LUBBOCK, Texas–Raymond Hernandez, with Los Seguidores de Cristo, a motorcycle church group with Our Lady of Guadalupe, said he was changed by his time with people in Uvalde, following the mass shooting that took 22 lives at Robb Elementary last year.
“We were amongst the families, the grandmothers, and the people crying, the devastation,” Hernandez said. ‘It’s just within seconds a child can be taken away.”
Hernandez drove down to Uvalde days after the shooting and saw the raw emotion in the town. He took a friend and attended memorials and decorated his bike with flowers in support of the community.
“I just got up went out there and delivered some flowers and we actually went to the store and bought different flowers and actually made bouquets there on the motorcycles,” Hernandez said.
This year, Hernandez wanted their group to ride together in honor of the lives lost and those who survived the tragedy. This year, 20 riders will travel to Uvalde with care packages for those
Directly affected by the tragedy.
“These care packages together and getting other members from our church group involved with our motorcycles to take a ride up there, just to let them know that they’re not forgotten, they’re being thought of every single day and it’s our wages to show our appreciation for that to let them know that. Lubbock’s behind them.”
Priscilla Salaz is heading to Uvalde with the group after coming up with the idea for care packages to connect people here in Lubbock to those affected directly in Uvalde.
Salaz said many members of the church and herself felt close to the tragedy and will work to make sure no one is left behind.
“A lot of the families over there are saying that they don’t want to be just a number, Well, you know what? We’re not going to let them be a number. They have names,” Salaz said. “I know their names, Janaya, Jayce, Maite, Tess all of them, and every one of these babies has a name.”
Salaz described the care package and what comes with them. There are 34 total care packages for victims’ families and survivors. They were sponsored by prayer sponsors and come with a bible, a cross, a book mark, wind chimes, prayer books, and whatever the prayer sponsor would like to add in.
Salaz said each thing represents something special for the victims and their families. For example, the wind chimes symbolize the spirits never to be forgotten by the breeze of the air. Some items are specially made and one of a kind.
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s pastor, Rev. Martin Piña, said it was important that his church reach out to the families and do something, especially after such a heavy loss.
“It was a great tragedy that we lost quite a few children in Uvalde then and I think it was an attempt to alleviate the pain and to kind of join them in their suffering and to do something for them,” Pina said.
The group leaves Friday afternoon for Uvalde. If you’d like to contribute, you can write words of wisdom or positive notes which will be delivered through the town when they arrive. The notes can be delivered to Our Lady of Guadalupe church. The deadline to deliver the notes to be taken is Thursday.
