UVALDE, Texas — The faith community is coming together to support the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting.
A ministry from Harlingen came to Uvalde this week to deliver paintings to the families of the Robb Elementary victims.
They got more out of this visit than they thought.
Pastor Pepe Cervantes said he and others from Lifeline Heart of Worship were coming to Uvalde.
A pastor leading a funeral for one of the victims asked for their help.
On Tuesday—they helped lead a graveside service for the family of Xavier Lopez.
"They've been telling us that priests and ministers are not even showing up anymore, they don't know the reason why...so we led the ceremony," Cervantes said.
In three hours—they managed to visit and counsel 10 different families and gave them paintings of their loved ones.
"[We were] just literally saying, God, take us where you want to take us," he said.
Cervantes says he was most moved when visiting the family of Irma and Joe Garza, one of the teachers who died and her husband who had a heart attack days later.
He says it was their children, that wanted to make sure they were okay.
But each family they visited touched their lives.
“Every house we could feel something. We said Lord, we didn’t want to come into each house with the same message, for some it was marriage, some it was unity, others it was love, but for [the Garcia family] there was so much peace in that house,” Cervantes recalled.
“These are the kids that are making sure we’re okay, we’re like, we’re here for you guys don’t worry about us,” he added.
He said the Garza family was asking Cervantes and his colleagues how they were holding up during their visit.
Cervantes is grateful for getting to connect with each of the families and says he’s coming back in the next few months.
Cervantes also led a prayer vigil in Harlingen on Sunday following the shooting.
While he understands that many people want proactive change, he believes its through faith that people will be able to heal.
"We want stronger and stricter laws...we can ban everything we want, but evil will always exist...and while evil exists we know there's a greater good and there's Jesus," he said.