Feliz Cumpleaños Felix...

May 10, 2012

Feliz Cumpleaños Felix
or, What a Difference a Day Makes

On May 9, 2012 Felix was hanging out in this blessed place with his peers. He had been in this place for a few weeks - plenty of food, clean clothes, controlled climate, school, and a large group of people to help take care of him.

On May 10, 2012 Felix turned 18 years old. Happy birthday Felix! And in the eyes of the US government, he turned into an adult offender, a violator of our immigration laws. As such, he had to be separated from the minors (for their safety) and turned over to an adult immigration prison. He had to be isolated from the rest of the group at the Emergency Shelter until his transport arrived. I was called upon to sit with him in isolation. And that's what we did for the next eight hours. We shared a couple of meals, we didn't talk, he fidgeted on his cot, he sat up and prayed often.

Finally, about 5:30pm and thirty minutes from his transport time, his tongue broke loose...he told me about his family in Guatemala - his dad, his mom, his three younger sisters. He told me about the mountains of Guatemala and about the Resplendent Quetzal, the national bird. He told me about the freight train ride from Guatemala to the Texas border. He told about the two guys that died on that trip - one didn't get low enough going through a tunnel and the other fell off the top of the train and was sucked under. He told me about how he was coming to the Estados Unidos to work so he could send money back to his family.

After hearing his story, I told him that he was very brave and very strong and that I was honored to know him. He replied:

"El evangelio es mi confianza."

My Spanish is fairly weak so I had to confirm what I had heard - "Felix, por favor, repita."

"El evangelio es mi confianza."

"Otra vez..."

"El evangelio es mi confianza."

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At 6:00pm the transport arrives. Felix and I say our goodbyes.

"Dios bendiga, Felix."

"Gracias, adios."

And he was led away in shackles and handcuffs...