At Casa de Luz, we split into two teams: baking and gardening. The gardening team, along side shelter residents, worked to both harvest and plant various vegetables in the garden such as fresh garlic, Swiss chard, and peas. Meanwhile, the baking team whipped up some brownies and cookies to share with residents.

After that, we made our way to Friendship Park for a binational Border Church service. The walk there was long but rewarding as we walked along the coast sharing laughs and capturing beautiful b-roll for our documentaries. At the service which was held right along the wall at Friendship Park, we were incredibly moved by the priest, who celebrated the mass in both English and Spanish. It was beautiful to see all the faces from both near and far who attended the service. After enjoying food provided by Esther and the people at Casa de Luz, many of us broke off into our small groups to do interviews, while others played games with the kids who attended the service. Our group interviewed Father Guiermo, who had an incredibly engaging take on the questions we asked. Following the interviews, many of us returned to the condos for downtime, while the rest stayed behind to get more footage and finish interviews. 

 

For our last dinner together, we were treated to one more meal by the wonderful Leo and Caro but this time at their restaurant. Once again we got to enjoy their hospitality but homemade horchata was the best surprise! After eating, we got to interview Leo where he told us his amazing heartfelt story and we prompted him with questions, he happily answered. Then we said our goodbyes and thanked them for feeding us all week. After that we walked to a michocana and ended our immersion experience with ice-cream recommended by Ricarbol, whom we will miss dearly for his big spirit and gentle heart, along with Joy, Alithea, and all we encountered fighting on behalf of the migrant community in Tijuana. 

 

This entire immersion has exceeded all our expectations and we cannot wait to share everything we learned and witnessed about migration once we get back to Colorado! The fight is far from over but we hope to make a difference by showing the world our stories.