Trinity on the Border is a chapel and outreach ministry serving Christ along the South Texas/Mexico border.
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and learn more about the complex and difficult realities of immigration and life on the border.
Here is a photo journal of a visit by Fr. Kurt and Anna Hein of Light of Christ Anglican Church in Georgetown, TX.
PHOTO BLOG
We converted our storage area into a COVID-19 indoor – outdoor chapel. We open the large garage door in the rear and the double doors up front.
Fr. Michael leads school chapel in our new school building.
Pastor Robert Soto (far left) is also the Vice-Chief of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. They hold their monthly meetings at our mission.
Elijah Luikham has joined us as our second Missionary Curate.
A young kid in Florida opened a lemonade stand to raise money for the children in Matamoros. What an inspiration to the whole team.
Our COVID-19 worship space
The whole team worked for months helping her to get her American drivers license.
Erica teaching a COVID-19 hand-washing class at the La Posada immigrant shelter.
An old fashioned Hymn Sing with families from our school
Fr. Daniel and Pastor Eduardo at the healing service in Matamoros
Fr. Michael is now the chaplain for the U.S. Coast Guard Units in South Texas.
Christmas Day Eucharist at the tent city in Matamoros
The first day of 2019-2020 school year
Memorial Day at La Posada – incredibly inspiring event.
Easter Vigil was a packed house
Easter Vigil included 8 baptisms
Daniel teaching ESL at the immigrant shelter
A guest team from Holy Trinity Anglican church plant in McKinney, Tx
Guest team from Church of the Advent – Kirkland, WA
New friends from Guatemala over for dinner at the Behrens house
Dr. Erica “on call” at the Christmas party at La Posada
Tired team (and sleepy kids) at the Christmas “Posada” at the immigrant shelter
With a little help from modern technology and our friends at the Isaiah 55 mission to the deaf in Reynosa we were able to help a deaf and illiterate man at the La Posada shelter – crazy world, good God.
The Trinity School Fall 2018
Deacon Daniel, Rebekah, and Sabal Behrens have arrived!
Clinic at the mission with Dr. Lazzopina and visiting Dr. Leibert
The staff of The Trinity School and their families have a meal at Sara’s house
Michael went with Joe Wilson (Area Director of Young Life) to lead a forum with Mexican government officials in Reynosa, MX on reaching at-risk youth
Week 1 of Teacher Training for The Trinity School (thetrinityschool.us)
Snacks for the kids at La Posada
International Dinner with guest team from Victoria, BC
Folks from Church of the Cross Austin, TX came down to help finish the mission building.
Headed to our international dinner with a Russian, a Ukrainian, a Zimbabwean, a Mexican, and Michael
Palm Sunday – we were able to have all of our Holy Week services in the chapel of our new mission bulding
Some medical residents from the Valley Baptist Residency program spent an afternoon helping construct the mission building
After church service with Bishop Win Mott
Communion with Bishop Win Mott at the Isaiah 55 mission in Mexico.
Our kindergarten class at The Trinity School.
Another “international dinner”
Christmas meal with the free clinic doctors and spouses.
Work has begun on the mission building!
Each month we try to hold an “international dinner” with friends from the immigrant shelter.
We started our Twelfth Night party with a blessing for our house.
Supper at our house with our friends the Robinson Family and some of the immigrants from La Posada.
The Mission gets a home of its own. This building in downtown Harlingen will soon house our offices, a consultation room, a small prayer chapel, and our weekly pay-what-you-can clinic.
We started a Kindergarten! (check it out at thetrinityschool.us) This is our first day of school pic.
Michael with some friends staying at La Posada.
Had a great visit with friends from our partner churches in Austin: (l-r) Paul & Fr. Peter from Church of the Cross, and Jason from Christ Church.
With out of town guest and visitors, the Sunday chapel service gets filled
Communion with the staff of Isaiah 55 mission to the deaf in Mexico
Easter Vigil piñata
Foot washing service on Maundy Thursday. Fr. Michael, M (from Cuba), T (from Eritrea)
Z playing with a girl from Honduras while we set up for Holy Week
Almost ready for Holy Week at La Posada
Setting up for Holy Week at the Immigrant Shelter
We were glad to have Fr. Paschal Okwara from the Anglican Church of Nigeria join us for 2 Sundays during Lent.
Christmas party with the Culture of Life clinic team.
The Nativity Posada at La Posada. Getting turned away at the first door. Mary from Eritrea. Joseph from Swaziland. Young lamp bearer from Ethiopia.
The Nativity Posada at La Posada immigrant shelter. Incredible experience following behind immigrant Mary and Joseph and being turned away at the different doors until finally the one let us in and Christ was “born” there.
Great visit from Fr. Don & Ruth Hughes of St. John’s Boerne, TX
Pam and Jackie (from Good Shepherd San Angelo, TX living here now) and Stephen (from Church of the Cross Austin, TX) headed over to Mexico with Michael for mid-day prayer at the Isaiah 55 mission.
An intro “farm day” for people looking to start small scale organic farming.
We have a healing service at the Culture of Life clinic every Thursday. It’s a little awkward… right up until the healing part.
Diana is the director of HOPE for Small Farm Sustainability. Michael spent most of July helping them write a grant proposal for a new course they will offer- From the Ground Up: Starting an Organic Farming Micro-Business. Creating jobs and healthier eating down here in the RGV.
We went over to the Isaiah 55 mission in Reynosa this evening for their VBS and to have dinner. Fun times. Tons of kids there, all from the worst part of town imaginable (except for the 4 “Anglos” on the left).
Jacob says he’s lived all around the world. Most recently he came with his mom and two sisters from South Africa. They have moved off on their own but had to come back to La Posada to finish some of their paperwork.
Kids craft time at La Posada: tracing ourselves. Sammy (from Ethiopia) has been at the shelter for 2 months or so. He, his little brother, and his mom spent a couple weeks at the detention center in Port Isabel. They now are waiting at La Posada for his dad to be released from detention in Georgia.
Michael discussing some “really big plans” with Dr. Robinson, the founder and director of the Culture of Life mission clinic.
The Culture of Life volunteer team.
Lance and David came down from San Antonio to help out at La Posada (Sister Margaret in the middle). With the shelter housing less men and more women with kids recently, it’s a huge help to have some folks just come take care of some “honey-dos”. Thanks guys. We got a lot done in just a few hours.
Christos Anesti everybody!
Lunch time at La Posada. Folks from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cuba, and Sister Therese from the US.
Erica talking with the volunteer staff at Culture of Life.
We were invited to the Matthew 25 conference in Austin. It was an invitation only gathering of Anglicans doing justice and mercy work around the US and Canada. Lot’s of cool folks there.
Nono is the director of the Isaiah 55 mission to the deaf. Here he is with one handsome devil of a clergyman.
No signs of irony down along the border. I’ll keep looking.
In the neighborhood where the Isaiah 55 mission is, if you don’t work in the sex industry, then you probably haul trash in a trash cart (green thing in the background). Once a year, our friends at I55 have a veterinary and cart repair trip.
Had lunch with Fr. Ryan Reed from the Diocese of Fort Worth. They are working on a large scale project in Brownsville. The van was his honest to goodness ride. Tell me you wouldn’t want to work with a priest that shows up in that sucker.
Flooding in our neighborhood.
Isaiah 55 staff girls night.
Woke up to a double rainbow this morning… and our trash can knocked over by the roaming pack of ownerless dogs.
Saham (from Somalia) and her brother and mother spent 9 months at La Posada waiting for her dad to be released from detention back in east.
Hamdi (from Somalia) holding Amen (from Ethiopia) while his mother runs an errand. Ethiopia and Somalia are historically antagonistic people groups. The love of Christ at La Posada changes things.
Father George Graydon, Michael, Father Antonio (OCA), and Father John Needham at Father George’s wife’s funeral in Brownsville. (Fr. George passed on the following month)
We picked up some of the Ethiopians staying at La Posada and took them to the Orthodox Church in Pharr.
Afterwards, we all came back to our house for an old-fashioned southern style dinner. Turns out that southern Sunday dinner items (i.e. squash, greens, etc.) are traditional Ethiopian foods as well. Who knew?
La Posada Providencia (The Providential Inn) has housed hundreds of immigrants and asylum seekers every year for around 25 years or so.