Reflections from Venezuela
Sister Yolanda (Yoli) Arrbasplata, CSJ reflects on the immigration experience of the Quero Urdaneta family.
The “Our Border Brothers and Sisters” blog series presents first-hand stories from our sisters and associates who have border experiences they would like to share. We hope these stories will open us to seeing and understanding our brothers and sisters in greater depth because, as Colum McCann once said: “You can’t hate someone when you know their story.”
Sister Yolanda (Yoli) Arrbasplata, CSJ reflects on the immigration experience of the Quero Urdaneta family.
Recently, Sister Sandra Straub traveled to El Paso, Texas to volunteer with Annunciation House serving migrants at the U.S./Mexico border. She shares some reflections below.
These two stories come from sisters who have traveled to Mexicali, Mexico with the new organization Border Compassion. Its mission is to invite faith communities to cross over at the U.S./Mexico border and offer a compassionate humanitarian response.
When I was a volunteer at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas last May, I had the privilege of serving refugees seeking asylum in the United States.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to “do all things of which women are capable.” The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic.