Both Sides of the Border, page 28
“Dolores, I spoke with a soldier, and he is helping to find Emilio.”
“Really? What are they doing?”
“Sending boats out along the border—or what was the border—to look for him.”
“Thank you,” Dolores choked out, and then she began to cry again.
“It’ll be okay,” Eva said as she hugged her.
Two days went by slowly, and the water remained. Pastor Joseph held a small service each day, and the people in the shelter sang and prayed together. Eva felt closer to God than she ever had. She hadn’t experienced such a warm and loving feeling in her life. She visited with Dolores and Ernesto during their stay together in the shelter. She also felt a strong connection to them as if they were her family. She felt a sense of needing to protect them, like a younger brother and sister. They were all survivors. They had that in common. It seemed as if she had known Dolores and Ernesto for years rather than days.
Eva wanted to learn more about them and their family and to help them in any way she could. She knew they were in an unfamiliar country and had no personal resources, and she knew God would help her to help these young people who had already survived so much tragedy.
One day, Eva asked Dolores, “Do you have plans? Have you thought about what you are going to do once the water is gone?”
“No. I want to find a family or a place to stay and find work.”
“I’m not sure how much work will be available in this area. I’m not even sure when my university will be back in service. But we might be able to get some assistance and a shelter to live in for a while.”
“I don’t know any English or how to ask for help. I don’t know where to go,” Dolores tearfully replied.
“Don’t worry.” Eva patted her hand. “I can help you. I am in the same situation, really. I don’t think I have an apartment anymore, so I will need to find some place to live. We can look together.”
“You would do that?” Dolores asked.
“Of course,” Eva replied. Somehow, she knew helping these young people from Honduras was what God wanted. She believed that was why she was rescued in this church and why Dolores and Ernesto had wandered into this church. Eva wasn’t sure about much in her life, but she was sure about this.
Dolores hugged Eva as if she wouldn’t let her go. She cried quietly and whispered, “Gracious a Dios.”
* * *
Volunteers from all over the country began to show up. Substantial loads of food and supplies were provided. People across the United States sent clothing and other necessities. Eva, Dolores, and Ernesto received new, clean clothes, towels, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and even a little make-up.
The volunteers brought in news, often not good. The total body count was over three thousand and still climbing. There were no functioning hospitals in the immediate area, and all of the McAllen hospitals were overflowing. Patients were seen in makeshift tent facilities. Doctors and nurses volunteered for weeks at a time to assist. Many critical patients were air-lifted to San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Houston hospitals were overflowing from patients from Port Aransas and Corpus Christi, where the hurricane, then a Category 2, finally sputtered out and went up the state of Texas.
On the fourth day that Dolores and Ernesto were at the shelter, an airboat came to the front door. A weary, bruised, and scratched up Emilio was helped out of the boat and up the steps to the front door.
The volunteer opened the door. “Welcome,” she said.
In Spanish, he said, “Hello. I am Emilio. I am looking for—”
“Emilio!” Dolores screamed. “Emilio! My baby brother! Oh, Emilio!” She ran to meet him, and Ernesto was right behind her. The three embraced and cried.
When Dolores was able to compose herself, she said, “And this is my good friend, Eva.”
“Nice to meet you, Eva.”
“Eva will help us find a place to live. She will help us find a place to stay. But now, get some food. The nurse can take care of your scratches and cuts. We will get you some new, dry clothes, and then you can rest.” Dolores hugged him again. Ernesto hugged Emilio as well.
Emilio began to cry. “I thought I’d never see you again. I escaped from the kidnappers, and some nice people helped me. Then the storm came and tore down their house. I don’t know what happened to them. The water carried us all away.”
Dolores hugged him. “It is okay. We are together now.”
“Eva,” a volunteer said.
“Yes?”
“Here.” She handed Eva a phone. “A person came by and donated these cell phones. They work. You can call your mother.”
“Thank you so much.”
Eva punched in her mother’s number.
“Mom?”
“Oh, Eva,” her mother cried. “Is that you? Eva? You’re alive?” She continued sobbing loudly.
Eva could not understand anything else her mother said because she was crying uncontrollably.
“Mom. It’s okay. I’m fine. I’m in a church, and the people here are wonderful. And Mom, what you said before, when you said there’s a lot I don’t know . . . You were right. I miss you, Mom.”
Her mother sobbed more and finally composed herself enough to ask, “When can you come home?”
“It will be a while, Mom. We can’t get out yet. I’m not sure about my apartment. I will be able to go look in a week or two. But I have a phone now and can call you every day and let you know what is happening.”
“Okay. Please call me.”
“I will, Mom, I promise. I love you, and I’ll call tomorrow. Can you let my sisters know? Oh, and Mom, can you ask your prayer group to pray for us here in south Texas?”
“We have been praying every day. I will call each of them when we hang up. First, I’ll call your sisters. Oh, thanks be to God you are safe. Call me tomorrow. I love you, honey.”
“I love you, too, Mom. I miss you. I’ll call tomorrow.”
“Bye, sweetie.”
Chapter Thirty
IN HER SMALL CAPE COD house in Southside, Virginia, Eva’s mother turned on the news. The reports were focused only on the damage of Hurricane León.
The female news anchor reported the following:
“It has now been confirmed that the caravan of Central Americans was on the outskirts of Matamoros when the hurricane made landfall. We have confirmed that more than two thousand were killed in the storm and that another two thousand or so left the area and returned south. Their whereabouts are not known at this time. Mexican and United States authorities have been alerted.
“The National Guard and other local law enforcement agencies continue to report looting in the area of the hurricane’s destruction. Of the looters arrested, it cannot be determined at this time how many are United States citizens and how many are from other countries. Computers and data to identify those arrested are not operational in the area.
“And now we turn to the United States-Mexico Emergency Summit.”
A male news reporter provided the following report:
“Both the president of the United States and the president of Mexico continue to negotiate the strategy for reconstruction. The terms that have been agreed upon thus far—let us put these on the screen for you—here we go, if viewers would follow along:
1. Mexico has agreed to shut down their entire southern border between Guatemala and Mexico, and to stop all freight trains—so called “death trains”—from their northern destinations. All freight trains will go no further than a line or boundary from Monterrey on the east route and to Sonora on the west route. This boundary will be set up and patrolled to make certain that people do not ride the train to these stops and then proceed to the United States through Mexico.
2. Mexico and the United States will jointly build a security barrier for the border between the United States and Mexico. Money confiscated from the cartels will be used to fund the barrier.
3. In a region twenty miles north of the border of Mexico and twenty miles south in the area impacted by Hurricane León, in a line designated by this picture shown on the screen, will be the free zone, or no border zone, for people to live in the immediate future and may be up to a period of two years. The few remaining people in this region have been displaced from their homes and, in some cases, from their home country. This region includes both Brownsville and Matamoros. It has been confirmed that many of the remaining survivors in this area do not know where they are or how they arrived. This area will be guarded by both United States National Guard and Mexican Federal Security forces. Citizenship will be determined at a later date. Those displaced from their homes in Mexico may opt to apply for American citizenship that will be expedited following security checks.
4. Mexico and the United States have agreed to jointly fund the humanitarian efforts for all victims of the hurricane within the region. Additional measures are planned for future immigrants that may attempt to enter the northern border of Mexico and the southern border of the United States so that these victims will receive assistance.
The phone rang.
“Mom?”
“Oh, hello, Eva. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well. I found out how to apply for a place to live for the short term. What do you hear on the news? We don’t have access yet to a television.”
“I’m watching the news now. It looks like both governments, the United States and Mexico, are going to work together to get the area of South Texas and Mexico restored.”
“Really? That’s good news,” Eva said.
Her mother laughed. “Yes, and they are calling it ‘Rebuild American Again.’”
“Interesting. And how about Mexico?”
“They are calling their plan ‘Make Mexico Safe Again.”
“Well, they certainly need to do that!” Eva agreed.
“Yes. It sounds like they are going to focus on the gangs and cartel.”
“That’s what they need to do!”
“Oh, and guess what else?” her mother asked.
“What?”
“The President tweeted this . . . wait, I’ll read it to you. ‘Cartel, gang members, and other criminals in Mexico and Central America, we are coming for you. You can run, but you can’t hide.’ And they are reporting that the people of Mexico they have interviewed have applauded this effort to restore Mexico.”
“That is good news. It will help if everyone just works together,” Eva said.
“Have you heard anything else about funding for us down here? Did they approve our housing money yet?” Eva asked.
“Yes! They announced that earlier, that both the House and the Senate unanimously approved the emergency funding bill.”
“That’s wonderful, Mom. Oh, I’d better run. Church is starting in five minutes.”
“Oh, wait . . . one more thing. It looks like they are sending a member of the cartel to the U.S. to be tried for drug trafficking. Someone named Juan Ochoa. They said he was recently traveling with a tour group in Mexico under the name of Esteban Garcia, or Steven.”
Eva’s heart sank. Steven. That seemed like years ago.
“Eva? Are you there?”
“Yes. Okay, Mom. I’ve gotta run to church.”
“Okay. Talk to you tomorrow.”
* * *
Eva sat in the small church in a pew next to Dolores and her two brothers. They listened to the pastor and sand the hymns together. The sunlight streamed through the windows as it had in the churches of Mexico. But Eva was different. She had changed. She now realized she needed God walking with her in her life. She understood that being independent and accomplished in some areas of life didn’t mean she didn’t need God. She needed Him more than ever.
She watched Dolores as she sang in broken English. Somehow, Eva felt responsible for these young people. They were all starting over. They all relied on God for guidance. Eva knew their future would be better. They had God, and they had each other.
Someday, with God’s help, she would make sense out of her life and what happened with Steven. She understood now that she did not need to know why. She only needed to depend on God and trust that He was the One with a plan for her life.
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Terry Overton, Both Sides of the Border
