From Sister Elaine Hollis in El Paso 12/26/15

Out my window at 5 pm it is beginning to look like a winter wonderland as snow covers this city of the "Sun Bowl".  They are not used to snow like this and will probably need to close down some highways.
I hope people on their way north have a warm place to stay this night. 

I arrived here on Monday and have mostly found myself working in the clothing room where I helped by holding babies so mothers could shop for a clean outfit for themselves and their children. Today I helped at the laundromat where we washed and dried sheets and towels from the shelter for three hours.

 In today's El Paso Times was an article about the immigrants which at times quoted the director of Annunciation House, Ruben Garcia.  I will quote from it to give you an idea of the situation here:

"About 250 migrants from Central America had arrived at Annunciation House shelters between Monday and Thursday.

Annunciation House has assisted the government in housing many of the new migrant families that cannot be detained at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. 'Some of the migrants are indicating to us that they are fleeing to keep from starving,' Garcia said. Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, the Border Patrol- El Paso Sector apprehended 690 family units, compared with 49 family units for the same period in 2014, and apprehended 571 unaccompanied minors compared with 163 for the same two months in 2014. Garcia said that some of the new arrivals come from regions that are experiencing drought. 'We're seeing a lot of families from Guatemala who indicated to us that there is severe drought, and who depended on corn to subsist. Those who had small storefronts to sell food products became targets of extortionists, and there was no one they could turn to for help,' Garcia said. 'We are seeing families with children that are malnourished.'"

In this Christmas season may we continue to be aware of and pray for all those on journeys into the unknown. May they find that the doors they knock on are opened to them with warm welcomes awaiting.



This is what El Paso looks like today. You can only imagine what hardships the refugees are experiencing in this cold!