Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Our Visit to McAllen Central Bus Station and Service Work at Sacred Heart
Relief Center
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| APTS Students serving at the Sacred Heart Relief Center |
Today we visited the Sacred Heart Relief Center in McAllen, TX. We helped with cleaning showers, folding
clothes and assisting people to get items they needed before they began their
journeys. I had the privilege of helping
a Honduran woman and her precious, smiling little boy. We affectionately named him, “El Guapo.” My fellow classmates and I helped the lady
and her son clean up. What a difference
a shower and new clothes make—it’s like a washing away of negative
experiences. It is important to note
that we not only provided the basics of a shower, clean pair of clothes and
food, but also the basics of human dignity and compassion.
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| Volunteer Luis Guerrero speaks with APTS Students |
On our walk to McAllen Central Bus Station,
Dr. Cuellar made the important point that service learning is valuable and we
(especially as Americans) can become so desensitized to the world
struggles.
In order for something to truly hit us and make it real, it is important to experience it, if we have the opportunity. It is truly the case with immigration issues. At the bus station, we visited with a family as they waited for their bus. The children enjoyed coloring pictures with supplies that we brought. That is another thing that touched my heart—kids should get a chance to enjoy their childhood.
It’s almost a crime not to allow that. I also had the privilege of meeting Luis, an ex-firefighter who now devotes his time to orienting undocumented people. He continues to help people even in his weakened condition. What a blessing it was to meet people who are volunteers and work alongside them. How much more of a blessing to be able to provide help to those who truly need it! It brings to mind the verse that reads that those things we do to the least of these, we do unto Him. The world sees these undocumented poor as less than, but these people have just as much validation in the eyes of the Lord as we all do.
Noemi Ortiz
In order for something to truly hit us and make it real, it is important to experience it, if we have the opportunity. It is truly the case with immigration issues. At the bus station, we visited with a family as they waited for their bus. The children enjoyed coloring pictures with supplies that we brought. That is another thing that touched my heart—kids should get a chance to enjoy their childhood.
It’s almost a crime not to allow that. I also had the privilege of meeting Luis, an ex-firefighter who now devotes his time to orienting undocumented people. He continues to help people even in his weakened condition. What a blessing it was to meet people who are volunteers and work alongside them. How much more of a blessing to be able to provide help to those who truly need it! It brings to mind the verse that reads that those things we do to the least of these, we do unto Him. The world sees these undocumented poor as less than, but these people have just as much validation in the eyes of the Lord as we all do.
Noemi Ortiz
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