming to Juarez.
Roberto has found a good church to serve in Ciudad Juarez, and his family is doing well there. However, he says what really invigorates him is the time he can give back to the community, especially to border ministries. He is serving as a board member for the Pasos de Fe site for the Mexican partners, and it is clear that he is dedicated to helping this site grow. Prior to 2008 this site like many of the other border sites was doing well. They received many PC(USA) and other church groups that visited a few weeks out of the year to help with a variety of programs and projects: building churches, running vacation Bible schools, helping with a childcare center, donating other resources and materials. Out of these visits came additional funds to assist with ongoing programs at the site. Then the U.S. economy floundered and violence hit Juarez. Both crippled the sustainability of Pasos de Fe. Many church delegations were restricted to fewer trips, and they decided Juarez was too dangerous. They just stopped coming. Without the income generated from the groups and the secondary donations that followed the visits, the site was left with a stark future. This is where Roberto steps in.
As the violence subsides in Ciudad Juarez and the community begins to rebuild, Pasos de Fe Community Center is situated perfectly in the midst of a community that was hard hit by the violence and already existing poverty, with many young people falling into the hands of drug cartels or local gang-related groups. Roberto is striving, alongside a few other tireless individuals, to dream about where the Center might go. The uncertain financial future does not seem to deter him. His life was saved and transformed by ministries he found at another border site. He would like to see something spark here, too. So slowly they are building a plan. At the moment they are working with a local electrician who uses the space to train recently paroled youth the trade and then finds work for them to offer an alternative to a violent lifestyle. They have organized several animal vaccination clinics to help individuals properly care for their pets and help control preventable disease among those animals. A small chapel located on the community center grounds is also reaching out to the community, holding Bible studies, weekly worship, and evangelistic campaigns. Several seminary students participate in the church giving them an opportunity to put their seminary studies into practice.
Roberto ensures that all of the activities run well as he works tirelessly behind the scenes. When we sit in the meeting before lunch, it is evident that he is often the one with the answers. He is the one who is holding the organization together. He is dreaming and wants to believe something new is possible. Pasos de Fe might have struggled as their previous ministries came to a halt because of the spike in violence. However, they are starting to find their way again. It will be interesting to see how they move forward in this next year, how they will grow, who they will involve.
I ask that you continue to hold up the many tireless volunteers who make this ministry possible at Pasos de Fe. I ask that you continue to pray for the PBRO board and myself as we think about how we can best resource this site to help them understand the needs in the community and how they can be allies in creating change. And I invite you to come to the border to learn more about the life-giving ministries occurring here, to see firsthand how people on both sides of the border are addressing the unique problems and concerns that affect their lives as neighbors. This work happens among believers because of believers. Please consider financially supporting my position as coordinator of the work along the six border sites. You might also consider a gift to this particular ministry site. God’s love is alive here; we only need others’ collaboration to ensure that all can share and rejoice in it. We thank you!
Oman Chan
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 35
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 44
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