“We first met Sister Zita Telkamp, CDP in September [of 2017], after volunteering for flood clean up in Port Arthur, Texas. Since we had planned to do some work with refugees in January, we wanted to meet Sister and see the facility to see if it would be a good fit for us. Sister gave us a complete tour of La Posada, and she introduced us to all of the clients who were there at the time. We liked what we saw so we asked if we could bring our camper and stay for a month. It seemed like a good fit on both sides, so we agreed to return in January of 2018.
The issue of immigration has always been close to our hearts since Andy is the first in his family to be born in the U.S. We have been associated with many immigrants over the years both personally and through migrant support groups in Ohio and Michigan. We have been doing mission work in Honduras and Guatemala for the past 10 years, meeting many people who have returned to their home country after working in the U.S., and others who were hoping to leave their country and go to the U.S. We hoped that spending time with the clients at La Posada and working alongside them would give us a better understanding of current immigration and asylum issues and to help us with a reverse mission of sharing our experience with others, in the hope that they may understand these issues too.
We have many examples of how God has worked providentially in our lives and we trusted that God would find a way for us to serve His people at La Posada Providencia.
We had no idea what we would be doing at La Posada. But as January grew closer, we communicated with Sister Zita by phone and email. Sister told us she had some projects in mind for us. Andy was to build bunk beds for the clients, and I [Maureen] would be working on sewing projects for the annual fundraiser. With that information, Andy decided to bring his carpentry tools and I [Maureen] her sewing machine and fabric remnants for the jobs ahead.
When we arrived in San Benito we immediately felt at home. The time we spent there was very rewarding, especially for the chance to get to know the clients, staff, volunteers and Sisters during mealtimes and in our daily activities.
We were grateful that we had the opportunity to be present for the clients at this difficult and important time in their lives. Our experience at La Posada enabled us to establish relationships with those we met. It was truly a very rewarding month for us, and one of the most inspiring and fulfilling mission experiences we have had.”
Andy and Maureen Hudak
