Category Archives: Reflections

The time is almost here, in just over a week i’ll be boarding an airplane with an amazing group of people to head to South Texas. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we sat down for our first meeting and started discussing items on our agenda that, at the time, seemed so far away. I find myself having trouble putting into words how I feel or what I think the next couple of weeks are going to be like. All I can think about is how I still need to go shopping for last minute items, and making sure the animals and my partner have enough food to survive the next few weeks without me. All those things seem so minuscule and unimportant compared to what our group will be doing while we are in Texas.

While in Texas, our time will be divided up into doing excavations at the Sacred Heart Cemetery and most recently, we found out that we will be spending time at the Sacred Heart Humanitarian Respite Center, among other items on our agenda. At the center, we will be volunteering our time to assist immigrant families while they wait to be reunited with their family here in the United States. I wish I felt more prepared but I don’t think there is any real preparation one can do to make yourself feel 100% ready.

I have never experienced first hand a crisis like what has been happening in South Texas and other states along the border. What compelled me to want to participate in this humanitarian effort, is the thought of being able to give closure to families. To assist in getting these unidentified border crossers identified and then return them to their families. If I was in this position, I would like to think that someone would do the same for my loved one and my family although I cannot really understand what these families and gone and are currently going through.

As for now, I will continue procrastinating my packing and shopping for last minute items. I am actually looking forward to my first blog post after being in S. Texas for a few days. I am as ready as I can be when it comes to the amount of emotions I will be feeling and the culture shock that I will experience. Until then, cheers to the New Year and when I come home, I welcome the change that this experience will give me- just like with every new year, we strive to be different, to be better and never the same.

Jessica

This holiday season, I am fortunate enough to be spending time at home with my family in west Michigan. In light of all of the family fun times and holiday cheer, I find myself thinking of those who aren’t as fortunate as myself – those who are unable to spend time with some of their family members who are lost or missing. So many take for granted the opportunity to be with family during the holidays, and it is all too easy to forget those who do not have that opportunity. As the day of the UIndy team’s departure to South Texas fast approaches, my own family has been asking me: “Are you nervous?” “Are you excited?” “Are you ready?”

Yes. YES. ….I think so?

I am absolutely both very excited and maybe a little bit nervous to embark on this journey. I’m generally not the kind of person who gets very nervous; I like to take things as they happen and try not to stress myself out unnecessarily ahead of time. However, this journey is something that I don’t think any first-timer can truly be “ready” for. I am definitely ready to get down there and get to work, but there is no way to predict what might be in store for our team. So yes, I think I am ready. But it is very likely that I will be proven wrong once I am down in the middle of everything, though in the best of ways. No matter how much I read about this project, no matter how many lists I prepare, no matter how many reps I do in the gym, I know that unexpected and exciting things are going to surprise us during this experience and that I, and everyone else on the team, will be challenged in ways that we cannot even begin to predict.

It is going to be an adventure, and it will be a challenging one, but I know that by keeping in mind the purpose of our work in South Texas – to help families finally discover what happened to their loved ones so that they may find peace – will give me, and everyone else on our team, the strength to push through and accomplish amazing things.

So yes, I am excited and nervous and ready to get to South Texas and do my part in helping make a difference in the lives of so many.

Happy Holidays!

Erica

I cannot believe that we are leaving for Texas in less than two weeks. It seems like just yesterday that we had our first group meeting, learning what this field season is going to entail.  I have been so busy with finals and the end-of-the-semester scurry to get tasks finished that this timeline hasn’t really sunk in. Now that the semester is over and I have no more deadlines to meet, this experience is becoming more and more real to me.  I am starting to feel nervous and anxious, not knowing exactly how this experience will challenge me both physically and emotionally.  Despite the nerves, I am so excited and filled with gratitude about participating in this wonderful effort.

Ever since I learned about the humanitarian work my school is involved in down in South Texas, I’ve known that I wanted to be a part of it. I have been given the amazing opportunity to participate in the excavation of migrants who perished crossing the border, and it is my first time joining this effort.  I have tried to prepare myself by reading the blog and hearing stories from those who have participated in past field seasons, but I don’t think I will ever be truly prepared for what I am going to experience down there.

We were just informed that in addition to exhuming remains from Sacred Heart Cemetery, we will also be volunteering at the Sacred Heart Humanitarian Respite Center.  Here, we will be assisting migrants as they prepare to meet their family members awaiting them in the United States. I am excited for this experience, but also a little anxious.  I cannot imagine what these individuals went through in the detention centers, and I cannot fathom the emotions they are feeling when they arrive at the Respite Center. Growing up in Michigan and now living in Indiana, I have not been exposed to or personally affected by the crisis on the border.  Volunteering at the Respite Center will be my first personal experience with this crisis, and I think it will challenge me the most.  Click here to read more about the Sacred Heart Humanitarian Respite Center on our blog.

As for now, I will begin packing and gathering all the additional items I will need for our 10 days in Texas.  These next two weeks I will spend educating myself more on the border crisis, while trying to mentally and physically prepare myself for this endeavor. I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity and the experiences I will gain from it.  I hope that I am able to give as much as I know I will gain.

Leann