08/19/2026
The Table Is Bigger Than the Wall
Last Sunday, we gathered at Monument Mesa for worship, with the ocean breeze around us and Pastor Manuel sharing a challenging and meaningful message from Matthew 15:10–28.
Through the story of the Canaanite woman, we were reminded that God’s grace is abundant and that faith can be found in the places and people we least expect. Pastor Manuel invited us to look at the words that come out of our own hearts, to repent of the ways we diminish our neighbors, and to come to the border not only to speak, but to listen and be taught.
The wall is not the reality. The table is.
We were blessed to welcome a wonderful group from Our Savior’s of Banning, California, along with Pastor Dave Kieffer, who joined us for worship. Pastor Manuel also had the opportunity to show them around different sites at the border.
John and Rosa Maria were with us as well, along with Lisa, who is from Iowa and a friend of Rev. Dr. Jan Schnell from Wartburg Seminary. We were also able to say “Auka” to our friends in Playas through the bollard fence. After the service, we gathered under the shade, where Nanzi led us in singing “Happy Birthday” to Lisa as she celebrated her 16th birthday. 🎉 It was also a joy to see dear friends with us—Selene, Nadia, Pedro, Adriana, and Karen, who helped record our service.
Thank you to everyone who crossed boundaries, shared in worship, listened, celebrated, and reminded us once again that God’s table is bigger than any wall.
What a beautiful Sunday at the border. ❤️
August 16, 2026 | Photos by Maria Teresa Fernandez
𝑳𝒂 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒂 𝑬𝒔 𝑴á𝒔 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒍 𝑴𝒖𝒓𝒐
𝘌𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘤é𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵í𝘢 𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘫𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘰 15:10–28.
𝘈 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷é𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘢, 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘧𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘦𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘺 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘴. 𝘌𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵ó 𝘢 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘻ó𝘯, 𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘺 𝘢 𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪é𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳.
𝘌𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥. 𝘓𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘰 𝘦𝘴.
𝘛𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘭𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪ó𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘳 𝘢 𝘶𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢, 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢ñ𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰. 𝘌𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪é𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘷𝘰 𝘭𝘢 𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪é𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴, 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘢, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘐𝘰𝘸𝘢 𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘷. 𝘋𝘳𝘢. 𝘑𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪é𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘳 “𝘈𝘶𝘬𝘢” 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷é𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘴. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘶é𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰, 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘫𝘰 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢, 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘪 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪ó 𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦 “𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘻 𝘊𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴” 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘢, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘴 16 𝘢ñ𝘰𝘴. 🎉
𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪é𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘳í𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘴: 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦, 𝘕𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘗𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰, 𝘈𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘥ó 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰.
𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪ó𝘯, 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯, 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘻 𝘮á𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘴 𝘮á𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘰.
¡𝘘𝘶é 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢! ❤️
16 𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦 2026