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| CITY OF JUAREZ: THE BIBLE IS THE TRUTH. READ IT. |
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| TWO OF THE LATEST ADDITIONS |
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| FRONTERIZA BAJA |
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| HUECO TANKS PARK |
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| HUECO TANKS PARK IN EL PASO |
I put in 222 miles on my SUV in three days while visiting different Pastors and Ministries in Juarez this past weekend.
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| HUECO TANKS PARK IN EL PASO |
Emmanuel Ministries has living quarters for teams that come to minister to the children. I would like to see such a place filled with visitors.
Two hours before arriving at Emmanuel Ministries I found a place where I can buy bulk food at good prices. I bought 250 pounds of potatoes (5 bags at 50 lbs. each) for $59. I left 100 pounds of potatoes at Emmanuel.
Spanish American Evangelistic Ministries (which I have mentioned in the past) also welcomes small teams (less than 20) who want to minister in Juarez. S.A.E.M. is on the El Paso side of the Border. The facilities there are very good. Teams that want to visit Juarez but prefer to sleep on the U.S. side may get permission to stay at S.A.E.M.
What am I saying? I'm saying that the American teams need to return to Juarez, and Mexico. The blessings are on a two-way street. You can't bless someone without being blessed also. Mexico is ready for the teams to come back. The Macedonian call has been sent out again. We need help.
One of the frustrating things that I face once in a while is when corrupt individuals take advantage and abuse the help to the needy. Case in point: I found out about a small group of people who are taking food given for hungry children and families and selling it to appease their addictions. Someone called me to tell me of this. So for three months kids and families who normally get a free meal on Saturdays have been left waiting. But some still show up in hopes that things will change. This place is about 15 minutes from my house. I found a church that will help me. I asked them to run a feeding center close to this area and I'll take care of providing the food. We will have nothing to do with the people stealing the food. We will let the Lord handle that. I already took them potatoes, rice, and beans (25 lbs. of each). We start next Saturday inside an abandoned house. This week I will try to find some used chairs and tables. I will also purchase disposable plates and spoons. The church will provide the cooks and the Bible lessons. I'm sure before long we will have 100 or more people show up. (James 1:27: Religion that our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress....). Juarez is loaded with orphans and widows. Here is where the heart of God beats.
I took the rest of the potatoes to a girls refuge (to Marycruz, for those who have been here and know her), and to another orphanage (Cesia's).
I want to share a story about a trip I made to Cecia's orphanage 2 Saturdays ago. This orphanage is struggling to feed their kids. On Sundays they also try to feed people from the surrounding poor neighborhood. I keep them on top of my list for food. Two Saturdays ago I had two events planned but both fell through. I had some rice and beans that I was taking to Cecia's on Sunday but since I was not too busy on Saturday I decided to go to Cecia's that day. I brought them rice and beans (25 lbs each). When I got there one of the ladies asked me about a man who had been there the previous day (Friday). Surprised, I told her that I had no idea who that man was. She said that she was washing dishes and when she looked up there was a man on the other side of the window. Then he walked inside the orphanage, which he is not supposed to do. She asked him why he had walked inside and all he could say was that he came to tell them that Brother Daniel would be in the next day with food for them. She kept telling him that he was not supposed to just walk in. He repeated himself about Brother Daniel, which is what they call me at Cecia's. Then he calmly walked out. She followed him out the door and when she looked up he had disappeared into thin air. Then she remembered that I never have sent anyone to announce my coming before. Besides, they are practically in the middle of the desert. She asked me again who that man was...she even described him to me, including the colors he was wearing. I had no explanation...I told her that I had just made the decision to go there 2 hours before arriving. We just stared at each other with big eyes and a silly grin.
We have had more rain than normal lately, a welcomed blessing. However, this is a desert and the system in Juarez is not prepared for even small amounts rain. Some parts of the city had floods. The pastor in whose church we are raising chickens was proud to tell me that only one chicken drowned. A church member found them in water that was knee-deep. A couple of people around that vicinity also came close to drowning.
About three years ago I was in Juarez on a missions trip with the Arkansas team. On our last day of ministry it started to rain. We witnessed how God miraculously cleared up the heavens around us while we ministered outdoors. It rained all around us for hours but not in our circle of ministry. We got up early the next morning to depart and it was still raining. We had to push the van out of a mud hole to get on the road. On my return to Arkansas I was informed that the rains had continued and that Juarez was flooded. I asked if I needed to fly back to help with a few outreaches to the needy and I was asked to come. Within days I was back in Juarez. It was a very different Juarez than the one I had just left. The bare and rocky mountains that I had seen before were now covered with a tint of green as seeds which had been blown up there months and years before began to take on new life. The streets were littered with debris as they had been turned into rivers washing away pallet houses, frame houses, and even vehicles. Many people drowned, including children. Dead animals were all over. We visited two Colonias, Fronteriza Baja and Fronteriza Alta, that were hit especially hard since they were completely surrounded by mountains. We brought a lot of food and clothing to these poor people. The government brought in no help. It was here that, after a long day of giving out all we had, that a group of about 30 people stood around waiting. The sun had long gone down, we were using car headlights to see. These people were loaded down with bags of food and clothing. I walked over to them to tell them that we had nothing else to give. They said that they were waiting around because they wanted us to introduce them to our God. I couldn't believe my ears. Did I really hear that? I spoke to them for a while and led them all to the Lord. All those unforgettable memories of that trip filled my heart when I visited those two Colonias again last Sunday. I even wept again. I drove around and came to the same spot where all that occurred. I went to a church just a few blocks from that site. I was thrilled to walk in and see the church fill up with 250+ people. I wondered how many of these sitting in church I had led to the Lord during those days, and if they would remember me. But what mattered was that this Colonia and these precious folk had survived.
People all over the world face traumatic experiences in their lives. But when they reach out and grab Jesus by the hand, as Peter did one day when he stepped out of a boat and he began to sink, they learn that they can survive anything. Christians here in Juarez know just how to do that. They have faced obstacles that their fellow brothers in other nations cannot even begin to imagine. And they know how to survive, because if there is one thing that they have learned, it's to reach out and grab the extended hand of Jesus.
Thanks to all those who are keeping me here with their support.
Daniel Torres
11985 Pellicano
Suite G, Box 169
El Paso, TX 79936
1-501-827-7679
For tax receipts:
Covenant Fellowship
P.O. Box 8126
Searcy, AR 72145
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