Bringing light and life to Matamoros amid danger and corruption

How do we do it? That question keeps lingering in Pastor Eleuterio González’s mind every time he thinks about his ministry to migrants in Matamoros, Mexico –across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas.  For almost three years, he and the congregation he pastors, Iglesia Valle de Beraca, have woken up early each morning to feed, shelter, transport and protect migrants in the border town.

With approximately 180 volunteers –100 of them youth from the church– González and Valle de Beraca deliver groceries to five migrant shelters and to dozens of migrants who live scattered in apartments and hotels in the city.

“There is no ministry heavier than this one,” González affirmed. “You have to take care of the food, and also the legal, medical, spiritual, transportation and housing needs of migrants.”

In addition to delivering food, González and Valle de Beraca transport migrants to their medical and immigration appointments and train them to learn skills for employment.

“We provide welding workshops for Haitians in case they end up in the United States, and crafting workshops for women,” González said. "The idea is for them to be able to build their own businesses."

And all this work is done in a context plagued by evil, exploitation, poverty, and misery.

“The problem is that migrants are exploited. They are robbed, expelled, and extorted,” he said. “Everyday migrants approach me and tell me, ‘Pastor I need your help to survive. If I don't cooperate the cartel members will rape me. I have to cross to the United States or flee.'”

González confesses that it is very difficult to manage emotions and maintain a calm posture in the face of so much evil and danger. “It's hard sometimes. I must remain calm because I live here,” González shared. "People come and go, but I risk it all with the wisdom of God."

But going back to the question, how do he and Valle de Beraca manage to serve hundreds of migrants daily?  “Meek as a dove, but cunning as a serpent,” González reflected, answering his own question. “That is how we continue to be instruments of God.”

To support the Knox Fund for Immigrant Relief, which supports the work of Pastor Gonzalez and other pastors all along the U.S.-Mexico border, click here.