Train to Salvation Rick Champion
by 5800 Third St. #1206
Rick Champion San Francisco, CA 94124
rachampion@dons.usfca.edu
415.203.5940
Faith is hope in things unseen.
Mild panic. The girl would not stand or sit. She refused snacks and water. I was afraid to lose her. "We take her to the hospital now." Mama took her into her arms.
Mama lay the girl on the hospital bed and cried. "I'm almost sorry that we came." "No, Hija, no."
In Guatemala she been saying, "Mama, if you need money, sell my clothes." She was saying it again.
The doctor asked, "Spanish only?"
"I can translate."
"So can I. I'm a man of many surprises. Do they live in a migrant shelter?"
The migrant shelter was called Assumption House. The Migra would bus in families with small children. We would offer them showers, clean clothes, and assistance to get them on their way.
The doctor asked, "Do you have other children like this? What about the adults?"
"The kids are bouncing around. The adults are going about their business."
The girl did not like the needle. Someone had donated a huge box of rosaries to the shelter. The Migrants wore the rosaries around their necks. The girl did not want to take hers off. Mr. X-ray Tech said, "Amor, I'll give it back just as soon as I'm finished."
"Mama, I'm cold."
"That happens when they put in a lot of water and medicine. Find a nurse. Ask for a blanket." Mama tucked the blanket around her child. Mama was surprised to find that the blanket was already warm.
The nurse offered a choice of videos. Monster U would not have been my choice, but by the end of the video mother and child were laughing. Mama was giving the girl snacks and ice. Another video choice - Zootopia. I was hoping to see Judy Hops and Nick Fox, but the doctor came in with discharge papers.
"Are you happy that you came?"
Mama answered, "Yes. We don't have anything like this in Guatemala. Here everyone treats us with respect."
"Anyone hungry?" Mama and daughter had never seen so many kinds of healthy food. "Take whatever you want." I had to choose for them. Tacos and chicken to share.
"Corn Flakes, Mama." Mama insisted that Corn Flakes were dessert. The girl was coloring.
"Red or green apples?" I asked.
"In Guatemala we have both, but red is best."
"Are you going to be a doctor or a nurse when you grow up?"
"An artist."
"In America we have yellow apples, too." The artist was skeptical.
We waited outside as a train was going by. The girl was jumping up and down with giggles each time a car passed. Mama asked, "Is that La Bestia?" - a mega freight train that goes from Guatemala to the US border. In English - "The Beast." Mama had seen a video of a man who had lost both legs when he slid off the top of La Bestia.
"That's just an ordinary Texas freight train. There are so many trains in Texas that cowboys sing songs about them."
Excited again, the girl said, "We sing a song in church, The train to salvation."
Mother and daughter were from Chimaltenango. "The town where the indigenous people wear embroidered clothes?" Mama was surprised and happy that I had seen her town. Mother and daughter took a bus from Guatemala to the US border. Then Mama carried her daughter through the desert along the Wall to El Paso where they surrendered to the Migra.
"They packed the women with children into a room so small that we could hardly move. It was cold. Finally, they brought us to you."
Mama came from Guatemala knowing no one. Someone from Annunciation House found a sponsor in New York. Mother and daughter left on the AmTrak. As I watched the kids, I thought, "One of these may be a future American Nobel Prize winner in Medicine."
The Author
Rick is an expatriate Texan. He was born in Houston but now lives in California. Rick felt drawn to El Paso, and so took the opportunity to join a group from his parish to help at Annunciation House.
by 5800 Third St. #1206
Rick Champion San Francisco, CA 94124
rachampion@dons.usfca.edu
415.203.5940
Faith is hope in things unseen.
Mild panic. The girl would not stand or sit. She refused snacks and water. I was afraid to lose her. "We take her to the hospital now." Mama took her into her arms.
Mama lay the girl on the hospital bed and cried. "I'm almost sorry that we came." "No, Hija, no."
In Guatemala she been saying, "Mama, if you need money, sell my clothes." She was saying it again.
The doctor asked, "Spanish only?"
"I can translate."
"So can I. I'm a man of many surprises. Do they live in a migrant shelter?"
The migrant shelter was called Assumption House. The Migra would bus in families with small children. We would offer them showers, clean clothes, and assistance to get them on their way.
The doctor asked, "Do you have other children like this? What about the adults?"
"The kids are bouncing around. The adults are going about their business."
The girl did not like the needle. Someone had donated a huge box of rosaries to the shelter. The Migrants wore the rosaries around their necks. The girl did not want to take hers off. Mr. X-ray Tech said, "Amor, I'll give it back just as soon as I'm finished."
"Mama, I'm cold."
"That happens when they put in a lot of water and medicine. Find a nurse. Ask for a blanket." Mama tucked the blanket around her child. Mama was surprised to find that the blanket was already warm.
The nurse offered a choice of videos. Monster U would not have been my choice, but by the end of the video mother and child were laughing. Mama was giving the girl snacks and ice. Another video choice - Zootopia. I was hoping to see Judy Hops and Nick Fox, but the doctor came in with discharge papers.
"Are you happy that you came?"
Mama answered, "Yes. We don't have anything like this in Guatemala. Here everyone treats us with respect."
"Anyone hungry?" Mama and daughter had never seen so many kinds of healthy food. "Take whatever you want." I had to choose for them. Tacos and chicken to share.
"Corn Flakes, Mama." Mama insisted that Corn Flakes were dessert. The girl was coloring.
"Red or green apples?" I asked.
"In Guatemala we have both, but red is best."
"Are you going to be a doctor or a nurse when you grow up?"
"An artist."
"In America we have yellow apples, too." The artist was skeptical.
We waited outside as a train was going by. The girl was jumping up and down with giggles each time a car passed. Mama asked, "Is that La Bestia?" - a mega freight train that goes from Guatemala to the US border. In English - "The Beast." Mama had seen a video of a man who had lost both legs when he slid off the top of La Bestia.
"That's just an ordinary Texas freight train. There are so many trains in Texas that cowboys sing songs about them."
Excited again, the girl said, "We sing a song in church, The train to salvation."
Mother and daughter were from Chimaltenango. "The town where the indigenous people wear embroidered clothes?" Mama was surprised and happy that I had seen her town. Mother and daughter took a bus from Guatemala to the US border. Then Mama carried her daughter through the desert along the Wall to El Paso where they surrendered to the Migra.
"They packed the women with children into a room so small that we could hardly move. It was cold. Finally, they brought us to you."
Mama came from Guatemala knowing no one. Someone from Annunciation House found a sponsor in New York. Mother and daughter left on the AmTrak. As I watched the kids, I thought, "One of these may be a future American Nobel Prize winner in Medicine."
The Author
Rick is an expatriate Texan. He was born in Houston but now lives in California. Rick felt drawn to El Paso, and so took the opportunity to join a group from his parish to help at Annunciation House.