In the heat and humidity of summer on a lonely side road in Oklahoma, Bishop James Wall found himself in a spot of trouble.
The engine of his vehicle had suddenly started smoking, and after pulling over and trying to assess the problem, he couldn’t see what was wrong.
So, the bishop started praying – and soon, a man in a truck pulled over.
“He said, ‘It looks like you need some help’”, Bishop Wall recalls. “His name was Jeff. He’s a Good Samaritan, because a lot of other cars were passing me by. He looked at it and he said, ‘I think you’ve lost the plug to your radiator.’”
The two men went to the nearest auto parts store, bought the plug and some coolant, and were able to fix the problem.
“It was amazing. I said, ‘Jeff, you’re my guardian angel’, and he goes, ‘I’m just a man’. And that’s why I’m saying he’s a Good Samaritan. He said, ‘this is what we do.’”
That the auto store would even have the right part was a bit miraculous, because Bishop Wall was driving a very unique dairy delivery truck from Illinois to Gallup. Both the truck and its contents – supplies for the Little Sisters of the Poor, Missionaries of Charity, and Sacred Heart School – were donations from parishioners of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale, Illinois.
Fr. Burke Masters is the pastor of St. Isaac Parish and a good personal friend of Bishop Wall’s. He had visited the Diocese of Gallup before but wanted to expand the relationship to his parishioners.
“I’ve done several mission trips myself. And I realize you always receive more than you can give. And I thought it would be a great opportunity for the parishioners…not only do you help the people of Gallup, but they’re going to receive and return. And it forms a bonding experience for them.”
But first, the supply truck would have to get from Joliet, a suburb of Chicago, to Gallup. Bishop Wall volunteered to drive, looking forward to some alone time on the road with a break along the way to enjoy the 4th of July.
“If anybody is a fan of The Blues Brothers – ‘Jake from Joliet’. We kept saying ‘we’re on a mission from God’. You could only get it up to about 65 miles an hour – I’ve never been passed by so many semis on the road in my life. And it took four days to get back, [with a] little stop in Oklahoma City to visit Archbishop Coakley and celebrate our nation’s independence.”
Soon after, Fr. Burke and about 30 of his parishioners flew down to spend a week in Gallup and some surrounding communities. They helped to serve residents at the Little Sisters of the Poor, clients at the soup kitchen and shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity, unpacked and sorted supplies of Sacred Heart School, and made small repairs at St. Patrick Mission in Chichiltah.
Julie Elmore, a parishioner of St. Isaac Jogues, helped to organize the summer mission trip. When she heard Fr. Masters announce his plan to establish a partnership with the Diocese of Gallup, she knew immediately that God was calling her to get involved.
“I’ve been looking for quite some time for the next assignment from God, because I retired [around] seven years ago, and I’ve been volunteering a lot. But I hadn’t dug my teeth into anything, and serving the poorest of the poor, I mean, what an opportunity for anybody to help!”
She stressed the importance of working with groups and organizations who are already established in the Diocese, and familiar with the needs of the people they serve.
“It’s the first trip, and I’m calling it a fact-finding mission. We could work in a soup kitchen in downtown Chicago, you know. So I hope to continue what we’re doing with the Missionaries of Charity and Little Sisters of the Poor, and develop the relationship.”
Eventually, she hopes to utilize the talents of her fellow parishioners who work in healthcare, dentistry, and grant-writing.
“We have so many people at St. Isaac Jogues and surrounding parishes back in our community, back in Illinois, with talents, and some of them could come here and share those.”
Joan Latto, a teacher at the St. Isaac Jogues parish school, hopes to build a connection between her students and the children at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Gallup.
“We did a fundraiser where we raised money. We sent them books at Christmas, and we’ve been pan pals as well. And then at the end of the year, these boxes here are all filled with school supplies for the children,” she says, referring to a pile of boxes carried in the truck driven by Bishop Wall.
“I’m just honored to be a part of it. And, you know, all for the glory of God. Wherever God takes you – you always hear this – but whatever plan you make for yourself, it’s never as good as the one that God makes for you.”
For Fr. Masters and Bishop Wall, this newly-forged relationship between the Illinois parish and the Gallup Diocese will help with material goods, but more importantly, they hope it strengthens their people’s reliance on and faith in Christ.
“There’s always things to be done,” Bishop Wall said. “We rely upon people to come here and assist us and help us out as best as they can. A lot of times we need things to be done that might cost money, and it’s money that we don’t have. So people can donate to us, that’s great; if they want to come here and be boots on the ground, that’s great too.”
It’s a challenge that Fr. Masters and his parishioners are willing to tackle.
“I talk a lot about being called to be a saint, that transformation in Christ,” Fr. Masters said. “I’m a big believer that money follows mission. I’m just trying to preach the gospel and get people on mission for Christ, and then everything else follows. And as one of my good priest friends always says, ‘we can’t outdo God in generosity, but I dare you to try.’”