Tuesday

So then, it is Tuesday morning in Sahuarita, Arizona and we have arrived at the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ where we will be housed for the next few days.  We time our arrival perfectly.  Almost.  What we didn't know is that Rincon, Arizona doesn't adhere to daylight savings time.  That said, we were an hour early and you should think of us as being on Pacific Coast time even though we are living in Mountain time.

It's just 9:00 A.M. here and I hear snoring, I hear the showers running, I've already written a poem for Tyson called "Peace and Quiet" that I'll share with him later.

We'll rest for awhile after our 28 hours on the road. We've so appreciate the beauty of this country on our way out.  We are anxious to see New Mexico in the daylight.  All we saw last night was shadow.

The trip was uneventful, so that is good news.  We've gotten to know each other better including some of our foibles and laughing lines.  This is a good group that I know will do an admirable job of representing the United Church of Christ.

Now, even though we have an  itinerary, it is flexible and tentative.  We'll do what we need to do in collaboration with the Rev. Tracy Hughes who did such a kind job of crafting our schedule on such short notice.  Tracy, we are grateful to you and to Delle!

At 1:30 today we will gather at Rincon UCC for a time of orientation and building of common understandings about how best to be present here in Arizona.  That will be followed by conversation with the Rev. Ken Heintzelman from Shadow Rock UCC and a guest from Southside Presbyterian Church who will talk with us about the 'sanctuary' process.

At 430 Blake Gentry will update us on the current situation on the ground and that will be followed by a group dinner at a Guatemalan restaurant called Maya Quetzal.  This place is owned by a family from the first sanctuary movement some time ago.

Our day will end viewing a documentary called "Enrique's Journey" about a teen coming from Honduras to the USA.  We hope our teen participant, Tyson, will especially connect with this.

Wednesday we will go to Nogales.  Four of the five  of us (one doesn't have a passport) will cross the border and share time together at a women's shelter.  More on that tomorrow.

As with any kind of organizing for action, this trip includes this very full day of building awareness that will help us be better advocates. It's not glamourous, but it is surely very important.

I'll ask one of the others to offer reflections tonight if we can get to the lap top without falling asleep the the keyboard.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

John