We began this week by having a devotion on Acts 20:24 which reads, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me”. As we serve in our final week at La Posada, we prayed to keep persevering and to finish with the same energy we started the project with.
Our Monday was filled with interesting learning opportunities which included a visit to the “Catholic Charities Of The Rio Grande Valley” (CCRGV). CCRGV is an organization that is located in McAllen, Texas, and was founded with the help of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It acts as a temporary respite center for asylum seekers. CCRGV is a resting center where refugees can rest, have a meal, take a shower, change their clothes, and receive medical care before continuing on their journey.
When we arrived at CCRGV, Sister Norma Pimentel who is the executive director of CCRGV welcomed us and gave us a brief introduction to the organization and what they do. Sister Norma mentioned that CCRGV started responding as a respite center in 2014 in response to the influx of unaccompanied children coming to the U.S. At the time, the detention processing facilities were holding children far beyond their holding capacities. When refugees were released from the detention centers, they would go to McAllen Central Bus Station in their journey clothes without means of keeping themselves clean and fed. The local communities in McAllen were concerned about the situation the refugees were in and contacted Sister Norma to come up with a plan to help the refugees. Sister Norma, with the help of the community, started the respite center and the center has hosted thousands of people up to date.
Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of
CCRGV
It was an honor to meet a person like Sister Norma who is dedicated to caring for people in their desperate times. I was surprised to learn about the large number of refugees the resting center receives daily. Sister Norma mentioned that on average they receive about 400 people a day. If it wasn’t for CCRGV, many refugees would have had a terrible experience on their journey to different parts of the U.S. I was happy to see the thoughtfulness of the McAllen community who donated their time, resources, and money to make the refugees’ journey better. Stories like this help me believe that if we care and love each other, we can make the world a better place.
Currently, CCRGV has many refugees from various Latin American countries and they are experiencing a really high rate of Haitian refugees as well. People are fleeing Haiti due to political unrest and the consequences of natural disasters in the country. Sister Norma explained that the current talks over the lifting of Title 42 might have led more refugees from Haiti to flee to the U.S. After our meeting with Sister Norma ended, some students interacted with the refugees at the center while others went to the CCRGV warehouse to pack a change of clothes for refugees. There were a few students who played games with the children at the center. Some of the students visiting with refugees ended up talking with a family who is headed to Elkhart County tomorrow. Professor Brenneman and the students talked with the family about the Center for Healing and Hope in Goshen and gave them information on the Natural Helpers program for the family to get connected with once they arrive. Once we were finished with our conversations and tasks at CCRGV, we had lunch and left for La Posada.
In the afternoon, we mainly worked on the security fences at La Posada Providencia.
At the work site, we were divided into two groups. Half of us worked on putting up the netting for the fence whereas the other half worked on digging holes, mixing concrete, and setting posts for a different portion of the fence. I am excited that we are making huge progress in our project at La Posada. It has been a wonderful experience to learn and visit organizations such as CCRGV and La Posada who play different roles in the journey of immigrants and refugees.
-Rediet B. Delelegne, Goshen College Class of ’22, Molecular biology and Biochemistry major
