Operation Border Blessing by AChuckAllen
I’m headed back to our southern border next week and this time I have a plan. It is abundantly clear that we have a humanitarian crisis on the border, but it is a crisis that can become a blessing.
I don’t really care what your position is on immigration, the present administration, or your political preferences. What I do care about are the unaccompanied children and families that are in the middle of this mess. There are thousands of people that are seeking to become Americans every single day on the border. And there are processes in place to receive dozens each day that have been in place for decades. The resultsare a humanitarian mess.
You could take the position that has been touted to me by a lot of folks over the past month – “Those people should stay where they are. They don’t belong here.” Honestly, that is an uneducated and unrealistic view. Most of the folks that are seeking entry are families from South and Latin America. They are leaving the northern triangle of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. If you aren’t familiar with what is happening in those countries, get up to speed. These families are fleeing political, military and social disasters. That doesn’t even touch on the economic crisis and the natural disaster of drought keeping the agricultural sector virtually shut down. If you were from there, you would want to come to the US as well.
Did you know that there is a large population of Cubans making there way to the southern border as well? They aren’t thugs and criminals. Most of the Cuban migrants are professionals. They are doctors, lawyers, dentists, and a host of professional, well educated leaders. You could take the position that they got what they deserved and should stay in Cuba. But come on man! They can’t vote for their leaders and they cannot get paid there. There is a reason that communism and socialism fails in every place it has been forced into a society. It is unsustainable! Even though Cuba is one of the most beautiful places on earth, I would want to leave as well.
You could take the position that our government isn’t caring for these folks and that we are herding them like cattle. You could listen to “the squad” and media outlets reporting on things they have not seen for themselves and assume that the USA and specifically, the present administration is cold, callused and heartless. That would be the most rediculous position of all. I’ve seen the realities that our folks in green (Border Patrol) were indeed overwhelmed and overrun a couple of months ago, but the speed at which they have adjusted is beyond any governmental agency I have ever seen. If the DMV were to radically attack their systems like the Borcer Patrol, you could get your license in about 15 minutes every 5 years…just bless their hearts.
You could take the position that we should open up the doors and stop worrying about border security. But come on people. That’s just rediculous! Did you know that the Border Patrol can now identify family members and criminals with immediate bio-metrics and DNA results? Why yes, yes they can. Did you know that those folks don’t get in. But as long as Border Agents that are trained to patrol and protect our borders are needed as child care and nursing specialists, the borders remain more vulnerable to the folks that are criminals? We must have border security and we must be creative in how we can support the men and women in green and add to their numbers and pay them what they are worth! Families are treated with great respect and are placed at the front of the line and the administrations Migrant Protection Plan is working. Often the MPP is shortening the length of the “time in the middle” to weeks rather than years!
Okay, rant over.
After seeing the border firsthand (and by the way, I’m headed back there next week) and meeting with key leaders in the White House, State Department, Health and Human Services and Customs and Border Patrol, I think there are four immediate strategies that we regular people can do to assist in moving the needle from humanitarian crisis to a great blessing. It’s just a start, but every great movement began with something small. Here are four things we can start with:
- We are working on a process that would allow US families to “adopt” families that are in transistion on the Mexican side of the border, the American side of the border and families being placed on US soil. I use that term “adopt” loosely, not as a legal adoption, but rather like we can “adopt” a child in Kenya with financial emotional support. We can do this through a web-based system, knowing that most of the US families will never meet our “adopted” migrant familes, but for varying lengths of support, we can do what I believe the faith community should do – Care for widows, orphans, refugees and migrants.
- We can serve our existing Border Patrol in two ways. 1) We can support the Operation Border Blessing Appreciation Tour with gifts of many kinds. Gift cards, diapers, school supplies and non-parishable food. We can provide the simpler way to get help to these folks by way of cash gifts that will provide a Appreciation Party for the Border Patrol families. Last month, in El Paso, more than 700 people were blessed by these efforts. They were loved on, cared for and encouraged. Many were in tears, conveying that nobody has ever tried to do anything for them. That’s a shame! These folks are every bit as deserving of our support as any first responder or soldier. Honestly, Paula White’s ministry has lead the way and spearheaded this effort. I am so proud to see the results! I’m asking you to help us broaden this effort to encourage these servant leaders that have been demonized in the media. Please consider a gift of $100, $50 or $20 today. I’ll be in McAllen, Texas later in the month where we are expecting more than 1,000 agents and family members. I cannot do it alone. Would you consider a gift? Unitl such time as my new non-profit 501c3 entity is ready to receive gifts, please go online and give to Sugar Hill Church Border Blessing. Every penny will go to this effort, I promise. 2) We can pray specifically for Heaven sent wisdom and compassion for each agent. These are great people that need our Heavenly Father to overwhelm them with wisdom from on high and protection from harm…including the harm done by our own media. Imagine your spouse, that has 20 plus years in the Customs and Border Patrol being demonized and vilified by their own congressional leaders. You’d want somebody to stand in the gap for them! And these folks cannot stand up and speak out for themselves. We must do this for them!
- We can begin planning right now to gather our community and faith leaders to head to the Mexican side of the border to help strengthen the distribution centers, churches and NGO’s trying to serve the families and Unaccompanied Children with work projects, kids sports camps, Backyard Bible Clubs, VBS, Awana, medical and dental clinics, and music camps. We can go, serve and love these folks into the Kingdom all for one reason – we are called to love one another!
- We are working on plans that would allow vetted families in the US to become short-term foster families for the unaccompanied children until they can be placed in appropriate long term care with their friends and schools that are already established in the US. More on that to come.
I have to wrap this up and I appreciate you sticking with me this far. We can start engaging with this effort right now. Please consider helping me and helping Operation Border Blessing pull off our Appreciation Tour in McAllen, Texas (August 17) by giving generously. Simply Click HERE and give through credit, or debit card. Again, 100% of these gifts will be used on the border with ZERO administrative costs!
I’ll report from the Mexican side of the El Paso sector next week. I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we head into Juarez, Mexico and the border area that has been in the middle of this political firestorm. Thank you for caring!
Go in Peace Today,
AChuck