Day 3

Today was the second day of our trip, and also Easter Sunday. The first thing that we did was attend a church service at Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey (a lutheran church) and participated in their bilingual Easter service. There were two pastors, Rose Mary Sanchez-Guzman and Juan De Dios Lopez, and both rotated between speaking Spanish and English and all the songs were in Spanish. While not all of our group is religious, or speaks Spanish, the service was very powerful and we all came away with many takeaways. One especially poignant moment for me was Pastor Rose Mary’s sermon, when she connected the followers of Jesus and their fears in the moments after his death for being prosecuted due to their faith with the fear of many of the undocumented immigrants in the greater El Paso area. Additionally, she spoke of the fear in the hearts of people in countries facing violence and turmoil, as well as in the US and many issues facing her community such as drug abuse, gun violence, and covid. While this sermon was heavy, she also stressed the importance of hope, and leaning on others, whether it be Jesus or friends/family. Overall, the service was very lively, with lots of singing and sharing food and stories with old and new friends from the church and from another high school, St. Francis (based in San Francisco). Caroline M.

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