South Texas relief sale set for Feb. 10

Mennonite Central Committee
Wednesday, 20 December 2000

Plans for the Rio Grande Valley Mennonite Relief Sale in San Juan, Texas, are heating up. Like its logo -- a peace dove with a jalapeÒo pepper in its beak -- the Feb. 10 sale will celebrate both unique Mennonite values and the rich Hispanic culture of the U.S.-Mexico border region.

The sales's food coordinator, Elma Cruz, rattles off a long list of foods to be prepared and sold by nine area Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren congregations: a "Mexican plate" with rice, beans and "carne asada" (roast meat); homemade tortillas; "pan de campo," or "cowboy bread" cooked over an open fire; and, of course, homemade pastries, cookies and candy.

Breakfast will be fajita tacos with homemade "pico de gallo" (fresh salsa). And, of course, the traditional tamales (meat wrapped in cornmeal and steamed in a corn husk) will be available by the dozen, with tamale-making demonstrations going on all day.

"We love to eat, especially if the food is homemade," Cruz said.

This newest relief sale will maintain the format -- food, an auction, children's activities -- that for decades has helped communities support the relief and service work of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Mariachi music and local crafts will add regional flavor, and a display will memorialize the 437 immigrants who have died along the border since 1997.

Cruz, a life-long member of La Grulla Mennonite Brethren church in La Grulla, Texas, attended a Mennonite relief sale for the first time when a group from south Texas -- or "the Valley," as it often called -- traveled to the Nov. 11 relief sale in Houston.

"The people in Houston are our mentors," said Felipe Hinojosa, MCC Central States Southern Tier associate and a planner of the Valley relief sale.

The sales are strengthening relationships among churches in Texas, he said. Some of the quilts from the Houston auction are being donated back for the Valley sale, and a group from Houston plans to attend.

The Valley sale's 13-member planning committee is trying to involve every Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren congregation in the region -- which is all of Texas south of Corpus Christi -- in some way, from donating tables and chairs to providing children's activities to serving as "go-fers" during the sale itself.

"People are excited about it," Cruz said. "We've met people from Corpus [Christi], Brownsville -- we've really enjoyed each other."

The sale is one example of a growing interest in MCC, Hinojosa said. Since the opening of the Southern Tier office in Edinburg, a town in the heart of the Valley, MCC is more visible to the Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren congregations in the region.

"It helps people feel more connected," Hinojosa said. "When I visit churches, people now ask about MCC. We have a video resource library right here and someone to answer their questions."

As the day of the Valley sale approaches, he and others are nervous, excited and eager to get the word out to local communities and "Winter Texans," retirees who flock to the Valley's sunshine during the winter months.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org