Abara

We are honored to walk alongside partners doing the daily, faithful work of welcoming and supporting those who have been displaced, detained, and deported. This movement is stronger because communities are already showing up with courage, compassion, and action. Together, we can do even more. Join us this June for Walk in Solidarity. Grab the toolkit, find opportunities to fundraise, host a walk in your community, or join a walk near you. Link in bio.

Link to our full Border Brief for May in stories 🙂

We are looking forward to hosting a prayer gathering outside of one of the immigrant detention centers here in El Paso, alongside Tres Rios Border Foundation and Women of Welcome El Paso. Come out next Thursday both to intercede and to learn how to act on behalf of the sojourner and the prisoner. We are going to pray with our words and then pray with our hands and feet. We hope to see you there!!

Abara little glimpses ✨

Our 2025 Annual Report is here. This past year, 283 leaders from 28 states joined Border Encounters. Sixteen shelter partners in Juárez stayed resourced. The vision for Abara House kept taking shape. Belonging beyond borders, one connection at a time. Read the full report at the link in our bio and stories.

Pastor Wilber Marenco was detained by Immigration Enforcement in February of 2026 and held at Alligator Alcatraz. Pastor Wilber did not have a criminal record. He was not in the country unlawfully. Yet, he was arrested and detained. Pastor Jim Caple, walked closely with Pastor Wilber and his family during his immigration detention On Friday, I will have the honor of leading a conversation with Pastor Wilber Marenco and Pastor Jim Caple, as a part of CCDA's Immigration Network Series: When One is Detained. Both men will share their story, offering a window into both the personal experience of detention and the role of the local church in responding with presence, care, and solidarity. All are welcome. Register at ccda.org/immigration to get the zoom link

We’re continuing our Little Glimpses of Abara ✨ From celebrating Día del Niño in Ciudad Juárez, to welcoming a new team member, visiting Casa de Adobe, and spending time in nature— we love highlighting the beauty and the good at the border.

This week on the CCDA Podcast, Rosa Mani Thomas is joined by Adriana De La Rosa, Clara D. Compean, and Chris Ophus to reflect on their experiences as Micah Catalysts and share about the Faithful Witness Campaign. They share how they are seeing God move in their communities, the beauty they are seeing in their local contexts, and what is giving them hope in this season. This conversation is entirely in Spanish, as a practice of listening and solidarity. Scripture reminds us that to follow Christ is to draw near, to listen, and to be formed by the voices we might otherwise overlook. We chose this intentionally because language shapes how stories are told and whose voices are centered. Many in our communities are constantly translating themselves to be understood. Today, we’re slowing down and listening in a different way. We invite you to stay, even if it feels unfamiliar. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube! -- Esta semana en el podcast de la CCDA, Rosa Mani Thomas conversa con Adriana De La Rosa, Clara D. Compean y Chris Ophus para reflexionar sobre sus experiencias como Micah Catalysts y compartir detalles sobre la Campaña del Testimonio Fiel. Nos cuentan cómo están viendo a Dios obrar en sus comunidades, la belleza que perciben en sus contextos locales y qué es lo que les infunde esperanza en esta temporada. Esta conversación se lleva a cabo íntegramente en español, como un ejercicio de escucha y solidaridad. Las Escrituras nos recuerdan que seguir a Cristo implica acercarse, escuchar y dejarse moldear por aquellas voces que, de otro modo, podríamos pasar por alto. Hemos tomado esta decisión de manera intencional, ya que el lenguaje determina la forma en que se narran las historias y qué voces ocupan el centro de atención. Muchas personas en nuestras comunidades se ven obligadas a traducirse a sí mismas constantemente para poder ser comprendidas. Hoy, decidimos bajar el ritmo y escuchar de una manera diferente. Te invitamos a quedarte, aunque la experiencia te resulte poco familiar. ¡Escúchalo en tu plataforma de podcasts habitual o míralo en YouTube! #weareccda #ccdapodcast #faithfulwitnesscampaign

Border Joy “What I intend to do is to showcase the good on both sides of the border. And I think that that is precisely what connected me to Abara,” says Yorch. Photo of Yorch with his “Border Joy” print block (SWIPE), and the finished print. *** Abara allows for your dreams to develop and helps you to find joy in the tragedy. That’s really how our slogan came to be: Border Joy. That’s what it’s all about—that we can find joy in suffering. — Rosa Learn more about @abarafrontiers at BitterSweetMonthly.com

“I have undrowned.” Those three words are the title of a new story about what’s possible at the border — and why it matters. BitterSweet Monthly spent three days in the borderlands, listening to the people and the place at the heart of Abara’s work. What they found wasn’t what most people expect from a conversation about immigration. Read the story. Share it with someone who needs to hear it. (Link in bio)

Hope is thick in the borderlands. Roberto (Image 1), who lives on the border in Juárez, Mexico, waves to Sami DiPasquale (Image 2) on the El Paso side of the border fence. “Here we are in the middle of the chaos and the beauty of the border, with border patrol and militarization at the edge of our property,” says Sami. “But what has emerged is this overwhelming urge and passion and belief and desire and conviction that this space—this five and a half acres, these seven buildings right on the border fence—could be a physical place to explore all these issues of belonging, of othering, of borders. A place to learn about peace building efforts, contemplative practices, physical practices of nonviolence, and experiences of pilgrimage and immersive learning, retreat and transformation.” It’s called Abara House—house of the crossing. *** Read the full story on BitterSweetMonthly.com Writer: @kschmidgall Photographer: @stevejeter Organization @abarafrontiers

These are the beautiful faces behind the BitterSweet monthly article, and behind much of the joy at Abara.  In February, the team at BitterSweet interviewed a combination of our staff, collaborators, volunteers, board, and wisdom council. What emerged is a story about all of us, near and far...and about you, too. Read it at the link in our bio.