(RNS) — Elket Rodríguez, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s global migration advocate, has served migrants on the Texas-Mexico border for years. But until earlier this month, he had never been to the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle route many migrants traverse as they move from Colombia to Panama, most often en route to the United States.
In early November, just days after former U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term, Rodríguez joined a pilgrimage sponsored by Como Nacido Entre Nosotros, or “As Born Among Us,” an ecumenical Protestant Christian network working on migration issues. “It’s a level of vulnerability, even much higher than what I see at the border,” Rodríguez said of his experience.
The trip brought 25 Latino Protestant leaders and pastors to Panama to help them understand the experiences of migrants who arrive in their communities and to explore opportunities to collaborate with Panamanian churches and other partners to support migrants. Participants came from 10 Latin American countries and several states across the U.S., and included representatives of Mission Talk, Latino Christian National Network, Mygration Christian Conference and Avance Latino.
The Rev. Carlos Malavé, a southern Virginia pastor of two churches and president of Latino Chri …