Join Us for a Border Encounter

A Border Encounter is a three-day, four-night immersive experience designed to deepen empathy and understanding at the U.S.–Mexico border. Through site visits, guided dialogue, and ethical storytelling, participants rehumanize migration beyond the headlines.

We enter spaces as guests—not saviors—centering the voices, wisdom, and resilience of local leaders, asylum seekers, and shelter partners. We aim to listen well, reflect deeply, and build relationships across borders.

Our Core Commitments

Local Partnership
We work in long-term collaboration with more than 30 shelters and grassroots organizations on both sides of the border. Programming emerges at their invitation and according to their guidance. We do not enter spaces uninvited. We create encounters that work to center dignity to avoid re-traumatizing those experiencing displacement.

Community Economics
All meals are sourced from neighborhood vendors, many of whom are families or local cooks. Transportation, accommodations, and services are purchased from the local community to ensure economic benefit flows back to El Paso and Juárez.

Accommodations
Guests stay in simple, clean, and safe apartments, not a luxury retreat facility. We intentionally avoid creating a comfort-first experience and instead prioritize accessibility and community benefit.

Programming and Ethical Storytelling
Speakers and practitioners from the borderlands are not “subjects” but co-designers of the experience. They determine what stories are shared and how, and they are compensated fairly for their expertise. We maintain strict boundaries around photography and storytelling to prevent voyeurism.

Trauma-Informed Education
Participants do not “tour” or “volunteer.” Instead, they learn through dialogue, history, and systems-level perspectives. The focus is understanding root causes, resilience, and faith, not consuming someone else’s pain.

Narrative Change
Abara seeks to honor the resilient joy and beauty of the borderlands, a community too often described only through pain or crisis. Even in the midst of struggle, the border remains a place of welcome and creativity where many have gathered for centuries. We invite participants to enter as co-learners, listeners, and neighbors, embracing the fullness of this beloved community.

We Live Here
Abara’s approach is deeply local. With guidance from a binational team and Wisdom Council, nearly all of our staff, board, and leaders call the border home.

Land and Memory
With our Wisdom Council, we listen for the voice of the land. The borderlands carry both wisdom and wounds, holding memory of resilience and pain. Honoring those who have gone ahead, we recognize that our flourishing is bound with the flourishing of earth. In this place of welcome and struggle, we’re learning to let the land lead us toward care, restoration, and

• Lodging in Abara guest apartments
• Meals & snacks
• Local transportation to/from programming
• Honorariums for speakers, shelter support, and legal aid
• Administrative and staff costs

2026 Rates

• Groups of 6–9: $845 per person
• Groups of 10+: $795 per person
• Additional nights: $40/night

1. Choose your preferred dates.
2. Submit a $250 non-refundable deposit to hold your spot.
3. Schedule a planning meeting to go over details.

To begin booking, email: hospitality@abara.org

Groups typically stay in Abara’s fully furnished guest apartments, located above our offices. Each includes bathrooms, kitchens, bunk beds, and gathering spaces.

Yes, we have what is called combination groups.

Programming is typically Tuesday–Thursday. Mondays and Fridays are recommended travel days. We do not offer programming on weekends or during July.

Daily programming runs 8:30 AM–6:00 PM, including lunch and dinner. Breaks and changes of scenery are built in throughout the day.

Yes. We’re committed to making Border Encounters accessible and offer reduced rates to accommodate different economic circumstances. Please inquire directly.

Yes! Donations to our BE Scholarship Fund help make these experiences available to those who may otherwise be unable to participate.

Yes. Additional nights can be arranged at an affordable rate. Contact Angelica “Lica” Acosta Garnett at hospitality@abara.org for more info.

Yes. You may stay offsite, and we’ll provide transportation from your accommodations to Abara House during programming.

To request a detailed PDF of our full Border Encounter FAQs or to begin planning your visit, please contact:

hospitality@abara.org

We’re here to help you take the next step in this journey of connection and learning.