LIVING ON THE BRIDGE

Cuban woman sleeping with others on the bridge.

Cuban refugees are living on the international bridge. They have left their country for Mexico since they can travel to that country easily. But their goal is to live in the United States.

After arriving in Mexico, they took busses to border cities, but along the way some of the busses were stopped by gangs. Only the Cubans were kidnapped and held for ransom. Some were released, but many others are still being held. This has been a dangerous trip for all of them because they came to Mexico with money.

We first noticed the Cubans when we came across the bridge one day 2 weeks ago. A large number of young people were clustered around a tree in a small patio at the foot of the bridge. They were well dressed and many were using smart phones. These didn’t look like the poor immigrants one expects to see.  Along the side of the narrow pedestrian walkway toward the middle of the Rio Grande River, pallets and blankets held young men, women and children who were resting or sleeping. A barrier guarded by U.S. officers stopped them from going any further.

Lloyd and I wondered who all these people were and where they were from. I rolled down the window of the Jeep and Lloyd asked a man standing at the edge of the walkway where he was from. CUBA! “We are Cubanos.” 

Later we learned the Cubans have obtained temporary permits to wait on the bridge until they can be interviewed by the U.S. government. It’s a safe place. There are public restrooms at the foot of the bridge and food can be purchased nearby. It’s a quiet crowd, well behaved and polite. Also, it is a group of people who are forced to wait, they are probably bored and in need of diversion. What a good set-up for someone to bring them the gospel message!

At a meeting at our church we asked for prayer for the people on the bridge. Later, armed with booklets in Spanish with the salvation message from Romans and some other brochures, we drove slowly in stop-and-go traffic back into the United States on that same bridge. At every opportunity while inching forward, I opened the Jeep door and approached people who were within reach, offering them the booklets. And the response was very positive.

When they saw the writing on the booklets, their eyes lit up and they smiled. We inched forward again in traffic and watched as they quickly distributed the Word of God among those around the tree. Many raised their hands in greeting, others showed their gratitude with smiles. We remembered that few Bibles are allowed in Cuba, none can be brought in by missionaries and the American Bible Society has been banned from shipping any Bibles to that country. We stopped a few more times and handed out booklets until we reached the center of the bridge marking the US boundary line.

Now the faces of those people and their gratitude will haunt us. Next time we’ll take some different gospel literature to distribute because the people have plenty of time to read. Please pray with us for these Cuban refugees. We understand there are thousands of them along the Mexican border awaiting asylum in the United States. No matter how we feel about their presence, or whether or not we agree with what they’re doing, they need God!

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17