An Immigrant’s Journey to a Flatbush Church, Jail and Back

The New York Times has the story of Fabian Cervantes, an illegal immigrant who found his way across the Mexican border and into our community where he worked tirelessly to improve the church that took him in, Our Lady of Refuge at 2020 Foster Avenue.

“Tell Father Perry this is nothing,” Mr. Cervantes, 50, told Mr. Cruz, a retired sanitation worker. “I can do this.”

So Mr. Cervantes and Mr. Cruz undertook the work. They began at 6 most weeknights, after Mr. Cervantes had finished his construction work. They finished as late as 2 the next morning. Sometimes they had a dozen other volunteers. Often, they had just each other.

Six rows each night, they did battle with the accreted paint, going at it with coarse 60-grit sandpaper, then 120-grit to level out the worst gouges, then 220-grit to smooth the surface for coatings of stain and shellac. The accumulated dust filled two garbage bags every shift.

After traveling back to Mexico to buy a car, Fabian was involved in an accident and had no papers to show the police. He was placed in jail. The Times tells the story of his incarceration and eventual return to Flatbush.

Photo: NYTimes