This is now a common sight in Laredo, Texas. Almost every day the Send Relief Ministry Center in Laredo works with local churches to send volunteer mission teams out to share Christ with people on the streets of this south Texas town. “There’s a spiritual crisis in Laredo,” says Southern Baptist missionary Osvaldo Lerma, “and we have got to do whatever it takes to share Christ with the people here.
LAREDO — They didn’t want to do it, but they had no choice.
Ecuadorians Eduardo Vera and his wife Juliana walked more than 1,900 miles with their family, pushing Juliana’s elderly father almost the whole way on a rusty, discarded tricycle they found on the first day of their journey.
“Back home, the cartel had threatened to kill our children if we didn’t give them money,” Juliana says. “We had to get away, so we just left and started walking north. And that tricycle was a lifesaver because my father would’ve never been able to walk that distance. We walked every day from 2:30 in the morning until 8:00 at night, just to come to a strange country where we knew no one would be waiting for us.”
And yet when Eduardo, Juliana and their family crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, they discovered they were wrong. Someone was indeed waiting for them.
Osvaldo and Vanessa Lerma are Southern Baptist missionaries serving at the Send Relief Ministry Center in Laredo, Texas. Laredo has the largest inland port of entry from Mexico into the U.S. and serves as a significant entry point for refugees and other immigrants coming from different countries. The Lermas are missionaries with Send Relief, Southern Baptist’s compassion ministry arm, and they work with mission teams and local churches to meet needs and share Christ with refugees who are relocated in Laredo.
“We meet people every day just like Eduardo and Juliana,” Osvaldo says. “They have left everything behind and came here not for the American dream, but because they had no other option. We hear stories like theirs all the time and every single one of them breaks our heart.”
Eduardo and Juliana are not unique — the Lermas meet dozens of people just like them every week — but because Eduardo and Juliana are refugees, they’re not the people you might typically hear about on the nightly news.
“The people we work with are not illegal immigrants,” Osvaldo says. “They go through a legal process which consists of applying for asylum seeker status. As they arrive to the respite center (operated by community organizations in Laredo), we are the first people they see without a uniform. We and the volunteer teams work with families and provide them with warm meals, hygiene kits, and a safe place to allow them to share their painful stories. The most important thing we can do is tell them how they can find hope in Jesus.”
Much of the Lermas’ day-to-day ministry takes place at a respite center where newly arriving refugees and other immigrants can get help before being resettled somewhere in the U.S. to find jobs and await court dates. This is where Osvaldo and Vanessa bring their uniquely constructed mission teams.
“When a mission team comes to serve with us to do refugee ministry and to strengthen communities, we partner them with a local church, and we do ministry together.” Vanessa says. “Laredo is not in the Bible Belt, and our local churches need to see that they are not alone in wanting to reach their community. They want to serve others just like the mission teams who come here, and being able to serve alongside each other is a huge encouragement for both of them.”
A lot can happen in one week. Doing ministry alongside the Lermas provides volunteers with opportunities, perspective and hands-on training they’ll probably not get anywhere else.
“It’s wonderful to see what God does with the volunteers after just a few days,” Vanessa says. “The first day they’re timid because they don’t know what to expect. But then after a few days of doing ministry and getting to know the families, we see how God takes their gifts and their skills, and they shine. They’re amazed. They say, ‘Now I see how God can use me.’ Then, they’re ready to go back home and encourage their church to share Christ with others in their own communities.”
The respite center in Laredo is a short-term stop for many new arrivals. Best case scenario, the Lermas and their volunteers have only a few days with each person before they leave.
“That’s why we don’t waste time,” Osvaldo says. “We make sure people like Eduardo and Juliana experience the love of Jesus and know their only hope is in Him. As they leave, we tell them to look for a church wherever they resettle. And we pray that churches in every community will be looking for them.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (AAEO) provides half of the North American Mission Board’s annual budget, and 100% of the proceeds go to the field. The offering is used for training, support and care for missionaries.)
