The prayer at the wall wrapped up my official trip with We Welcome Refugees. However, two friends and I stayed an extra day to revisit the wall, and I have a few more stories to share.
In the morning, we approached the wall again. We felt vulnerable as single girls standing exposed, with the wall looming above, helicopters flying overhead, and border patrol agents driving by. We walked along the wall silently, praying and reflecting.
Through the slats we saw Mexican border patrol agents who were fully armed, holding guns half the size of their bodies. One stood to approach us. We froze, waiting. We timidly voiced a hello. He said hello back and walked closer. We breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that we had met the agent briefly the day before when we visited the wall as a group. We asked him his name - Simon. He asked us ours - Sarah and Brooklyn and Lydia.
We struck up a conversation and made small talk in Spanish. We exchanged pleasantries, mentioned the wall, and then talked about so much more. Simon has been in the border patrol for about year, but he dreams of becoming a surgical doctor, once he passes his entrance exams. His job is to keep asylum seekers from approaching the wall to claim asylum (due to pressure on Mexico from the US to prevent this).
We shared how we came to the wall to pray and learn more. He was so glad, and he shared how he had recently decided to follow Jesus! He loves God! He believes Jesus to be the Lord of his life! We were so excited, and so was he. We asked how we could pray for him and for the US-Mexico relationship. He shared how his heart has been breaking for the families who come to the wall exhausted and traumatized, fatigued and desperate, and he asked us to pray for them. He asked us to pray that he passes his medical exams too, and we said we would.
We stood around the wall, huddled close to the slats, and we prayed. We prayed for him, for his heart, for him to know Jesus even more. We prayed for peace and for him to pass his exams. We prayed for the people he would meet fleeing persecution. Standing there, I was reminded of the promise we have that the Lord hears our prayers.
After we prayed over Simon, he began praying over us - offering heartfelt requests on our behalf for our families and country, for our jobs and lives. He asked that Jesus would bless us, give us peace. I can’t quite describe how sacred it felt.
Before we left, he asked, “Could we take a selfie?” He turned around, taking a picture from his side of the wall. Then he stuck his arm through the slats, asked us to take a picture from our side on his phone, and he handed his phone to us. We did, and then we took a picture with our phones, a memory to keep, to hold onto forever.
I doubt I will see Simon again, but meeting him was so profoundly humbling, so encouraging, inspiring and humanizing.
I don’t understand it all, the complexity and nuance of policies or leaders or nations. I do know that we are people: dignified and honorable and worthy, beautiful and sacred and full of reflections of God’s glory. I saw this in Simon. God is bigger than walls or division. The Spirit isn’t divided, isn’t fractured, isn’t locked out or locked in. The Kingdom of God is expansive and beautiful and growing, right now! What a reason to rejoice.