Woman lives life of faith, service, and generosity

Intermountain Catholic

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Rocío Mejía lights a candle to the Virgin of Guadalupe on the small altar she made in her bedroom. ?It took me a long time, but I got to keep my promise to the virgin that I would take my children to her Basilica in Mexico,? she said. IC photo by Priscilla Cabral

WEST JORDAN—"I placed him upside down and asked him to find me a good husband; someone with moral values and who likes to stay at home, a hard-working man." Rocío Mejía’s faith paid off and not long after, Saint Anthony of Padua granted her wish. In Latin America, it is believed that if you place an image of Saint Anthony upside down, he will get you a boyfriend.

"Marco is my husband, my friend, my companion," she said.

But Mejía’s story is not just a love story. It is also one of faith and determination to help the neighbor in need.

"I was born in Michoacán, Mexico, in a big and poor family. My mother worked very hard to get us a Catholic education because she considered that the best education I could get."

So, Mejía was exposed to the Catholic Church during her childhood and was going to have a test of faith at a young age.

"My mother and I immigrated to the United States when I was 15," she said. "I used to study and work so we could send money to our family in Mexico. And when I was 16, I had my first child, Marla."

Mejía’s marriage to Marla’s father lasted almost 12 years, until he died.

"My two kids, Marla and René, were still very young and I was practically alone," Mejía said with tears in her eyes.

She admits being angry with God. "I said to him, ‘This isn’t fair. Why me? Why did you have to take away my husband and leave me all by myself?’ I didn’t know what to do."

But she did find a lot of support in the church during that time and eventually reconciled with God. "I understood that death is something we are all going to experience, that there are things I can’t control and that are God’s will. I can only accept them and learn from them."

Five years later, Mejía felt ready for another relationship and it was then that she assigned Saint Anthony the task of finding the right man for her.

"I was looking for a job and I finally got an interview at this company," she said. "I could see there was a lot of competition, so I was very happy when they told me I was hired. Marco was my boss."

Marco and Mejía got married two years later and had a son named José.

About her marriage, Mejía says that communication with her husband and with God is essential. "We wouldn’t be able to stay together for so long if we weren’t familiar with the word of the Lord," she said.

"We read the Bible as a family. Marco is who usually guides us."

Mejía tries to practice what she reads in the Bible and for years, she has given a hand to those in need.

"When José started to go to school, I decided to do something with my free time and became part of the planning committee for the State Department of Health," said Mejía.

There, she realized that many of the needs of the Latino community were not being met and founded a non-profit organization called Mano Amiga, Spanish for ‘friendly hand.’ "Its mission is to maintain the Latino culture, to improve the education in our community and to do volunteer work," said Mejía.

Mano Amiga works with other organizations to accomplish this mission.

"Every year, we make an altar for the ‘Day of the Dead’ at the Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley. Also there, we have a nativity scene during the Christmas season," she said.

Mano Amiga held an event in February to raise funds to help the communities in Mexico, whose houses were destroyed by the floods in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco. Mano Amiga also has a program similar to an insurance plan, which pays immigrants’ funeral and transportation costs if they want to be buried in their native countries.

"All they do is pay an annual fee of $100 and fill out some papers," said Mejía.

The work with Mano Amiga is rewarding but it can be a challenge to combine it with her job at the Intermountain Donor Services and other commitments as well. "You have to sacrifice time you’d spend on you or your family," she said.

When asked if she is devoted to any saint or the virgin, Mejía answered without hesitation and with a huge smile on her face: "To the Virgin of Guadalupe. I have an altar at home with a virgin my mother gave me that belonged to my grandmother. When she gave it to me, she said ‘This is my mother’s mother. She will bless you and she will take care of your children.’ I have roses and candles around her all the time, and I tell my children to commend themselves to her."