Where Mercy Meets the Border

—with contributions from Christina Flanagan

This summer, one of our Mercy Immersion trips took MMA rising seniors Shayla Adams, Isabella Arias, Isabelle Duley, Christina Flanagan, Kinsley Jackson, Nydia Kannah, Meghan Kohler, Emma McCullagh, and Emily Smith to McAllen, Texas. There, they volunteered with Arise, a program that works with a community that has been disproportionately affected by inadequate infrastructure and restrictions on immigration. With chaperones Sister Mandy RSM and Mrs. Lucille Donnelly, these Merion Mercy students planned activities for children that Arise serves, assisting the local staff and volunteers in running a summer camp. These activities ranged from making slime to friendship bracelets. When not working, playing with the children, or engaging with other McAllen-based student volunteers, the Merion Mercy group learned more about issues that the local communities face, specifically concerns related to the border and immigration. They also immersed themselves in the local culture. These learning experiences included eating lunch with a local family; taking a trip to Santa Ana, a wildlife reserve; and visiting the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse, which is right next to the border. At the border, the group also learned more about the circumstances of those who cross it and different technologies that ICE and border patrol use to detect people who attempt to cross.

In reflecting on the experience, Christina Flanagan admitted, “My expectations were low. I had never flown on a plane, no other Merion students had experienced Arise, and I honestly had no idea what I was going into. Of course, I had known that I would be learning more about immigration and that I and my classmates would be doing activities with the kids, but I hadn’t expected everything else the program would offer.”

She was particularly moved by “the privilege of hearing people’s testimonies, witness in real time the effects of the current political climate, and even visit the border, an event that was so surreal.” Furthermore, she says, “I was able to make some really good friends, mostly student volunteers based in McAllen, Texas, who I am still in contact with, as well as the other girls on the trip with me. I also became very well acquainted with people from other Mercy schools based all around the nation, many of whom I am connected with via social media.” Community dinners with the other school groups turned out to be an opportunity to share food, stories, and prayer.

Christina writes, "The evening reflections really opened my eyes. I learned about the mutuality of service—how both giving and receiving parties are capable of benefiting from an interaction—as well as the true importance of working together in solidarity, a word that I had learned from my Social Justice Leadership course from the prior semester.”

For her part, Sister Mandy spent a good deal of time apologizing for her limited ability to speak Spanish: “Lo siento, mi español no está muy bien.” The experience taught her what it was like to go someplace new and not speak the language well. “At the airport, all around us, families and friends gathered, hugging, and chatting with one another as people arrived. It was such a familiar scene and yet, I could understand so little.”

As the week progressed, Sister Mandy appreciated getting to know the staff, neighboring families, and the children at summer camp. She says, “We learned the faces and names of so many people whose lives are deeply affected by concerns I have only read about: immigration, the border, lack of infrastructure and opportunities, and checkpoints limiting travel.”

Asked by a Merion Mercy student, “Is this really service if it's fun?”, Sister Mandy answered in the affirmative. “Anyone could have sent supplies or money for crafts to the camp, but we came here to be with the children, not just to do something for them.” She related this back to learning about solidarity in theology class. “It’s about getting to know these children and being with them in their lived experience. That’s how mercy grows!” 

That is the purpose of Mercy Immersions. “They invite us into someone else’s reality, to find welcome there, learn, and stand in solidarity with our neighbors.” She adds:

“We may have spent the months leading up to this experience learning about Arise and immigration but now, having spent a week with the children there, that Critical Concern has a face, a name, a story. Now, the Gospel value of mercy calls us to respond, calls us to go above and beyond for our neighbors. Mercy calls us to answer Jesus’ command to love one another as he loved us (Jn 13:34), to open our hearts and minds in solidarity, and to create a haven of mercy by the way we encounter one another.”