My name is James Lopez Ericksen and I will be fasting May 30-31st, 2013 in support to end deportations. I have lived in NE and N Portland for most of the last twenty years in mostly poor communities of color. As a white male, I recognize the slow work to first sit, listen, and learn when entering different ethnic communities. And in everything I do, recognize the good work of others who give tirelessly with little or no resources and recognition. It is my belief that trust, respect, and dignity are three of the most important elements in how we are to treat others. Within the community I live in, Portsmouth, and the school my son attends, I am intentional to befriend my immigrant neighbors. I have served on the board of the Oregon Farm Worker Ministry for a little less than a year. My beautiful, patient wife is 1st generation from El Salvador and teaches me daily how to live out the faith. I have two incredible children, a son age 7, and a daughter age 3. A quote I love and live by is, “I am a shepard,” he said, “who, with his people, has begun to learn a beautiful and difficult truth: our Christian faith requires that we submerge ourselves in this world.” -Oscar Romero