Five-year-old Caleb stared wide-eyed out the open doors of the van, exclaiming with surprise to his godfather, “Nono, that’s a lot of hungry people!”

What Caleb was seeing were men, women, and children, who have been living in the downtown streets while awaiting the immigration process for them to travel to their destination, congregating by the opened back doors of the van.

It was in the afternoon, with the sun already high up in the sky, when members of San Pablo Lutheran Church, with little Caleb among them, arrived with several packs of water bottles, boxes of cookies, and packed homecooked meals of chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, and a salad.

Several of the women in the congregation cooked the food the night before, bringing it ready to fill to-go boxes that Saturday morning. A total of 176 meals were packed in the van by eleven in the morning, where other members made the trip downtown to help distribute them all.

Back in January, San Pablo Lutheran Church had come together as a congregation and made 150 burritos, putting together food bags to include cookies, water, granola bars, and some candy. There were also candy bags put together for children, and along with children’s jackets given by a donor from New Mexico, the members took everything downtown to give to the migrants there.

This bigger project was possible through funds from Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM), which came from an appeal done in May for the purpose of helping people seeking refuge in the United States. In the last nine months, Juarez and El Paso has seen an increase in the arrival of people from Central and South America; YLM’s partnering mission-churches have risen to the opportunity to show God’s love by meeting basic needs, such as hunger and thirst.

Caleb eagerly helped distribute cookies, helped with the to-go boxes, and for this five-year-old, it was a very clear and simple goal: feed the hungry people.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” ~Matthew 25:34-35, ESV.

Click HERE to read about the ministry taking place at the El Paso Immigration Center!

If you would like to help with the Refugee Care and Compassion Ministry of Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care, you can DONATE today or call (915) 858-2588 for more information!