Many times when someone in Juarez has a challenging task they usually come to me for help. I do not know why this is but perhaps it is because they know that I have a difficult time turning people down. About two weeks ago Pastor Durok Hernandez contacted me about a small town about 3 hours away from our City of Juarez that has never received the gospel message of Jesus Christ. He was hoping that I would join him in evangelizing San Lorenzo, which is located in our State of Chihuahua. How can I turn him down? When he first mentioned this to me I immediately thought of a trip that a small team from Arkansas took about 5 years ago to another city in Mexico that had never heard the gospel message. It was the City of Zacatipan in the State of Hidalgo, Mexico. To my amazement we found out that the report was true. No one in the small town knew who Jesus was, except for the Jesus who lived down the dirt road with his wife. Ironically, he also happened to be the town's carpenter. We left the town leaving about 35 people who had accepted Jesus, the Son of God, as Lord and Savior. To me it was an unforgettable adventure. This is a missionary's dream: to bring the gospel to those who have never heard it. We know that many places have never been evangelized because Jesus said that when the message has reached the whole world then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).
So Pastor Durok and I made arrangements and we visited San Lorenzo a few days ago. An hour before reaching San Lorenzo we stopped off at the tiny City of Benito Juarez to pick up a friend of Pastor Durok who would guide us to San Lorenzo. His friend's name was Israel and he and others from the City of Benito Juarez were the ones who had spoken to Pastor Durok about San Lorenzo.
San Lorenzo is very far from any other town. It is a town of less than 1,000 people and it is a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and rivers.
Walking around San Lorenzo was very interesting. The front door to the Catholic church was opened so we walked in and looked around. Right inside of the church, at the very front and to the right, was the burial site of a young girl whose grandfather was the governor of the State of Chihuahua many years ago. They placed a statue of an angel over her tomb. On the front and left side of the church sits the confessional booth and right next to that is a small doll, dressed in white, enclosed in a glass case. On the outside of the church and high up on the building is the construction date of the church: 1892.
One very interesting outdoor phenomenon in San Lorenzo is a spot of ground just big enough for one person to stand on. When a person steps on this spot and speaks their voice changes. I had to try it and my voice made a very noticeable change. We were told that no one understands why this happens and that there is just one other place in the world where this happens. The town marked the area by putting pink square cut rocks, called cantera, at about a 15 feet radius of the site. The rocks are for visitors to sit. They also put concrete around the ground, leaving a radius of about 6 to 8 feet of dirt around the area where the voice change occurs. 
San Lorenzo reminded me of Andy Griffith's town of Mayberry. But after touring parts of the town and learning about it I understood why San Lorenzo had not yet been evangelized. One word: Religion. 
For many, many years some Catholics in Mexico have accepted and added idols to their religion. One of them is the Virgin of Guadalupe, who has just about replaced the Virgin Mary. Another idol has been the Santa Niña (The Holy Girl), which is also known as La Santa Muerte (The Holy Death). This Santa Muerte is characterized as a skeleton dressed in a white dress, often a wedding gown. Usually those people who are about to commit a crime make offerings to La Santa Muerte and ask her to deliver them from their enemies and give them success in whatever crime they are about to commit, including murder. Even those who have no plans to commit a crime bow down and worship this idol. In Juarez there are several churches that are strictly Santa Muerte churches. I have known Christians who have come out of this cult and their stories are horrifying.
Without a doubt these practices are very dangerous but they are exercised in San Lorenzo. The only church in San Lorenzo, the Catholic Church, shows evidence that the Santa Muerte is worshipped there. So anyone who has thoughts of bringing the gospel message of Jesus to the town of San Lorenzo knows that they are coming up against a strong Spiritual battle and demonic strongholds. And we are prepared to face them.
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| Place where voices change |
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| Pastor Durok in orange shirt |
Surprisingly enough when we went to get permission for a two-day event to bring the gospel to San Lorenzo we received the permit. We have April 26th and 27th reserved. The permit, which will cost 1,000 pesos (about $80US), allows us to use the town's gymnasium and the town square, which are right next to each other. We even got permission to close off the street between the two sites, in order to connect the two. We also have permission to place posters throughout San Lorenzo advertising the event.
We are well aware that in similar towns in Mexico where others have tried to bring in the gospel message the ones doing so have come against much opposition including stoning and loss of lives. But the message must be delivered.
Since San Lorenzo is so far away there is a possibility that we may rent a furnished house to stay during the two days of the event and possibly some days before. We have a worship team that will go with us along with others from the cities of Juarez and Benito Juarez.
In order to get as many people to come to this outreach I want to bring gifts. I would love to bring soccer balls and hopefully several bicycles to give away. Also I would love to bring food to give out. If anyone would be interested in helping with the cost of these please contact me.
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| Gymnasium in San Lorenzo |
Without question we need as much prayer as possible in order to get the gospel message to San Lorenzo.
Currently we have two other outreaches in the City of Juarez that I want to mention briefly.
Pastor Henry Becerra, a friend of mine from City Church International in San Antonio, Texas, will start a 4 day outreach in Juarez on March 27th. The big event in this outreach will be on Friday 28th when Pastor Becerra will be speaking at Benito Juarez Auditorium. We were able to get the auditorium from the City of Juarez without cost. Pastor Becerra has an amazing testimony of how God raised him out of a wheelchair. Pastor Becerra's ministry supports tens of thousands of orphans in different places throughout the world.
Also on Saturday April 5th we have an outreach called Festival de Esperanza (Festival of Hope). This is an outreach that was planned for last December but was cancelled because food that was coming from the United States was stopped at the Mexican border and was not allowed to get through. Even though the event was cancelled in December due to the problem of not getting the food across to Juarez about 8,000 people still came. They were ministered to under the extreme cold temperatures. The shipment of food is finally here in Juarez. So we are expecting at least 20,000 people this time. During this event we plan to give out 5,000 bags of food. We also have events and ministry for every age including haircuts, legal services, distribution of reading glasses, games, special services for children and adults, prayer tents, hot food and many other things. At the same time Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will be speaking for two days across the border in El Paso.
The next few weeks will be very busy weeks and we need as much prayer support as possible.
On a personal note I plan to be in Arkansas for a few days in May for my youngest daughter's graduation. Victoria will be graduating from high school.
I also have been invited to minister to churches and Pastors in The Philippines in July. The Christians in the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines are facing much persecution since the island is 50% Muslim and we would like to bring some encouragement to these brothers. It would take about $3,000US to make the trip.
In June we have a team coming from Judsonia's The River Church to minister in Juarez for one week. Along with that we have a young lady, Michaela, also from The River Church, coming down to intern for just over one month at Spanish American Evangelistic Ministries (S.A.E.M.).
I want to express my deepest thanks for all those that continue to support the work that is going on in Juarez. Feel free to contact me with any questions. Blessings, hugs, and my love to all.
Daniel Torres
650 Linwood Drive
El Paso, Texas 79928
For Tax-deductible contributions:
Covenant Fellowship
P.O. Box 8126
Searcy, Arkansas 72145
P.S. Double click on pictures for enlargement.
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