ABOVE: Ruth Moreno shows her brother, Lino, how to keep his hands warm as the sun rises behind them on the Santa Fe Bridge over the Rio Grande in Juárez, Mexico. They make the two-hour cross-border journey each school day to attend the United Methodist Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ruth Moreno and her family live in one of the few houses with lights on at 4:30 a.m. Two big dogs are pacing around the small fenced front yard, barking anxiously at any movements on the street.

As the front door opens, the light around Ruth’s long, dark hair envelops her like a halo.

Ruth, a high school senior, and her little brother Lino, in 7th grade, are dressed in the navy blue and burgundy uniforms of Lydia Patterson Institute, a United Methodist college-preparatory school in El Paso, Texas. The sleepy kids are getting ready to walk out the door, cross the Rio Grande and travel from their home in Juárez, Mexico, into the U.S.

Ruth’s mother, Elizabeth Ramírez Arredondo, in a gray bathrobe, is washing the breakfast dishes. The Rev. Jose Lino Moreno Garcia, her father, is standing near the table watching his two youngest children as they scurry around getting books, putting on jackets, preparing to walk out the door. This is how every school day begins.

Jose and Elizabeth are happy to send their children out into the pre-dawn darkness because attending Lydia Patterson is a dream for the whole family.

“It is a great school, they teach values from the Bible,” Elizabeth says. Their oldest daughter, Raquel, 21, graduated from Lydia Patterson and is now in college and working part time. Ruth explains that Raquel is still asleep — a bit of envy in her voice as she glances at the blanket-covered figure on the couch.

The hard-packed dirt road outside their house is faintly lit by occasional streetlights and it is a cold November morning. The routine is for the kids to catch a city bus for a 30-minute bus ride to the entrance of the Santa Fe Bridge. The journey across the pedestrian bridge is not that long in distance but it can take from one to four hours to gain entry into the U.S. The Santa Fe bridge, known as the Paso del Norte Port of Entry on the U.S. side, is the second-busiest pedestrian bridge on the Mexico border.

Most days it is a two-hour walk. Ruth makes sure she and Lino leave her house at 5:20 a.m. to get to school in time for her to work in the cafeteria for an hour before classes start.

Juárez at one point was listed as the most violent city in the world because of drug gangs. The city is also dealing with thousands of migrants who are waiting for asylum, a process that has been slowed down by the Trump administration’s new Migrant Protection Protocols.

“I am conscious of what is happening around me and that everywhere there is violence but I don’t feel any fear because I trust God and He is with me, that I am not alone,” Ruth says about her hometown. “Don’t misunderstand me, I also know that I need to take my own precautions,” she adds.

Ruth keeps her eyes on her little brother and knows what is going on around her.

Lino is very sleepy. He leans his head against his sister’s shoulder and she gently shakes him when it is time to move. He asks her for money to buy some chocolate that will help him stay awake.

As they walk, the sun slowly rises and paints everything golden. Once they pass border guards in the U.S., it is a few more blocks to the school.

Ruth uses some of her time in the line studying for a test.

Ruth and Lino have scholarships to attend the private school.

Scholarships are given as available, based on economic need. All of the scholarships are donations — mostly from United Methodist local churches — and the students earn the scholarships by working before and after school. Lydia Patterson is supported by the South Central Jurisdiction.

The United Methodist Immigration Task Force was meeting at the school Nov. 21-23. Ruth and Lino were on hand to serve food during the lunches and dinners hosted by the school. They were also both acolytes at the ending worship service at Trinity-First United Methodist Church, El Paso.

Ruth says Lydia Patterson “feels like home.” She giggles, adding, “Maybe because I spend so much time there.”

She is serious about her education and she feels “it is God’s purpose” that she is there.

“Lydia Patterson helps you with your dreams. I feel happy, I want to do everything I need to do,” she says. Her parents are always telling her they want a better life for their children than the ones they have.

“I want to give back to my parents because they have given so much to me.”

Her days can get long because she is involved in several after-school clubs.

“I’m in lay ministry, which is a group that is in charge of chapel services. I’m in interact club, which does community service, and I’m in student council and newspaper because I love to write,” she says.

Her favorite subjects are English and math. She wants to go to college to get a degree in elementary education and then go into ministry.

“My biggest dream is to become a pastor, to spread the Gospel and the love of God, and to serve other people.” She says that her father, a Pentecostal pastor, is her inspiration. “I know that it’s my calling.”

Outside of school, she works in her church and with the youth and kids’ groups. When she has free time, her hobbies are drawing, writing, singing and crafts.

“I try to be busy in God’s work; I really love to spend time with my family and friends.”

Lydia Patterson Institute has been in existence for more than 100 years. Patterson was a Methodist laywoman who noticed young Hispanic boys in the neighborhood had no school to attend. Seventy percent of the students attending the school are from Juárez, said school president Socorro de Anda.

“We have students who can pay tuition but we also have ones who, if we couldn’t help them, they would probably not go beyond sixth grade,” de Anda said.

“Ruth is a scholarship student; she has demonstrated she doesn’t take this opportunity for granted. She is a hard worker, involved in many student activities, and she stands out because she is one to unashamedly talk about the opportunity she has been given,” said Ernesto Morales, principal of Lydia Patterson. “We have many students who excel and work hard.”

Morales said many people who aren’t familiar with Lydia Patterson think of it as a good place for students to learn to speak and read English.

“It seems minimal in the idea of what we are doing,” he said. “We have strong academic standards … our teachers have high expectations. We have 99% go to colleges, universities and 98 to 99% graduate.”

The cost for the school is $500 a month for 10 months but some scholarships are for $6,000 to cover the cost of getting a student visa, for traveling back and forth from the bridge and some extra money to allow them to join clubs and be part of activities, Morales said.

De Anda said a big part of the school’s success is the staff.

“The average stay of my staff is about 15 years. I have one who has been there close to 50 years — she graduated from Lydia Patterson, was a math teacher and now is assistant to the principal.”

Another longtime staff member is Fernando Rivera, who found a home at Lydia Patterson 45 years ago and never left. Rivera, student activities director, came to the school as a student. He said he was almost kicked out “for being a troublemaker,” but the Rev. Harry Kahl, the principal at the time, gave him a second chance. Kahl went on to officiate Rivera’s wedding, baptize his children and served as his sponsor for U.S. citizenship.

“I love him dearly like a son and he calls me his father, since his own father has passed,” Kahl said. He adds that Rivera will be one of the speakers at his funeral. “I’m proud of how he’s developed his kids and raised them in the church.”

“Like me, there’s a lot of students who get one chance to have a better life,” Rivera said. “I can tell you about a lot of persons who want a chance like me who are still over there. The school and The United Methodist Church, they do a good job helping these people.”

Rivera has given back to both the school and the church. His son, a Lydia Patterson graduate, is now an ordained United Methodist pastor in Louisiana.

“When they graduate from Lydia Patterson we want to make sure that they leave with a sense of responsibility not only for themselves but for others,” de Anda said. “You will find even if they don’t go into lay ministry or ordained ministry they are always in some type of ministry. They are always serving — this is what we teach them.”

Lydia Patterson is a safe haven, a sanctuary, says Morales.

“It is difficult to understand how amazing this mission is without seeing it. My challenge is for people to come visit, talk to these students and see what we are about. And I almost guarantee people will want to be part of this ministry.”

Gilbert is a news writer and DuBose a photographer for UM News, the official news service of The United Methodist Church. Joey Butler, multimedia producer/editor, contributed to this story. Contact them at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.