STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
To be a pastor is to be present for your congregation. You show up in church on Sundays. You visit hospitals. You counsel families. This is the story of a pastor who traveled thousands of miles away from his church overseas and was stopped from returning. Aleja Hertzler-McCain from Religion News Service has that pastor's story.
ALEJA HERTZLER-MCCAIN, BYLINE: Growing up in Guatemala, Esdras Paredes saw his father, a pastor, receive death threats for his Pentecostal faith. In the 1980s, Paredes moved to the United States seeking asylum. Eventually, he became a pastor himself and took over a small church in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
ESDRAS PAREDES: It is a family environment. If you have a problem, we all have a problem. If you have a sickness, we all have a sickness.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: Francisco Martinez Javier says he was addicted to drugs and gambling. And then he heard Paredes preach.
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ JAVIER: (Through interpreter) I began to cry when he began to preach the word of God. I said, wow. And from that time, I have not missed a worship service.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: Esdras Paredes and his wife and co-pastor, Wanda, had built a thriving congregation and family with six children and eight grandchildren, all in the U.S.
WANDA PAREDES: Looking back at all that, how much we've grown, it is God. He was the one who did it all.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: But in the summer of 2025, Paredes'' mother in Guatemala was hospitalized. He'd traveled to the country before without any issues, and he said he thought his immigration status was OK because he repeatedly was granted work permits. He even checked with a lawyer before getting on the plane. But once in Guatemala, Paredes received a surprising document. It told him that he could not apply to return to the United States until 2035 because of a 1991 deportation order. Paredes says he doesn't recall ever receiving that order.
ESDRAS PAREDES: It was shocking to me that I was being left here and not being able to go back to my family. So I guess I took it really hard.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: One year later, Paredes is still in Guatemala. But he hasn't stopped pastoring his church in Wisconsin. At least three times a week, he makes a video call to preach at his church - Ven y Descansaras, which means Come and You Will Find Rest.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOER #1: (Speaking Spanish).
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: On a Sunday afternoon in August, church members stood at the edge of a small lake while Paredes preached over a phone held up to a mic.
ESDRAS PAREDES: (Through interpreter) As pastor of the church, I congratulate each one of you who will be baptized. You have made the best decision of your life - to follow eternal life.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: Then Paredes' 28-year-old son Elias took over, dunking six people into the lake's cold green water.
ELIAS PAREDES: I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Speaking Spanish).
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing in Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOER #2: (Speaking Spanish).
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: Paredes is proud of how his family have led in his absence. But ultimately...
ESDRAS PAREDES: That's my responsibility. I should be the one doing that. They're my sheep. They're my disciples.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: In his absence, his wife, Pastor Wanda, has had to shoulder much of the pastoral burden.
W PAREDES: Pastor, I need to go to court. Pastor, I need to go to Chicago. Pastor, I need to go to the airport. Pastor, my son is sick. Pastor, my daughter is sick. Come and pray.
ESDRAS PAREDES: It takes my sleep away at night, knowing that my wife has to deal with all these things on her own.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: She's not totally alone. Another pastor helps out after his 10-hour shift on a dairy farm. But other members of the congregation have their own immigration fears. Two have been deported since Paredes went to Guatemala.
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOER #3: (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOER #4: (Speaking Spanish).
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: On a Saturday night, more than 80 people gather in the sanctuary, and string lights glow on the cross. When it's time for Paredes to preach, the internet connection is faulty. He drives around Guatemala City searching for a connection. While they wait, Wanda invites the congregation to share their testimonies. Kender Silva, a shy 22-year-old ranch hand, gets up to share a reflection about Peter.
KENDER SILVA: (Speaking Spanish).
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: Like the imprisoned apostle, Silva says, God will set their pastor free.
SILVA: (Through interpreter) The living God had taken him out of the prison, had sent his angel and removed him. He was at the door. And we believe that one day, Pastor Esdras Paredes - he will enter through that door.
(APPLAUSE)
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: After 40 minutes, Paredes finally gets a signal. He preaches from a dimly lit car 2,000 miles away.
ESDRAS PAREDES: (Through interpreter) Even though we are suffering, do not be afraid, because the God we serve is an all-powerful God.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: When he finishes preaching, Paredes invites people to the altar to pray. Eleven people come forward, but he can't see them over the video call. He asks his wife to take over from there.
For NPR News, I'm Aleja Hertzler-McCain.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
INSKEEP: That story was produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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