Mariela: Would Be

Mariela Would Be a migrant, but she’s NOT.

What Would Be your situation today if someone hadn’t made a sacrifice for you?

Or, what Would Be your situation if they didn’t see something in you that you perhaps didn’t see in yourself?

Maybe it was help in a tough moment, maybe it was a teacher who in-spite of being overloaded and exhausted they didn’t ignore the Spirit’s urging to invest in you. Perhaps that “someone” didn’t give you anything more than an opportunity.

Regardless of how hard we work, how committed we are, or how many times we get back up after we’ve fallen down, if we’ve overcome those situations rarely is it because we did it all on our own. When I think about the sacrifices that my father made early in his life I’m humbled by the thought of what “Would Be” his situation if he had not and if someone had not given him opportunities, and in turn, what my situation Would Be. And it’s very likely that many in my family before him also made sacrifices and were blessed by given opportunities as they labored to establish themselves in this great land.

Mariela very likely Would Be a migrant in a caravan headed to the US from Honduras. It’s very likely that she Would Be an illegal immigrant in our land, not because she’s struggling with the trauma of gang violence back in Honduras that might possibly justify an asylum claim, her struggle would be with the scars left from the trauma of poverty. And yes, the reality of growing up in poverty is quite traumatizing. But Mariela Would not Be a migrant. Not because she was given something tangible, but because she was simply given an opportunity. She was given an opportunity to play an active role in the transformation of her own, and her family’s, legacy.

Mariela started 7th grade with us years ago in our vocational Jr. High School, Lazarus Academy. To get to school she hiked, daily, some three hours high in the La Botija mountains. Then every afternoon, often in the rain, she would hike home. Then by oil lamp she would stay up late doing her homework. Mariela finished the 9th grade and she continued studying. And because she learned a trade while in Jr. high she was also able to have part-time employment in the Lazarus Artisan Goods production shop, putting to work the marketable sewing skills she’s perfected over the three previous years.

Mariela worked hard, both in highschool and in the production shop, and in spite of the pandemic she graduated from high school a year early. In January 2021 Mariela enrolled in college where she is studying to be a lawyer. In order to manage her college class schedule she needed to change jobs so she applied to work for San Lazaro Coffee on our farm in Honduras, where she, along with 20 other women, are transforming their community.

Mariela Would Be a migrant, but she’s NOT. That’s how we solve our immigration problem, by creating innovative ways to offer people like Mariela the opportunity to not only dream but to chase them as well, in their home countries. It’s not a quick fix but it is a sustainable one and if we don’t start now then we’ll never know what Would Be possible.