The Price of Migration

Without God I never would have made it. If I had to choose One to rely on as a source of strength, joy, comfort, and faith, it would be God over and over again. With Him, I am convinced I can do all things. His mercy, favor, and grace carried me through all these difficult seasons of my life, from the day I was born, to my childhood, to adolescence, and to now adulthood. The one thing I am grateful the most for, other than the sacrifices that my parents made with immigrating is them instructing me in the path of faith. My mom instilled in me to love God, to have faith in Him, to pray to Him, to trust Him, and always put Him first. I 100% confirm that my mom gained her strength to fight these battles through God and prayer. Witnessing the life of a strong woman of faith and a prayer warrior was so encouraging for me. For the past 15 years, she never stopped praying, she never stopped going to church, she never stopped serving God and helping others, she simply did not stop despite the trials and tribulations she was facing. There were days when she would attend vigils, 5 am prayers, and participated in congregational fasts because she was confident that one day God would hear her cry. It was more than a prayer; her prayer was a cry unto God so that we could one day have our permanent residency and eventually our citizenship. Watching her for over a decade and half putting her trust in God encouraged me to follow her footsteps. It was the longest process we had to go through, but at the end we saw the goodness and faithfulness of God. I am glad to have gone through so many years of being undocumented, it made me resilient, and it made me who I am today. God allowed this process in our lives to refine us, to bring us closer to Him, and it certainly humbled us and keeps us grounded. It also gave me a sense of compassion and understanding. Though I feel like I had to grow up and mature so early, I can now serve and understand kids, youth, and young adults who may find themselves in the same situation. It gave me a sense of leadership, mentorship, and the spirit of motherhood to nurture and serve those who are facing the same struggle I once faced. I am a strong believer that God assigns us specific mountains so that we can face them, overcome them, and show others they can in fact be moved. It’s also encouraging to keep in mind that our stories will one day serve as guidebooks for other people to overcome their own battles and the tribulations and trials in their lives. Only God gives us the endurance to get through the bad times and overcome the mountains that look impossible to survive and make it victorious on the other side. I thank God for entrusting me with this mountain, because it led me to find my passion of being a voice for immigrants. It led me to write this book and inspire others. And ultimately to discover my purpose of serving people for the rest of my life. Though living undocumented for more than half of my life was painful, and it left me with physical and emotional wounds; I wouldn’t change it for the world. It gave me an identity and ultimately helped me discover my purpose in life: to help people, to love people and to see them the way God sees them. It gives me the opportunity to identify with their stories and vice versa.