by Dana Clark
I heard through the grapevine that many of the migrants carried their supplies in grocery bags which soon tore. Neighbors and friends helped me collect sturdy shopping bags, and on our church team’s night at the Shelter at Travis Park Church, I waited as the migrants arrived. The line passed quickly, and since I don’t speak Spanish well, I developed a silent strategy. When I saw someone struggling with a plastic bag, without a word, I’d step forward and scoop it inside a shopping bag, offering them the handle. I surprised a lot of people that way, but the look of gratitude on their faces was my reward!
Another time there were two three-year-old children without shoes. One of them was dressed in only a diaper and a shirt. The next morning they would be leaving on a bus journey that might take several days. Their needs could not be ignored! Another volunteer called her son to make a late-night shopping trip to outfit the little boy, and I contacted one of my neighbors who would donate to the little girl. Soon that child was following me around with a tremendous smile exclaiming, “Zapatitos! Zapatitos!”
––From Welcome News, May 6, 2020
