Upon arriving at the detention center in Louisiana, Fuentes Espinal said his health was checked, including blood pressure and sugar levels. After that, he said he noticed much better conditions compared to the ICE facility in Baltimore.
"They were screaming, and I said, 'Lord, what is happening? Why are you bringing me to this place?'" Fuentes Espinal recalled. "I was shocked by what was happening."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office.
Walking into his cell for the first time was terrifying, he said. However, things began to change when he started talking to other detainees. It was then that he said he found a way to turn his fear into faith and felt called to serve. Quickly upon arrival, he organized a small group for prayer inside his cell. Just two days after arriving, the prison chaplain invited Fuentes Espinal to preach at the facility's church.
"I was lying in my bed, and they told me, 'Pastor, you're on the news,'" he said. "Everyone was watching and listening to the report, very happy, saying, 'We have the privilege of having you here with us, and you're truly giving us words of encouragement.' I could see how they were moved, as well. I felt the Lord's presence, I felt God's support working inside that place."
Upon arriving at the detention center in Louisiana, Fuentes Espinal said his health was checked, including blood pressure and sugar levels. After that, he said he noticed much better conditions compared to the ICE facility in Baltimore.
The pastor says the religious gatherings grew to more than 70 detainees, even meeting on weekends when the prison church was closed.
"I had other people there who weren't Hispanic; they were Pakistani, Indian, South African, people who kept telling me in English, 'Pastor, I don't know what happened here. I'm feeling something special in my body when you pray, when you are preaching,'" Fuentes Espinal said of his new congregation. "I told them, 'I know what it is. It's the Holy Spirit, don't worry about it."
Fuentes Espinal said his faith not only kept his fellow detainees strong, but it kept him going, too. Things came to a peak when he was granted bond during his hearing and eventually released. His daughter traveled to Louisiana to pick him up and bring him back home to Easton.
"It was a very emotional moment. It truly broke my heart. You just can't hold back the tears in that moment because you're seeing your family," he described. "Not everyone was there, but seeing her filled me with emotion. I hugged her and told her how much I loved her."
Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal.
