Register Now for the 65th Annual Tri Area Disciples Men Retreat, May 18-20, at Disciples Crossing Retreat & Conference Center
Two well-known Texas Disciple leaders will be keynote speakers at the 65th Annual Tri Area Disciple Men’s Spring Retreat set for May 18-20 at the Disciples Crossing Retreat & Conference Center in Athens, Texas.
The registration form for the Tri Area men’s spring retreat can be found online at the North Texas Area website http://www.ntaccsw.org/. The retreat is hosted by the North Texas, Northeast and Trinity-Brazos areas of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Doug Skinner, senior minister of Northway Christian Church in Dallas, and Feliberto Pereira, executive director of Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in Los Fresnos, Texas, will speak to the retreat theme “The Church Has Left the Building: Now What?”
Retreat music will be provided by well-known “Musicianary” John Tracy of Community Christian Church in Aledo, Texas.
At the retreat, Disciple men will explore, and be equipped with, new ways for living out their Christian faith in these times of great change. You won’t want to miss this special retreat, so register now and plan to bring a friend. The cost is $85 per person.
A nationally-known Disciples minister, Doug was a keynote speaker at the 2008 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indianapolis. Doug has served Texas congregations for 25 years. His passions have included work with the homeless, hospice care and Walk to Emmaus. He is a frequent presenter and writer of articles and is author of At The Lord’s Table (Chalice Press, 2009). Doug is a graduate of Pecos Benedictine Monastery’s School for Spiritual Directors.
Feliberto founded Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in 1985 to assist asylum seekers from Central America and elsewhere. Working with Church World Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, SWGSM has helped thousands of asylum seekers obtain refugee status from the U.S. government. Feliberto is also pastor of Ebenezer Christian Church in Los Fresnos, TX. His story is told in his popular memoir, I was a stranger: hope for a hidden world (Brown Books, 2008).
A pre-retreat golf tournament has been scheduled for Friday, May 18. Details on the golf tournament can be found on the retreat registration form, available at www.ccsw.org
Reflections of a College Volunteer at SWGSM
My name is Thompson Barr, and I’m a 20 year old college student from Jackson, MS. I’ve been taking a year off of school, and, aside from working at my family farm and considering what to do with the rest of my life, I felt called to use my time to serve others. I also have an interest in practicing my Spanish, so, when I heard about Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries, I was immediately intrigued with the possibility of speaking Spanish and helping people who were relatively not far away.
I got in touch with Pastor Pereira, and came down to the Rio Grande Valley for two weeks in November to see how I could help.
I had an enlightening experience! Pastor Pereira, Ms. Garcia, and Pastor Daniel were all extremely kind and welcoming to me. I spent most of my time helping Pastor Daniel with maintenance and organization, talking to everybody en Español, or helping out at the church. To be honest, I also found a fair amount of time to go over to the beach at South Padre Island, as well! I think I gained several pounds as well, because the Mexican food down there is unbelievable.
Spending the short time down there that I did, though, I was really surprised at the amount of need that exists here in my own country. Many people in the area really struggle with hunger and poverty to a degree that I thought didn’t exist in the U.S. At the same time, I was really impressed with the amount that SWGSM does to help the people in the area, and it’s an organization set up in such a way that ordinary people like me can do a lot of good.
My experience at SWGSM was really memorable, and I will be headed back down to Brownsville next semester to stay more long-term. If you are a mission group or just a person wanting to help, I really recommend SWGSM: it’s a great organization with really welcoming people who are committed to doing some real good in the border area!
Also, I wanted to add a quick note on safety. I was apprehensive about conditions at the border before I went; you hear a lot about violence in Mexico, and, frankly, the Mexico side of the border is dangerous enough that SWGSM does not travel across anymore. However, the U.S. side is remarkably safe; the region was never anything other than extremely welcoming to me.
Merry Christmas from Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries
What would we do for Jesus?
Facing intense pressure from the government, the couple was forced to travel many miles with just the clothing on their backs. Tired, hungry and exhausted, the man and the woman, who was pregnant, were turned away by a fearful population when the couple needed to rest. Finally, the owner of a small motel told them they could sleep in the barn outback with the farm animals. That night, the baby Jesus was born. How do we, followers of Christ, respond to a couple like Mary and Joseph today?
My friends, with the Good News of Jesus Christ as our guide, and with your continued financial support, Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries welcomes those who are poor, in need of shelter and protection, and we provide this care 365 days a year.
So far this year, we have assisted 153 refugees from 12 countries. On a daily basis, we provide rice and beans for the main meal at the orphanage and at the clinic for the elderly that we support in Matamoros, as well as the Bible Institute we support in Monterrey, Mexico. Through the Mike's Kids ministry, we will provide over 600 children with warm winter clothing and a toy this Christmas season-children who might otherwise receive nothing.
You make this entire ministry possible.
The year 2011 has been the most financially challenging in our 26-year history. The needs of those we serve continue to rise. The continued recessionary conditions, rising rates of unemployment and poverty, and the continuing violence on the Mexican side of the border (preventing our trips there to help but still requiring more funding for basic human needs) have combined to deplete our financial resources.
This Christmas season, would you please consider sending a tax-deductible gift to Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries. Please send to:
Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries
28259 Pereira Compassion Road
P.O. Box 273
Los Fresnos, TX 78566
Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. You , my friends, are the hands and heart of Jesus at the Texas-Mexico border in the southern-most tip of Texas.
Thank you, God Bless You and best wishes for a Blessed Christmas.
Sincerely yours,
F. Feliberto Pereira, Executive Director
“The Jericho Road” to Greet Summer 2012 Mission Work Groups
Summer 2012 in the Rio Grande Valley promises to carry on a strong tradition of hard work and full hearts by mission work teams as Disciples from around the country arrive to volunteer time and effort at Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Building on the commitment of work groups tackling spring break projects, summer construction teams will remodel and repair homes and communities in the Los Fresnos and San Benito area on the U.S. side of the border under a new program called The Jericho Road.
The giving of volunteer hours to SWGSM is critical to the ministry’s abilities to serve refugees and the poor. Projects serve the neediest of populations, such as families with special needs children. For example, a Greendale, Wis., group built a large addition to the home of a family with a special needs child in March 2011.
Families with large numbers of children are also target populations. Students from Culver-Stockton College, a Disciples of Christ institution in Iowa, aided a family with eleven children through a remodeling project. The same family received help with painting a remodeled home from First Christian Church of Lubbock, Texas.
Program expansion creates new opportunities for young mothers, children
Thanks to the generosity and hard work of volunteers from White Bluff Chapel of Whitney, Texas, the Lilies of the Valley program based at Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries has a new facility to accommodate a larger demand for the mentoring program. The program mentors young mothers in the Rio Grande Valley who would otherwise have little or no emotional support, parenting and life-skills training opportunities. The mothers meet on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for training and education while their children are attended by volunteers. As these photos show, the White Bluff volunteers joined local residents to add a new educational space to what was formerly the caretaker’s cottage. The building will be renamed “The Lily House.” The new space will allow the program, which is equipping the mothers with life skills such as sewing, healthier cooking and English, to accommodate additional participants. Guille Peralez is the program director. A photo gallery of the house can be found here.
Get a copy of Feliberto Pereira's inspirational memoir
I Was A Stranger: Hope For A Hidden World by Feliberto Pereira and Chris Kelley. Keep up with the latest news from the authors at iwasastranger.org
