AN UNFORGETABLE LESSON

          We all remember the events of September 11, 2001.  The world witnessed the destruction of the Twin Towers, or The World Trade Center, in New York City.  I not only saw the Twin Towers crumble down, but having been raised in New York City, I saw them go up, and up, and up over a span of a few years.  (There was even a time when I was sitting on the 110th floor looking at the horizon and seeing the curvature of our planet.)  We all remember the images of thousands of heroes who put their lives on the line immediately for the sake of people whose name they did not even know.  For those heroes there was no time for tears when lives were on the line.  There was only time for immediate action.  Strong emotional releases would have to wait. 

I'm not an expert on emotions but I have learned that they can be put on hold.  But the time comes when the emotional floodgates just have to be allowed to burst.   The time came when those brave men and women in New York City would have to find time to weep.  We all need those times.  We can't keep our emotions bottled up.  It's not healthy.  There's no shame in tears.  Jesus wept.   

The month of October has been another roller coaster month of emotions in Juarez, Mexico.  Today was the day when, in the peace and safety of my place, the emotional dam broke.  Today was my turn, and it was overdue.  The sufferings I have witnessed, the victories, the dissappointment, the wonderful God-moments, the pains, the eyes of hungry children, and the joy of the work that I do all converged on me in one moment. Those emotions have to be released. And the month is not over, there is still plenty to do, I am behind on some things, but I feel better.  

In this blog entry I just want to briefly cover one event. 

Many people had put in a lot of work into the 2nd crusade for the City of Juarez. The planning for the crusade started a few months ago.  This year the event was bigger and better than last year.  The purpose was to reach as many people as possible for Jesus and bring the message of hope and unity to the masses who have suffered for so long in a City with the reputation of being the most dangerous in the world.  

Benito Juarez Stadium, with approximately 23,000 seats, was the location of the 3-day crusade.  It seems that on every turn of the planning that the Lord was meeting every need.  The event was going to be a huge success.  Possibly over 1,000 volunteers were needed for this mass undertaking.  I was part of the Deliverance Committee.  We had about 60 people in this committee.  This committee was created to handle those people who would come to the crusade manifesting a demonic presence.  And, yes, those situations arose and the committee was prepared.  

We had people who came to the crusade from many parts of the U.S., Mexico and other countries to witness the event.  I met folk from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru, and Honduras. 

The dates for the crusade were October 19th through the 21st.  The first and second night of the crusade were unbelievable.  The stadium was far from full on those nights but the Holy Spirit's power moved so strong that many people wept uncontrollably over their sins. Hundreds of people were healed by God's power and we saw several walk out of wheelchairs.  The miracles could not be numbered. Very few times in my 36 years as a Christian had I seen such magnitude of signs and wonders.

Then the third night of the crusade arrived. It was to be the biggest night of the crusade. It was youth night and a very popular Spanish gospel singing group by the name of Tres Cielos would be performing. Young and old alike came by the bus loads. The lines waiting for the stadium to open were very long. I was at the stadium an hour early and thousands were already lined up. Then came the BIG mistake. And the night was ended in similar fashion to that of the Hindenburg or the Titanic. It was a lesson that I hope that no one will forget. Ever!!! 

It all started when the Mayor of the City of Juarez arrived.  Just prior to that we had some rain and there was concern for the tens of thousands of dollars of equipment that was sitting out. Most of us in the field ended up getting soaked but we prayed that the Lord would stop the rain for the sake of the many thousands that came to be ministered to.  The rain stopped but then the head Pastors on the field decided to pay homage to the Mayor.  They took time to parade him through the quarter-mile track, stopped to have pictures taken with him, took time to present him with a Bible before the masses, let him have the microphone so he could speak, and a few other things that many disapproved of.  After honoring the Mayor the hard rains continued and the equipment had to be saved. The event had to be cancelled due to the rain. 

Why did this happen?  I had witnessed situations before where we prayed for the rains to stop so that we may continue ministering and the Lord allowed us to continue as the rains did stop. But here we had 17,000 people (maybe more) waiting to be ministered to and yet the crusade had to be cancelled.  Besides that, Juarez is in desert land and it hardly rains here. Why would the Lord allow thousands of people to be returned home after months of preparation for this crusade? 

The answer is found in part in Isaiah 42:8, 48:11, and Galatians 6:7.  These readings speak about our God who will not share His glory with anyone, and a God who will not be mocked.  I think that the message was clear. The Mayor was receiving the glory and God had been put aside.  It was God's event, not the Mayor's or anyone else.  May God forgive us and have mercy on us. It was a very valuable lesson and we all need to learn from it.  Never allow anyone, including yourself, to glorify you and never give anyone the Glory that is due to God. God will not share His Glory.





Daniel Torres
11985 Pellicano
Ste. G, Box 169
El Paso, Texas 79936
1-501-827-7679