I spotted a lone little boy out the side window of the mission van.  He stood in the middle of the Chamizal Park paved plaza, watching as the van was maneuvered into an open space alongside the curbed parkway.  I could see the tents to the left side of the plaza, people standing off to the side, but that little boy had my complete attention.  He stood so still until the van doors opened and the servant team members from Our Father Lutheran Church in Centennial, Colorado stepped out.

People gratefully received bagged lunches, hot meals in to-go boxes, bread and candy from the servant team

Without hesitation, he took off running as soon as he saw the sheet cake, disappearing into the community of tents, only to come back seconds later, followed by children and adults.  I momentarily lost my breath as I watched them make their way to us, grown men running as the team brought out boxes filled with a hundred brown bag lunches, over a hundred loaves of bread, a hundred to-go containers with Thanksgiving meals from the earlier event where the team had served at Iglesia Luterana San Lorenzo in Kilometro 30, and over a hundred candy bags for the children.

What once was quite a large servant team of sixteen people became a small number in their efforts to meet their needs as they gave out what they had brought.  It was overwhelming as people kept coming, my heart breaking as children crowded the teenagers handing out the candy bags.  With little hands outstretched, brown eyes glassy with tears, I could see expectant disappointment showing on their faces.  These children already understood what it meant for there not to be enough to satisfy.

Rev Dr. Arthur Just shared encouraging words with children and parents at the refugee camp on Chamizal Park

It’s been two weekends in a row Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) has partnered with mission-churches in El Paso and Juarez to bring aid to these refugees in need of so much.  The first weekend, over a hundred and eighty insulated blankets and hygiene kits were given.  Close to three hundred meals were given the second weekend, when I joined the team.  Members of San Pablo Lutheran Church in El Paso, and from the mission-churches in Anapra, Iglesias Luterana San Lucas and La Santa Biblia, continue working together to find ways to provide for basic needs, but also to reach out and share God’s love through His Word.

Several key mission leaders of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) visited El Paso during the first weekend.  After worshiping at San Lucas in Anapra Sunday afternoon, these mission leaders joined the members in going to Chamizal Park where they helped distribute blankets, hygiene kits, and encouraging words.  Rev. Kevin Robson, LCMS’s Chief Mission Officer, along with Rev. Dan McMiller –LCMS’s Executive Director of International Mission – Rev. Robert Zagore –LCMS Executive Director of National Mission –and Rev Dr. Arthur Just –Associate Executive Director for International Missions, Regional Operations, and Professor at Concordia Seminary – were able to see first-hand how desperate the situation has become.

Rev. Kevin Robson helped distribute insulated blankets along with words of encouragement

One of them voiced what my overwhelmed heart felt during my time with them -we were but making a dent to the magnitude of the need.  These refugees have been living in tents made out of tarps and heavy plastic, sleeping on the cold ground, facing hunger and a need for a safe place for over two months, with no guarantees of relief.

A family of five share one tent, the youngest a two year old little girl

I took the opportunity speak to a few of them, to ask where home was, to find out why they had made the long uncertain trip just to wait without certainty for legal entry into the United States.  From Zacatecas, which is over nine hundred miles from the border, to Guerrero, a good 1,343 miles away, the people arrived to Juarez without much to their name.  A young mother from Zacatecas shared how she left her home to escape threats to her family.  I joined her and her family outside a tent shared by five, among them a little girl of two years.  Warming my hands by the small campfire they had going on, which served to keep them warm and cook whatever food they might be able to acquire.  I was able to see everything they owned with just one glance.

The compassion Jesus felt for His people, for us, was deeply imprinted in my heart that day.  These precious children of God, whom we call refugees, are in need of more than food, clothes and warm shelter.  They need something more precious; the love of God, a love meant to be shared, and although it seems like the need is huge in comparison to the people willing and eager to serve, the mission-churches and YLM, along with our brothers and sisters throughout the US, are answering the call to show God’s love; not just in a human way, but in a spiritual way as well.

“When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          -Matthew 9:36-38