Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas, in partnership with Send Relief, a collaboration between the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board, and Texans on Mission, hosted a weekend-long Serve Brownsville back-to-school block party.
Several families with children received backpacks, school supplies, hygiene kits provided by Texans on Mission, and nearly 900 new pairs of shoes donated by Buckner International.
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The goal was to give away 4,000 backpacks and school supply kits including pencils, pens, composition notebooks, binders and folders, according to Texas WMU officials.
Texas WMU and the ministry partners responded to the need in Brownsville, where the poverty rate of 24.9 percent is more than double the national average.
Brownsville Independent School District has an enrollment of more than 37,000 students, and volunteers planned to serve at least 10 percent of students in need.
More than 25 volunteers assisted in handing out backpacks and supplies, sharing mental and physical health resources and ministering to children and families with words of encouragement, bracelets and fun activities.
Serving along the border
Vanessa Lerma and her husband, Osvaldo, serve along the U.S./Mexico border with Send Relief as missionaries. Together, they work in the ministry center in Laredo and spent months coordinating the block party in Brownsville.
With the assistance of Texas WMU, Send Relief, Texans on Mission and partner churches in the area, Lerma and Osvaldo worked to ensure each family was provided backpacks, school supplies, shoes, and a gospel message — that Jesus loves them.
“Being along the border, life, in some families, is transitional,” Vanessa said. “There is … insecurity as it relates to the needs of the family and supplying for them. It is always something of concern for the family in how to supply for their children. Our heart is to meet those needs and see how the Lord impacts their lives and transforms their lives.
“As we are ministering and loving and being the hands and feet of Jesus and doing that through back to school, it is a way to do ministry and be able to reach the community for Christ.”
Her husband added: “I think prayer and the church’s desire to reach out to the community to know that the answer is in the gospel, and we have that treasure.
“The idea is to help those who do not have the necessary school supplies. The statistics show that more than 75% of students are economically disadvantaged.”
Teri Ussery, Texas WMU adult/young adult missional lifestyle strategist, said it took teamwork to put together the event.
“Our first connection was to partner with Vanessa, and we kind of started the ball rolling,” Ussery said.
“Osvaldo brought Send Relief and Texans on Mission joined the cause to see what they could do down here. So, we really came together as a team and prayed about what kind of ministry God wanted us to do down here.”
Volunteers also included students from Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kendall Lyons and originally published by Baptist Standard.
