Happy Birthday, Jodi Goodwin and Thank You!
Happy birthday wishes go out to friend of La Posada, and local immigration attorney, Jodi Goodwin. Jodi has been a faithful volunteer and supporter of La Posada for many years. Jodi has honored us by setting up a Facebook birthday fundraiser to help us raise capital to make our dream for a new building come to fruition.
If you are looking for a way to help our brothers and sisters who are suffering at the border, please consider a donation. Here’s the link: https://tinyurl.com/yxwlr2pe
La Posada has been welcoming the stranger for 30 years this year. Please pass along to others, who may want to help. Happy birthday, Jodi, and thank you.
A La Posada Client’s Story
I lived in a quiet cul-de-sac in my home country of Honduras. Life had been good to me until the violence reached my neighborhood. There was not a day that I did not witness a shootout or dead bodies in sacks. I realized that this was not a life for me or for my daughter. I had to do something, and very quickly. I no longer wanted to live in fear and continue having these criminals tell me that I had to be quiet or else I was next. I woke up one morning and realized that I had to find another way of life. My journey began on April 5, 2019.
That fateful morning I loaded my daughter and myself onto a van and began my journey to the United States. My first arrival was in Guatemala, but we had to continue traveling and we ventured through several different Mexican states. I had to pay bribes all along the way so I worked odd jobs at most stops to earn money to continue on
my journey.
Arriving in Veracruz on the way towards Mexico City was a primary goal. I knew that if I made it there I would be able to get to the U.S. When we arrived at Veracruz, we encountered “paisanos” who invited us to join them on their trip to Mexico City. I agreed, but what happened next was not what I had anticipated.
These “paisanos” took all of us to a colonia and into a huge warehouse. My daughter and I were there for five days and during that time, we never saw the light of day, we were prisoners. One of these captors told me nothing was free and that I had to go out to beg for money to pay for the ride they had given us. If I did not pay them, I knew what my fate was going to be. Suddenly, as if it was fate, all the men that were holding us in this warehouse, for some reason left all at once.
This is when I saw my opportunity. Fear took over me once again but I had to take the chance. I grabbed my daughter and we ran. We kept running and running never looking back. After running a long time, I hailed a taxi and asked him to take me to a hotel. He gave me bad news saying hotels would not welcome immigrants so he took me to a shelter. When I left that shelter, I traveled quite a bit more and finally arrived in Guadalajara. We spent 15 days there.
Every day we checked how the river looked and when our opportunity would come to cross it. I had to make a decision because I was only selling frozen popsicles on the street and making little money. Finally, one morning I was ready to head to the river to cross it. We hopped on a bus and left our fate in God’s hands.
As we were approaching the river, we kept getting reports to turn back because the Zetas (a dangerous Mexican drug cartel) were throwing people into the river and it was too dangerous. We kept going; we were determined not to stop. There we were right at the edge of the river in Piedras Negras, (Mexico) across from Del Rio, Texas; we waited for four hours. There were many people at the edge just waiting for the right moment to go in.
Chaos broke out when we received the news that the Zetas were coming for all of us that were waiting at the edge. Panic ensued, screaming, yelling and people jumping into the river out of desperation. I had already filled my raft with air, a raft I received by a group of people who help immigrants. Fear was overtaking me, but I was not going to turn back at this point. I threw my daughter onto the raft and then I
jumped in.
The current in the river was very strong and my raft started spinning very fast I was horrified. I gained my composure and started paddling with my hands towards the other side of the river. I finally made it to the other side. However, when I jumped towards the branches that were there, I tried to lift myself and my daughter but the mud kept pulling me in. I decided to hoist my daughter onto my shoulders and threw her upward toward dry land. That is when I was able to pull myself up through all the mud to the very top. I had finally made it to the United States. All the traveling, all the bribes I had to pay, and all the meager jobs I had to take – but I made it.
After my release from detention, I was sent to La Posada Providencia. La Posada saved my life and my daughter’s. They welcomed me with so much love and helped me with all that I needed. The peacefulness and no signs of violence made me gain confidence and know that not every part of the world is what I left behind in Honduras. I will be traveling to Houston, Texas to resettle and begin to live the life that I have been hoping for throughout my travels. I will forever be grateful to La Posada for helping me and allowing me the opportunity to learn about the U.S. culture and prepare me to become independent.
Making Providence Visible Together
Thank You Donors!
This past week, in particular, many of you across this vast country and beyond, who were new to La Posada acted to support our efforts to entertain angels and welcome the stranger. It warmed our hearts and bolstered our resolve to continue giving compassion, care and safety to the migrant man, woman and child that we shelter.
Thanks to you and to all our friends who help us to make Providence more visible in our world.
