A Witness to Transformation

When the shuttle pulls into the respite center, the first thing we notice are the looks of despair and fear on the faces of the women and children who get off. The families have been traveling anywhere from a couple days to a couple months and have been through some unimaginable situations.

The journey has been long and dangerous and most have been preyed upon in horrible ways. When they step off that shuttle into our respite center, they don’t know what they are in for next. Those heartbreaking faces are something my wife and I will never forget.

But when they enter the center, they are welcomed with a round of applause from all the volunteers, and warm hearts.  Most don’t know how to react other than with tears to the realization that they are finally in a place of welcome and peace. They had left homes that had become too dangerous for their families to live in, had travelled a dangerous road, and now, finally, could feel safe.

Witnessing that transformation was the most impactful part of the four weeks my wife and I spent last July as volunteers with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley’s respite center for immigrants. The center is located in the border town of McAllen, Texas, and last summer it was at the heart of the immigration crisis that saw thousands of women and children flood across the border in search of safety and a better life.

I am an employee of our Catholic Charities here in the Diocese of Camden and my wife volunteers at the center where I work. When the call came from Catholic Charities USA to assist our sister Catholic Charities agency with the immigration crisis, we both wanted to do what we could to help. I remembered a similar call during Hurricane Sandy when Catholic Charities had been at the front lines offering assistance here in South Jersey. Then, too, my Army training had kicked in and I was ready to do whatever was needed to get help to those most in need.

The Catholic Charities respite center in Texas where we volunteered for those four weeks welcomed travelers, most of them single mothers with anywhere from one to five children. The families were on their way to join relatives in other states who had purchased them bus tickets out of the border town. They would stay at the center while they waited to catch their buses, anywhere from a few hours to an overnight.

While at the center, they were provided with clean clothing, something to eat and drink, medical attention if they needed it, showers, and a phone call to let their families know they were okay.  Before they left the center, they were given food and water for their trip and a legal briefing telling them their rights in the U.S., and we reinforced to them the need to attend their immigration appointments.

The faces of the migrants we served had been completely transformed by the time they left the center. Hugs, handshakes, and tears of gracias had replaced the despair that had been so evident just a couple hours before. It’s amazing what a few hours of kindness, and the willingness of the good people who ran the center to answer the call that God puts in our lives to love others, makes possible. In such a short time, their respect and dignity had been restored.

In those four weeks, we witnessed firsthand the transformative power of the love of God. What a blessing it was to be those witnesses.