Man joins church because of volunteers

A Rio Grande City man was to celebrate his 75th birthday Palm Sunday by being baptized and joining St. John UMC.
Rosendo Reyes was to become March 20 the ninth person to join the 44-member Rio Grande City congregation because of NOMADS—or “Nomads On a Mission Active in Devine Service.”
NOMADS are United Methodist mission volunteers who travel in recreational vehicles. They have been coming to Rio Grande City from the Midwest for more than a decade to repair and refurbish houses.
NOMADS call their work in Starr County the “Fishers’ Project.” This year they worked on Reyes’ home.
“Eleven years ago, a group of NOMADS, mostly from the Des Moines, Iowa, area, built six RV pads in back of the church,” said St. John Pastor Patricia Buck.
Nearly every year since then, she said, two groups of NOMADS have spent three weeks each in Rio Grande City living in their campers and working on homes.
“What NOMADS really do,” Buck said, “is bring people who live on the edge hope and the knowledge that someone cares for them.”
The Fishers’ Project is directed by the St. John’s NOMADS project coordinators, Johnny and Helen Shuford.
With the area’s Department of Aging and Disabilities, the Shufords identify projects for disadvantaged people whose needs aren’t covered by government assistance—needs such as refurbished bathrooms and wheelchair accessibility.
Some assistance comes from local businesses, which provide services and equipment, and from families—local and NOMADS—who contribute cash.