St Thomas Online Coffee Hour: Skagit Pilgrimage

The Skagit Pilgrims are home! We arrived back in Medina on Friday afternoon, after a long, hard, and busy week in the Skagit Valley. Our Pilgrimage was a wonderful time of service, learning, building friendships, and growing as people of God. The last two days of the Pilgrimage, Wednesday and Thursday, were very busy and meaningful. We continued Bible Camp in the afternoons and it was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. What all of the Pilgrims will remember are the kids running to our cars to greet us as soon as we pulled into the parking lot at the end of the week. Remember, on Monday, the kids and parents scattered as soon as we appeared – unsure of who we were and why we were at their homes. Relationships were built very quickly and the love and hospitality of God was made known through our time with the kids. It was hard to leave for the last time on Thursday and to tell the kids that we would not be returning the next day. We took that opportunity to tell them about the friendship that Jesus offers – he is a friend who is always present and will never leave. Our final craft with them was making friendship bracelets as a reminder of our friendship, the friendship of la Iglesia de la Resurreccion, and the friendship and love of God in Jesus Christ.

On Wednesday morning, the Pilgrims were given a tour of Sakuma Bros. Farms – one of the largest berry producers in the Pacific Northwest. The massive scale of this operation was a stark contrast to our time at Viva Farms earlier in the week. While our eyes were opened to the pride and dignity of Salvador at Viva Farms, we saw the struggle of the farm workers who have not been given the opportunity to farm their own land. The people employed as berry pickers at farms across the Skagit Valley are under immense pressure to produce and work at backbreaking speed. Jo also took us to the farm workers’ camp to see the conditions in which the majority of workers live. Each family has a small, approximately 20’ x 20’ room in which they live. There is no insulation, many do not have windows, and a sheet of tin is the only thing to call a roof. The only bathrooms are small, communal bathrooms shared by several hundred workers and their families. It was heartbreaking to realize that so many people live in such circumstances so close to home. The Pilgrims began to talk about and process what other suffering surrounds us that we choose not to see. Our hope is that we would open our eyes to see those in need around us and serve them with the love of Christ.

Our morning on Thursday was spent doing yard work for a supporter of la Iglesia de la Resurreccion. Several months ago, the youth group of Resurreccion held an even to raise money for several of the children from the congregation to attend Camp Huston. The youth group of St. Thomas had donated yard work as part of the auction for the event and we were able to support the youth of Resurreccion by cleaning up the auction winner’s yard.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers for the youth of St. Thomas to make our Pilgrimage a success. Thank you also for your incredibly generous support of la Iglesia de la Resurreccion through donations of diapers and school supplies. Not only did we have a car load of donations when we arrived in Mt. Vernon, but we had another car load delivered when we left on Friday! If you are a stockholder, remember that there will be a special dinner at St. Thomas on September 18 when the Pilgrims will share with you more about our experience. If you haven’t already, mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information in the near future!