Partnering with organizations in El Paso and Juarez, Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLMHC) has distributed needed resources to refugee shelters on the border, such as hygiene items, clothing, blankets, medical supplies, mattresses, cots, and other needed materials for three years now. From late 2020 to early 2022, Iglesia Luterana San Lucas, a partnering mission-church in Anapra, housed up to thirty migrants at a time, over 300 total. Food and blankets were distributed during the winter months of 2022 at the “tents cities” formed by close to 200 Venezuelans who waited on the Mexico side.

Being less than five miles from the US/Mexico border, YLMHC is preparing to help meet the basic needs of these men, women, and children once again.

YLMHC staff made the trip to one of the refugee shelters where they’ve donated needed clothing for women and children, hygiene supplies, diapers, and other items. They had the opportunity to learn the process these people, from babies to adults, go through before they arrive at the shelter.

As they entered the shelter, one of several located in El Paso, the feeling of hope, expectation, and fear could be felt in the wide-open warehouse space, where many cots, side by side, are made up with fleece blankets and a pillow with a fleece pillowcase. A young teenage boy straightened out the blankets on his cot while a woman and her daughter waited to be registered into the shelter’s system.

Randall, the Operations Officer who graciously guided the tour, explained how over fifty of the refugees who had been in the shelter the day before, had already been processed and taken to the airport to fly out to their sponsored destinations. The shelter was preparing for a new group of 30 to 40 refugees, which would be arriving later that same day.

“We have 180 beds at this warehouse,” he explained, showing the different areas of the warehouse and how they were serving as kitchen, showers, and a hospital room, “We had to rent a second warehouse, right next door to this one, where another fifty refugees can be housed. We only take families, women, and children.”

This has resulted in single adult men having to go to other shelters, over 800 of them having to sleep in alleys and streets due to lack of space. While the city is preparing to open a couple of closed schools, and the Civic Center for more shelter space, these current refugee shelters are doing their best.

“Nine out of ten of the migrants seeking asylum worked as professionals in their country,” John, who helps oversee the shelters, shared, “Here in our shelters, we have several nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers…they are simply looking to make a better life for themselves and their children.”

Children played quietly in the indoor gated areas, their little faces lighting up with smiles as they were asked questions.

“I left behind my doll,” Sophia, about eight or nine years of age, shared with one of the YLMHC staff, “I want my baby doll.”

And when 5-year-old Edwin was asked what he left behind in Venezuela, he answered, “Mi papi” -my Daddy.

Genesis, a thirty-year old woman from Venezuela, shared her journey took three months. She has family who are sponsoring her in Columbus, OH and will be flying out the next day. She left behind her husband, mother, and dog.

“I want to work and save up money,” she explained, a smile spreading across her face, “I need to bring my family here.”

“We’re going to continue to help wherever we’re needed,” Karla Gonzalez, Operations Manager of YLMHC, shared the day after the staff members who toured the shelters and downtown area of El Paso, “These are human beings who are needing the love of God, through His Word and our care, and within the opportunities God is giving us, we will find ways to bring them God’s saving grace, in deed and word. No matter which side of the border they are on, we want them on this side of glory.”

As God opens more opportunities to become a beacon of hope to people far from what is familiar and known, we ask you to pray on how you can help YLMHC help people seeking a better future so they may encounter a God of love, grace, and compassion.

Donate today to continue supporting our efforts or reach out to maritza.munoz@ylm.org for more information on what is needed.