LET'S BRING BEN HOME!

Every share counts, every donation is appreciated.

We are fundraising for our dear friend, fellow nurse and fellow American Ben Padilla. Ben is one of many people from the US who got arrested after crossing the Mexican border truly unaware that there is a weapon in their vehicle. A native of New Mexico, Ben has worked as a registered nurse for several years now. My husband and I first met Ben at one of the hospitals in Southern New Mexico where we used to work. He was well-loved by his colleagues and his patients because he was kind and was always ready to go the extra mile for them.

Everyone remembers him as the nurse who always wore a genuine smile, even on very rough shifts. His genuineness and his affective presence make people gravitate towards him, me and my husband included. We became fast friends in no time at all and would share lunches and dinners either in their house or ours. Even when my family eventually moved to California, we remained steadfast friends.

A very loving and thoughtful couple, they would send birthday greetings and even gifts in the mail. Ben and his wife loved life to the fullest and were outdoors. They were avid cyclists and runners. They loved meeting new people, trying out different foods, and discovering the world around them. Traveling was their passion.

Ironically, it was their love of travel that unexpectedly got Ben and his wife into very deep trouble. One fateful day, the couple were looking forward to a day trip to Texas.

Unfortunately, their trip was unceremoniously cut short when Ben made a wrong turn, a common mistake that people make along the border, and they found themselves in Mexico. Also, in a rush to hit the road, Ben forgot to leave his firearm in the house and accidentally left it in his car. The nightmare started when the car was randomly searched by Mexican authorities while they were crossing the border.

The authorities located the firearm which Ben truly forgot was there. The authorities immediately took Ben and Audie into custody but after Ben told the authorities that he owned the gun, Audie was soon released. She is now back in the US but feeling distraught, grief-stricken and helpless, knowing that her beloved Ben is still languishing in a Mexican jail and that he could face several years behind bars in a foreign land where he knows no one and where his only contact is his lawyer.

People who know Ben totally believe in his innocence. He is by no means an arms trafficker. He was sane enough not to intentionally smuggle a gun into a foreign country knowing it could mean several years in prison, several years of not seeing his family, several years of lost income, and several years of misery. Ben however admitted to not being careful enough.

He committed an honest mistake of forgetting he has a gun in his vehicle, a common experience shared by many while they were entering the border we share with our neighbors to the south. A simple lapse in memory, a tiny detail overlooked, or a lack of attention - we can use a number of other phrases to describe Ben’s transgression. It was a mistake that did not involve malice, but soon tragically turned out to be a very costly, life-changing mistake.

Ben learned a lesson in the hardest possible way I am reminded of my personal story. On our way to the El Paso Zoo in Texas a few years back, we made a wrong turn and accidentally almost ended in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. This is a mistake people often make along the length of the border. In hindsight, it mortifies me when I imagine if we had a loaded gun in the car and didn’t realize sooner than later that we were inadvertently driving into Mexican territory. That would have been tragic.

Ben is sitting in a horrific Mexican jail now and badly needs our help. He is getting desperate, feeling depressed and losing hope as each day passes. There is still, however, hope for him out of this legal quagmire, but it will cost a staggering amount of money to fuel this light of hope alive. We need to raise $30,000 to cover attorney's fees, probable fines, and other concomitant expenses.

Many friends who care for Ben have already reached out to see what they can do and we are setting up this fund for that reason. We hope we will eventually raise this target amount together so we can bring Ben back home to his wife, friends and family where he belongs. Please say prayers for Ben and Audie and send them messages of hope. But above all, please donate whatever amount you can spare and don’t forget to share this story with as many people as you can.

Let us be their beacon of hope in these trying times. Ben and Audies’ nightmare continues as of this writing and hopefully one day soon, with our benevolence and prayers, this nightmare would end for this wonderful couple.

Hope to hear from you soon. In my heart of hearts, I would love for Ben’s wife, Audie, to soon learn the good news that funds are available from people who care.

All donations go straight to her bank account.