Christians are the salt of the Earth. The light of the world. And no other nation comes to the aid of those who have been hit by catastrophic events like the United States of America, especially the Christians in America. The United States has been called the 911 of the world.
Last month I was in Oklahoma City visiting my daughter Melissa during the Christmas holidays. While I was there we decided to visit the site of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
On April 19, 1995 at 9:02am, 2 terrorists with 4,000 pounds of explosives in a rental truck destroyed the building. The death toll was 169 lives. There was a day care inside the building. I believe that 19 of the children perished. It only took the clean-up crew 150 pounds of explosives to bring down what remained of the building. The site where the Murrah building once stood and its surroundings are now a National Monument and a Memorial Museum. It is impossible to walk through the grounds and the museum and not weep over the events of that day. Every inch of the site is filled with history, stories, pictures, videos, remnants, and memories. My heart was squeezed as with a vice grip as I toured that place. Your heart will be moved beyond comprehension at the stories of heroes who came to the rescue and the response from millions around the Nation and the world. The entire Nation poured out to help in ways that cannot be expressed in words. Professionals from every area showed up immediately to assist.
My heart was already heavy and grieved before I arrived in Oklahoma City. I arrived there just days after the school massacre in Newton, Connecticut, where 28 were killed, about 20 of them were children. Once again a grieved nation responded only as Americans can. The assistance that the City of Newton has received is a testimony of the greatness and love of our nation and those who are the Salt and the Light.
While I walked through the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum I had flashbacks of another event.
It was Tuesday September 1, 2001. The world watched in horror as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City came tumbling down as a result of 2 airplanes in the hands of terrorists. The death toll there was almost 3,000. The heart of the Nation and of the World sank in disbelief as those images came across the television screen. We all know where we were when we first heard the news of this horrific event. I grew up in New York City and for a few years I saw the construction of the massive buildings until they literately disappeared into the clouds. To think that they were now in the streets of the city was more than my mind could capture. Again, a loving nation with a huge heart responds to the catastrophe as only America can.
These are just three tragic moments in history that have changed the lives of those who were immediately present and many more millions who were affected as a result. Sad to say but in today's modern world we expect more of these things in our future.
In Oklahoma it only took from 9:01am to 9:03am to completely change those lives. Just two minutes!!! In New York City and in Newton, Conn. it was a matter of minutes.
I live in a City that has been hit by tragic events. But they haven't stopped yet. The attacks have not lasted for minutes, but years. For several years now, Juarez, Mexico has been attacked like few cities in history of the world have been attacked. In May of last year the death toll in Juarez, Mexico reached 10,000 people since 2008. As a result many factories and businesses closed down causing unemployment. The families that could afford to leave and wanted to leave have left. Missionaries were called back by their supporters. Today the City is filled with widows and orphans. Many of the families of the murdered were forced to see the criminal act. Their lives and minds have been shattered.
What remains? I see a desperate City. A City with little hope. Most of the people here are very poor with many needs. Not just financial. Not just for food. I give out food and sometimes medicine. But I'm just one. Yes, there are more. But what are we with such great needs? There is a generation of widows and orphans who need serious counseling. The type of counseling that shows up in the U.S. hours after a major tragic event.
I have had many people in Juarez ask me a tough question. They want to know why their brothers and sisters from America, who spoke of faith, deserted them in their time of greatest need because they became fearful.
The good news is the dust is beginning to settle down in Juarez. The number of murders continues to decline. People are coming out at night again. Hope is on the rise. The time to come to the aid of Juarez is now.
Yes, we want to bring food, clothing, finances, and counseling. But if we give them those things and fail to give them Jesus we have not given them anything. When we give them Jesus we give them everything. We need bold people to come and love these who have suffered for so long. They are distraught, in a state of shock, emotionally hurting, bleeding on the inside, lonely, feeling rejected, looking for more hope, wondering what happened to their lives, looking for normalcy, trying to get back up on their knees, needing a hug, needing a friend, wanting to know that someone actually cares for them.
There is poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. In part it reads:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
The people of Juarez can't come to America. America must come to Juarez. Let's make 2013 the year of Juarez.
Come on, America. It's time. Let's roll!!
Daniel Torres
11985 Pellicano
Ste. G, Box 169
El Paso, Texas 79936
1-501-827-7679
