I wonder where those 13 million participants are now when their voice and action are most needed. I wonder what they’re thinking when these Christ-bearers from Central America whom they have spent time visiting are walking for months to save their lives. I wonder what they are thinking when they hear inflammatory rhetoric calling them an invading horde. I wonder what they’re thinking when the news finds an immigrant who has committed a crime and holds that criminal up as an archetype of all those walking to save their lives. I wonder what they’re thinking when troops are being sent to the border to harden it against mothers, fathers and children who plan on lawfully presenting themselves to the US border as asylum seekers, as is the only way to apply for asylum in the US.
I have to wonder because I’m not hearing anything and what I do hear makes me question everything. I would have thought those who have crossed paths with those from Latin America would be pushing back against the dehumanization of people being called ‘animals’ and ‘invaders.’ I would have thought they would be financially supporting groups that are helping to provide for the needs of those in the caravan. I would have thought they would be advocating for more judges and translators to be sent to the border to process asylum claims quicker. Sadly, these things aren’t happening and that says a lot about the role of STM trips to actually change lives and produce disciples who care about the plight of those whom they served.
If you’ve been on a STM trip to Latin America in the past 10 years, I challenge you to view those in the caravan as people you might have shared a bit of your life with. Doing so will hopefully give you the needed perspective to truly care about these people, these image bearers worthy of the love of Christ and help from the church, and not as animals or an invading horde.