|
June 2008 Issue
Back
to Feature Articles
In the fields of the Lord: Church
is home to migrant families
|
|
As
migrant farm workers, Ricardo and Carmen Garcia have
spent much of their lives on the move. When they come
to Mass at St. Gregory Parish in Hart the Sunday after
arriving each spring, "I feel like I know everybody. |
I feel welcome," says Carmen, who was greeted with a big hug
from Father Ron Schneider and parishioners shortly after returning
in early May. "It
was beautiful. So many people wanted to talk to us and told
us 'We're happy that you're back.'" Each year, the Garcias spend
six months in Texas and six months in Michigan, where Ricardo
picks asparagus and Carmen works as outreach coordinator at
Northwest Michigan Health Services in Shelby. For them, West
Michigan has become a second home, thanks largely to the welcoming
presence of the Catholic Church here. For the Garcias and other
migrant families, the church is an anchor as they travel from
place to place.
"It's a place where they feel at home, which
is very important to them," says Father Schneider, whose congregation
includes roughly 250 Anglos and 350 Hispanics, about half
of whom are migrants. "When you're on the move all the time,
for them to have found a place where they are at home … is
very important." The church also provides sacramental preparation
tailored to the needs of migrant workers. Catechism is offered
"for the whole family - parents, children, grandmas, everybody,"
says Sister Guadalupe Moreno, who coordinates Hispanic ministry
in the Hart area and is one of four regional coordinators
for the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
The schedule of the sacramental program is
concentrated, allowing for children of migrant families to
complete their preparation for first Communion, first reconciliation
and confirmation before leaving the area, Sister Guadalupe
said. "It's a wonderful program," says Carmen, noting that
in Texas preparation for migrant families can take two years,
compared to three months in Hart. "Migrant families like us,
they keep moving and they will not be able to do two years
of classes. When they come up here Sister (Guadalupe) gives
them the opportunity to take classes. Before summer is over
they'll be able to receive first Communion."
Growing up in the Field
Carmen, 50, and Ricardo, 49, are second- and
third-generation migrant farm workers. "I have been out in
the fields since I was small," recalls Ricardo, the youngest
of eight children born in Edcouch, Texas. "My mother-in-law
would get up early in the morning, grab all her kids and go
out," Carmen added. Carmen was 10 when her father moved the
family from northern Mexico to Texas. "I went straight to
the fields," she recalled.
The family would live in Texas a few months
and migrate from state to state, including California, Colorado,
Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Indiana. As a result, Carmen could
only attend school two to three months at a time and dropped
out around age 16. She later earned her G.E.D. in Michigan.
Both Carmen's and Ricardo's families are Catholic and their
faith remained a constant even as they moved from place to
place. "My mother prayed her rosary and encouraged us," recalls
Carmen. "Everywhere we'd go, we'd always go to church."
Ricardo's mother also has a strong faith that
she passes on to her children and grandchildren. "You visit
her and you get something to eat and before you leave she
reads the Bible and she'll bless you," says Ricardo. He had
joined the seminary for a time as a young man. Then one day
while his family was harvesting pickles in the Bay City area,
he met Carmen.
They learned they lived just two miles from
each other in Texas. Married 30 years, Carmen and Ricardo
have been working for the Larry Van Sickle Farm in the Hart
area for nearly that long. While many migrant families follow
the crops from place to place, Carmen did not want that lifestyle
for her three now-grown daughters. "School was very important,"
said Carmen. By staying in one place for six months, her daughters
could attend school and participate in sports and other activities.
When the growing season ended, they left Michigan
on a Friday afternoon and had their children in school in
Texas by Monday morning. Thanks to Sister Guadalupe's sacramental
program, her girls received the sacraments here. "It was so
hard because we kept moving. So when we came up here and found
out about the services Sister (Guadalupe) offers, they were
able to receive Communion and confirmation. Here it was so
much easier."
Ricardo and Carmen both picked asparagus during
their early years. Now Carmen works at the clinic and Ricardo
continues to work in the fields as a crew leader. Each day,
he grabs a cup of coffee around 6 a.m. and asks his co-workers
to make the sign of the cross before leading them up and down
the rows of asparagus. He drives a special tractor outfitted
for asparagus pickers. He and six others sit low to the ground,
reaching between their legs to pick the asparagus. For newcomers,
he has a PVC tube to show them the correct length of asparagus
to pick; and after all these years, Ricardo has an eye for
it. During peak season, the team often will work until sundown,
seven days a week. On a hot day, they'll pick in the morning
and the asparagus will be nearly ready to be picked again
by afternoon.
"It's hard work, but I enjoy it," says Ricardo.
"For me I can't sit down between four walls. I like to be
out here." After asparagus season, Ricardo picks pickles and
does hoeing and other odd jobs. As outreach coordinator at
the clinic, Carmen travels to the area migrant camps with
a nurse to tell families about health and social services
available to them. "Carmen is a leader in this camp," says
Sister Guadalupe. "If a family needs something they go to
Carmen." In addition to providing outreach for the clinic,
Carmen lets families know about the church, Mass times and
the sacramental program.
'Angels on the road'
The Garcias put their trust in God as they
travel the 1,700 miles from Texas to Michigan in their 1989
Chevy truck, the speedometer of which reads 200,000-plus miles.
One year their truck broke down and they had to stop for repairs.
As soon as they stopped, the skies darkened and tornadoes
touched down in the area. "I said, 'Oh my God you saved us,'"
recalls Carmen. "There are angels and they take care of you
on the road.
As long as your faith is strong and you pray,
they're going to be around for you all the time taking care
of you." The Garcias also have a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe,
with a small altar to her set up in their modest apartment
at the migrant camp. When Carmen's mother died several years
ago, praying to Our Lady of Guadalupe provided comfort. When
she prays to Our Lady of Guadalupe, she feels close to her
late mother. "I just see her as my mom," she says. Her grandson,
Isaac, who is living with the Garcias while their oldest daughter
completes college, points to a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe
and says "mama." "He'll lift her up and kiss her," says Carmen.
"It's beautiful." Their Catholic faith also helps the Garcias
weather the uncertainties of migrant farming. "It all depends
on the weather, the rain, Mother Nature," says Ricardo.
"We always depended on the man upstairs to
keep us going." The Garcias are leaders at St. Gregory, where
both serve as extraordinary ministers of holy Communion and
help with marriage preparation for young couples. They provide
guidance for couples and are always willing to lend an ear
to younger migrant families. "Young couples; they say it's
really hard. I tell them I know, I can relate to that because
it was very hard for me too," says Carmen. "But I have faith
in God. I always tell them to pray. I say he's just testing
you. He will not give you anything you cannot overcome. Just
pray, have faith in God and he'll watch your life always."
Once a summer, the church plans a rosary service at the camps.
The workers take a break from the fields, grab chairs and
gather for the rosary, which is followed by a pot-luck supper.
It's a tradition the Garcias look forward to every year. Carmen
marks the date and invites workers from other camps as well.
"We touch base and talk," she says. "It's really nice. You
feel like you're with family."
For migrant workers, that sense of community
and their Catholic faith are vital, says Sister Guadalupe.
"When they come to this area the first thing they do is go
to church, light a candle and say 'Thank God that we are here',"
says Sister Guadalupe. Sister Guadalupe, in her 22nd year
here, says she feels privileged to minister to the migrant
community. "I love to work with the migrants because they
are the pilgrim church," she says. "Some forget that Jesus,
Mary and Joseph were migrants. They were in a strange country.
They had to leave their own country and adapt to new customs."
The faith of migrant families inspires Sister
Guadalupe, who travels among the 120 camps in Oceana County
along with others in Lake, Mason and Newaygo counties three
times a week. She estimates 10,000 migrants come through here
each growing season. "I learn a lot from them," said Sister
Guadalupe. "They work today and tomorrow they have to go.
They have to trust in God. They have to live with very few
things and they have very strong faith. For me, they are a
testimony to our faith."
|
