McALLEN, Texas There were many moments when a team of missionaries from New Jersey who were at the Texas-Mexico border saw the face of Christ. For Evelyn Lopez and Philline Luz, both in their 20s, it was seen on the faces of the children, who in spite of facing such a perilous trek through Central America and Mexico across the U.S. border, managed to smile and be joyful.
In a “tent city” in Reynosa, Mexico, Luz recalls playing with a young girl named Christina. “She would ask me to throw her up in the air having trust I would catch her,” said Luz. “It was a moment when I realized I need to trust in the Lord. He is waiting.”
From June 15 to 21, Lopez and Luz, along with their housemates at Casa Guadalupe, a house of discernment for women in the Diocese located in Clifton, traveled to the Texas-Mexico border to bring hope and humanitarian aid for so many in great need. The mission trip was sponsored by the N.J. chapter of Corazon Puro, a Catholic organization of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, which is dedicated to forming leaders to bring about a culture of life. The five residents of Casa Guadalupe joined a team of 25 missionaries led by Franciscan Father Agustino Torres of St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson and founder of Corazon Puro.
The team served mainly at two places affected most by the border crisis — McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico. They stayed at a local retreat center and received hospitality from a local parish, Holy Spirit in McAllen. During the weeklong mission, the missionaries attended daily Mass and then headed to one of the two locations on the border to serve those who walked hundreds of miles in the hope of reaching the United States. After a long day of work, the group would go back to Texas and share “glory stories” of where they witnessed Jesus present.
“We had been feeling for a while the need to assist in that area of the border, which is not only in great need of assistance, but also specifically, it was in need of the loving (spiritual) care that Jesus calls us to,” said Father Agustino. “There were many Catholic organizations we were able to partner with down at the border. We were able to feed more 3,000 people and assist hundreds more through donations of backpacks and other things.”
In Reynosa, where the missionaries spent most of their time, the ability to feed 3,000 in need almost felt to them like Jesus’ miracle of the loaves and fishes, according to Lopez and Luz. The team often shared their own food afraid there would not be enough. Lopez said, “You see this line (for food) — so many kids, so many adults — lined up to eat and you see the food and I remembering saying to myself, ‘Jesus multiply this food’ because we don’t have enough and somehow, everyone was able to eat.”
Most of the people attempting to cross the border, which is now at a record high under the Biden administration, came from a region known as the Northern Triangle of Central America, one of the most dangerous areas in the entire world. The region has few economic opportunities, corrupt governmental officials in power, and chronic violence. The countries that comprise the region are El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In addition, many attempting to come to the United States are from Nicaragua, which is considered the poorest country in Central America.
“The people we met have family members in the United States and that’s their hope — to be with them,” Luz said.
In Texas, the work at the Humanitarian Respite Center run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in McAllen assists those who were able to cross to the United States. The center is a place where the people are able to get clothing, a shower, eat a warm meal, and rest while they are waiting to depart for a bus to connect with family members in the U.S.
The team also spent time in the “Colonias” in Texas, which are substandard housing developments that lack basic services, such as drinking water, sewage treatment and paved roads. “You see that this is in the U.S. part of the border and you wonder why do we have this,” Lopez told The Beacon. “They come to live the American Dream and they live in broken trailers when they get here. One thing that broke my heart was seeing a young girl with broken slippers.”
While Corazon Puro is often known for its chastity ministry, a message that resonated with the group was human dignity. “Seeing and meeting girls, not knowing their own human dignity or even their parents, which for us is something as simple as washing hands, we take for granted,” Luz said. “We taught them how to properly wash their hands. We helped to restore their dignity, not to think about how I live in a tent but I have a dignity even though this is my situation.”
For Lopez and Luz, who are both originally from California and currently discerning their vocations, at Casa Guadalupe in Clifton, the mission trip helped them to reach a step closer to what God is calling them to do with their lives. “This definitely helped me understand what my vocation in life is, Lopez said. “I want to be with the poor, not just the poor in materialistic ways but also spiritually. I realize a lot of us do not know who Jesus is. I want to be able to reach out to at least one person to help them know Jesus. Just love them for who they are and be there for them in conversation, if I have any food to just give it to them and not expect anything in return. This will impact my future vocation. To have that missionary zeal.”
“I know I was uprooted from California to here to have that missionary lifestyle, that missionary spirit, that missionary heart — to be present in every moment, to see Jesus, and to have that gaze Jesus has to my brothers and sisters, Luz said. “That is a vocation. That is an every day vocation. For them to see me as well. Just be in the present moment because that is where the Lord is calling me every single day.”
Corazon Puro is planning to return to the Texas-Mexico border in the winter to continue helping those in need because of the ongoing border crisis. Lopez and Luz are both open to do the mission trip at that time.
Father Torres hopes other young people would also be open to helping others, whether it is on a mission trip or their neighbors. “It is my contention that we are living in a time where our Catholic social justice teachings are waiting to be lived out, and many young people turn to other things for lack of opportunity. At the border, we came to bring food to those who were hungry but left enriched ourselves with the incredible joy and spiritual wealth these people had in their hearts,” he told The Beacon.