Plymouth Magazine-Spring26-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 15
Heather Carlson
Serving as a chaperone for the Common
Ground on the Border Conference was
a deeply impactful experience for me,
as a mother, an ESL teacher, a member
of the Plymouth community, and as a
Christian. Knowing that I was joining
my daughter, Sabine, to visit a migrant
shelter in Nogales (a city on both sides
of the US/Mexico Border) conjured up
expectations of experiencing something
sobering and even somber. I was met
with this feeling as we drove along the
US/Mexico border wall, heavily wound
with concertina and razor wire on the
American side. However, crossing into
Nogales, and arriving at La Casa de la
Misericordia y de Todas la Naciones
(which translates to “House of Mercy
and All Nations”), was not a gloomy
welcome, but rather inspiring. Fruit
trees, gardens, chickens, an outdoor clay
bread oven, beautiful murals and colorful
playgrounds are found on the sundrenched grounds where mothers and
children seek shelter escaping domestic
abuse, religious and political persecution,
Sabine Carlson
and other dire life threatening situations.
Alma Angelica Macias Majija, also
known as Sister Lika, the director of
Casa de la Misericordia served as our
tour guide. She explained to our group
that this place is to serve as a refuge for
families leaving astonishingly traumatic
experiences and seeking asylum in the
US, which is much more restricted now.
At the shelter, they are provided medical
and mental health services, as well as a
purpose. They help to run the shelter by
cooking, cleaning, and learning skills in
embroidery. Children of all ages attend
school, as it is the only accredited school
in a migrant shelter in Mexico. They
focus on their studies, as well as choose
if they want to play basketball, go on
the swings, or play soccer during recess.
Visiting a place that strives to welcome
and build hope among families also filled
me with hope and inspiration. I came
home with a drive to better serve our
community members in Des Moines
who have also traveled so far, from
similar dire situations.
Photo below taken at the top of Sentinel Peak, otherwise known as “A” Mountain in Tucson, Arizona.
L to R: Sabine Carlson, Peyton McCulloh, Aristella Tempero, Sarah Wigton, Mya Cullenward, and Dinah Vance.
Hearing about all the troubles that occur
at the border is one thing but actually
seeing it with your own eyes is quite
another. Traveling to Arizona and going
further into Mexico to visit the migrant
shelter, La Casa de la Misericordia,
opened my eyes to the struggles so many
people endure in the hopes of finding
peace and safety. The migrant shelter
grants people that safety and made me
realize that for every bad thing we hear
on the news, or see in our day-to-day
lives, there is good action taking place.
It is easy to succumb to the hopelessness
and despair of our modern society, but
the work that Sister Lika is doing at La
Casa de la Misericordia, and the work
being put in by the Samaritans at the
Good Shepherd church, provides a strong
symbol of faith for all and has inspired
me to do more good within my own
community here in Des Moines. The
people I had the privilege of meeting in
Arizona and Mexico were truly doing
God’s work and spreading love, something
that everyone has the power to do.
Plymouth Magazine 15
