Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., raise their hands as they listen to the preaching of pastor Jose Murcia (not pictured) outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico on November 24, 2018. (REUTERS File Photo)
TIJUANA, December 28 (Reuters):- Since setting out from Honduras in the hope of reaching the United States, Nicolas Alonso Sanchez has worn a simple wooden cross around his neck – a quiet reminder of the Roman Catholic faith that propels him forward.
"God gave me the strength to get all the way here," Sanchez, 47, says at a temporary shelter where he is staying in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.
On the long journey from Central America to U.S. soil, many migrants have taken solace in their religion.
Juan Francisco, 25, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., shows his tattoo of the 23rd Psalm of the Book of Psalms as he poses for a picture outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico on November 26, 2018. (REUTERS File Photo)
Several 'caravans' of mostly Honduran migrants who made the trek this year faced arduous conditions, braving fierce heat by day and searching for a safe place to sleep at night.
Many regard their faith as their compass.
For migrants far from home, the street often becomes their place of worship. On a warm afternoon in late November, pastor Jose Murcia, a Salvadoran who lives in the United States, preaches outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana to a cluster of men.
Later, Murcia joins a pair of men kneeling in the middle of the road, their heads bowed in prayer.
Pastor Jose Murcia, 47, preaches to migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico on November 24, 2018. (REUTERS File Photo)
On their way to the U.S. border, the migrants walked the length of Mexico. Here, the Virgin of Guadalupe - an image of the Virgin Mary who devotees believe appeared to an indigenous man in the 16th century - looms large. As if seeking her protection, a man drapes himself with a banner depicting her as he crouches before a phalanx of riot police in Tijuana.
The migrants face a future of uncertainty. The United States said this month that many asylum seekers may be forced to stay in Mexico while their claims are processed. Some Mexican border towns are perilous places to wait, plagued with crime and violence.
But many migrants, bolstered by their faith, say they are undaunted.
"God always takes care of me," says Osmel Efraim, an 18-year-old Honduran migrant in Tijuana. "Thanks to God, I am here, safe and healthy."
