Sabbath Devotional :: Hope on the Border

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” –Jeremiah 17:7

In what was once a nightclub in downtown McAllen, Texas, a Catholic sister unapologetically lives out her religion.

Every day, the Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley Humanitarian Respite Center takes in scores of migrants who have been screened by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Sister Norma Pimentel and her team provide floor mats for sleeping, donated clothing, diapers, over-the-counter medicine, a shower, warm meals, and help arranging transportation before they head out on the next leg of their journey, usually within a day or two. The shelter, with its blacked-out windows and security guards posted at the door, is meant to provide a place of safety for weary and often-traumatized travelers. The parade of people and the needs are truly endless, and often there are shortages of clothing, supplies, attention, certainty. Just the memory of it — and knowing that the same needs continue today and every day as I carry out my own life, tending to the needs of my own family — leaves my stomach in twists.

But Sister Norma’s hope that she is doing God’s work is unfailing.

I and four other MWEG leaders had the opportunity to meet Sister Norma and volunteer at the shelter she runs in April as part of a trip we made to the border to better understand the border crisis. Of all the meetings we held — with other faith leaders, ICE detention center employees, noncitizens being detained, Border Patrol agents, asylum seekers living in blanket tents on the Rio Grande — the one with Sister Norma left me the most filled with hope, power, and faith that God sees and loves his children, and that we are the Lord’s hands.

We spoke with Sister Norma in her upstairs office, where, among boxes of supplies and Catholic iconography, she had two pews. The small room had the feeling of a makeshift chapel, with Sister Norma delivering to us her story — a sermon of hope and faith.

She reminded me of Articles of Faith 1:13:

“Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul — We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

Sister Norma studied to be an artist but felt called to the religious life in young adulthood. Since joining the Missionaries of Jesus as a sister, she has focused her time on helping people — especially assisting migrants — with the goal of preserving human dignity. She has worked to tend to the basic needs of migrants for decades and is currently serving as the executive director of Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley. For her efforts, she has been recognized by the Pope, received various humanitarian awards, and was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2020.

According to the LDS Gospel Library:

“The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. . . In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active.”

The words “sure, unwavering, and active” for me paint a picture of Sister Norma’s attitude: her surety that she could accomplish God’s work, her unwavering belief that God will provide for her and the migrants’ needs, and her active, unceasing efforts.

In 2014, after being overwhelmed by a surge in the number of families and unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began releasing large groups of adult migrants at McAllen’s downtown bus station. The asylum seekers had been processed and released with court dates and were expected to make their own way to their sponsoring families elsewhere in the U.S. But many of them were without money or knowledge on how to arrange transportation and ended up sleeping on the streets and begging for assistance. Sister Norma immediately got to work to provide the asylum seekers with shelter and resources, moving hundreds of people into an existing Catholic church’s parish hall and later finding a larger space in downtown McAllen. She rallied community members and leaders to provide for the needs of the migrants, receiving donations of clothing, food, supplies. At its peak, the shelter served up to 2000 people per day. Now, it serves around 200 people per day.

Sister Norma and other members of her religious order have strived to work in a nonpolitical way, living out their faith by caring for the poor and needy in their community. Many people have reached out to assist the shelter regardless of their political background, because they feel it’s the right thing to do, Sister Norma told us. But politics have not left Sister Norma untouched. In her years of assisting migrants and refugees, Sister Norma has been arrested for civil disobedience. More recently, Texas state lawmakers have threatened Catholic Charities and other religious organizations along the border with lawsuits and have accused them of operating illegally. Still, she remains undeterred.