Peg Bowden - A Stranger at My Door

Propelled by profound acts ofcompassion and humanity, this story asks readers to reevaluatetheir notion of what it means to live an ethical life in Americasborderlands. In it, Bowden collapses the distance thatinsulates her from the other and inspires us to do thesame.

Francisco Cant, authorof
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border

In a world obsessed withanger and hatred, Peg Bowden is a beam of light and love for allmankind. Truly welcoming the stranger, opening her heart and herhome to those who are suffering, no one would ever be a stranger atPeg Bowdens door.

Shura Wallin,Co-founder
Green Valley/Sahuarita Samaritans

A Stranger at My Doorseems to me a classic encounter: a lost and desperate strangerappears at the door of a middle-class woman who trusts him andtakes him in. By degrees we get to know this migrant, and hisplight, as well as the concern of the Samaritan, Peg Bowden. Thedrama continues in time and in different landscapes and countries.This is a drama of generosity and unexpectedness, illustrating therewards of compassion. Peg Bowdens is an especially important bookfor the times we live in, and for all time.

Paul Theroux, authorof
On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey

Peg Bowden is a wonderfulwriter, and A Stranger at My Door is a stunning work. Sheknows what shes talking about, and she can walk you out intoterritory you might never forget.

Luis Alberto Urrea, author ofThe Devils Highway

Peg Bowden writes the storyof too many people in the desert borderlands: ranchers, residents,bird-watchers, hikers, humanitarian-aid volunteers, and BorderPatrol agents. Each person has the startling and unique experienceof encountering a border-crosser. Every encounter is a profoundchallenge to that individuals values, faith, fears, allegiances,anxieties, and very soul. Like every gifted writer, Peg invites thereader into her soul-searching encounter, agonizing decisions,guilt, and redemption. We all should be companions on this strugglefor the soul of America.

John Fife, co-founder of theSanctuary Movement (1982); founding member of Samaritans and NoMore Deaths; retired pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church,Tucson; convicted felon

a

Praise For A Stranger At MyDoor

ASTRANGER AT MY DOOR

Peg Bowden

Copyright 2019 by PegBowden

Published at Smashwords byPeer Publishing

Smashwords Edition, LicenseNotes

This ebook is licensed foryour personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold orgiven away to other people. If you would like to share this bookwith another person, please purchase an additional copy for eachrecipient. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, orit was not purchased for your use only, then please return to yourfavorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.

Peer Publishing

1505 W. St. Marys Road,#379

Tucson, Arizona, 85745

For more information aboutthis book and its author, visit www.pegbowden.com.

Cover design: EbookLaunch

Cover photo: PegBowden

Interior design: AmpersandBook Interiors

Because of the dynamicnature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained inthis book may have changed since publication and may no longer bevalid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of theauthor and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility forthem.

Authors note: This isa work of nonfiction. Some names of the people in the book havebeen changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.

This edition was preparedfor printing by Ryder Author Resources.

Printed in the United Statesof America.

To my desert angels,the Green Valley/Sahuarita Samaritans

In thebleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

In The BleakMidwinter, Christmas carol based on
the poem by Christina Rosetti, 1872.

But no stranger had to spendthe night in the street, for my door was always open to thetraveler.

Job 31:32

How can aperson live a moral life in a culture of death?

Some of the Dead Are StillBreathing, Charles Bowden, 2009

In writing this memoir, Ivedone my best to stick to the facts. That said, I did take narrativeliberties with the story. Some names have been changed to safeguardpeoples privacy. A few events were modified and compressed in partto protect the individuals involved. My actions were not a part ofthe ongoing activities of the Green Valley/Sahuarita Samaritans orany other humanitarian aid organization. Conversations wererecollected from extensive notes and years of phone calls with mymigrant friend in Guatemala. Others present during the encountersin this book may have a totally different perspective of whathappened. Memories are like that.

Some of the scenesmay make sense only to the people who were present, and some of theevents may make absolutely no sense at all. Im still trying tofigure out why I did what I did. And why I didnt do more.

I live in a place where mostpeople wouldnt set foot, and yet I am absolutely sure I belong inthis place. My home is in Arizona, and the news out of southernArizona is always bad. In spite of the endless political argumentsabout who should cross our borders, what to do about the illegaldrugs, the paramilitary agents toting guns and patrolling the wall,and the steady march of migrants, I love living in the desert.There is a tranquil spirituality that feeds my soul. This place Icall home is a living, breathing plunge into a world of magicalrealism.

There have beentimes when I have staggered out of the desert after a long hike,half delirious with parched throat and blistered feet, not sure ofmy name or where I was going. In this country, a person can freezeat night and bake at high noon on the same day. But then I climbinto my waiting car, crank up the air conditioner, and guzzlelife-saving clean water from a gallon jug kept cool in the trunk. Iam a gringa, a privileged white woman, and I live in theborderlands near Nogales, a twin border city we call