I never cease to be amazed at some of the things that I come across in Juarez, Mexico. Even after 3 1/2 years of full time missionary work I still have experiences that are hard to believe. Some experiences are shocking in a negative sense and some are delightfully pleasant. In this blog I want to share about a recent experience that brought tears to my eyes...in a very good sense.
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| CELESTINA (LEFT), HER THREE HELPERS, AND TWO OF HER KIDS. |
I find a lot of pleasure and satisfaction in reaching out to the poorest of the poor in Juarez, Mexico. One of the ways that I do this is to distribute food in neighborhoods where there is extreme poverty. I normally go to the local wholesale market and purchase 100 pound bags of rice, beans, potatoes, oatmeal, sugar, and whatever else I feel may be needed. Then I bag all this up into smaller bags and head out to places in Juarez that are so poor that most Americans would not fathom. Normally I just go from house to house (or better said: from shack to shack) and hand out bags of food as I visit with the people, pray with them, and leave a gospel tract in their hands. I remember the most needy cases and make return visits. Sometimes after my first or second house visit the word gets out that I'm around and people come to me instead of me coming to them.
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| S.A.E.M. PROVIDED ME WITH BLANKETS TO GIVE OUT. |
A few days ago I was on my way out with a good load of food. I already had in mind which neighborhood I would visit. My plan was to go down a particular road and hang a left turn and visit that neighborhood. However as I was getting ready to turn left the Lord corrected me and had me to make a right turn. I had been down this neighborhood many times before and the Lord brought to my mind one particular lady. I knew that I had to stop by her place first.
I met Celestina a few years ago. Although she is under 40 years old Celestina is a widow. Her husband was killed at the peak of the violence in Juarez and she was left alone with 5 children. The youngest child was barely a new born at that time. Celestina is one of the poorest of the poor. When I first met her she was homeless and lived in borrowed houses or shacks with her kids. Her poor parents would try to help but they were just as needy. The greatest thing that Celestina has on her side is that she is a very strong Christian woman. Less that 2 years ago a ministry by the name of Casas Por Cristo (Houses For Christ) built a small house for her and her children.
Not long after moving into her new house Celestina experienced a serious incident with her next door neighbor. Apparently the man next door was drunk and he went outside shooting his gun at random. Celestina's youngest child was playing in the dirt by the house and a bullet went straight for the little boy. Except that their dog was in front of the boy and the dog's presence saved the boy's life. The dog died from the bullet wound. Celestina summoned the police but nothing was done. On one of my visits Celestina told me what had happened and we prayed for the situation with her neighbors. I have brought food to Celestina on many occasions. And it was to Celestina's place that the Lord directed me to a few days ago with a load of food.
Celestina greeted me with her usual happy smile as if she didn't have a care in the world. I know few people that have the faith that Celestina has. Celestina asked me to come inside. She was wanting to show me something. There were 3 other ladies in the house. She showed me a huge bag of potatoes on the bed (it was a one room house) and told me that she, along with the other ladies present (whom she had brought to the Lord), had opened a community lunchroom for the poor. At first I was at a loss for words.
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| CELESTINA IN THE MIDDLE |
I finally had to ask: "Celestina, you hardly have any food for you and your children. How can you have a feeding center"? She explained to me that she wanted to show these new saints about the power of a seed. She decided that they would all go in together and buy potatoes and feed the poor from Monday through Friday at 3 pm when the kids came home from school. She showed me the empty gas tank. There was no more gas, so now they had no other choice but to cook potatoes with wood that they collected. The lunchroom had been opened for over two weeks and about 30 kids and some older adults were coming for a daily diet of potatoes. The bed was reserved for the older adults to sit down to eat and the others ate standing up. It was then that I quickly wiped my tears.
And I wiped my tears again when Celestina asked me if I remembered the incident with her neighbor and her dog. I told her that I did. Then she smiled and pointed to one of the ladies in the room and told me that she was her next door neighbor, wife to the man that had shot her dog.
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| CELESTINA WITH A FEW OF THE CHILDREN |
It was obvious why the Lord sent me there that day. I told Celestina that I had a car full of food and that I was going to give it all to her. They all helped me unload all the food that I had with me. Before I left there was food everywhere. Celestina then turn to the other ladies and very confidently said: "You see, this is the power of a seed. My beautiful Jesus has multiplied it and provided us with all this food." I left her with $50 to fill up the gas tank. I also took down a list of other things that she needed and I brought them to her the very next day. When I returned Celestina informed me that she had only put in $30 worth of gas in the tank because she wanted to have money to buy tortillas for the people. She asked if that was all right with me. I smiled and nodded. I took some pictures and left with the promise that I would bring them whatever food they needed to feed the hungry in the community. It's the least that I can do. Another ministry in Juarez is going to give me enough benches and tables for the children and adults who come to the new lunchroom have a place to sit.
This is a case of the poor helping the poor. Thank God for ladies like these and others who step out with a seed of faith and watch as the Lord turns that seed into a good harvest. And thank God for those who help support God's work in Juarez so that I may continue to reach those in need. Jesus said that we will always have the poor. And His desire is for His Body to care for them and love them.
ANOTHER MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY: In the past the Lord has spoken to me about sending me to other Nations. The Lord has now opened the door for me to visit communist Cuba in July of this year for about two weeks of ministry. I will be going with Ron Gartner, who is another missionary serving in Juarez, Mexico. We will be speaking to and encouraging the Body of Christ in a few of the cities in Cuba. I have already spoken to our host Pastor in Cuba and he is very excited about us coming to visit. It does not look like the airplane fare will be too costly since Cuba is not far from Florida. However we want to be able to help the churches that we visit with a good financial gift. Anyone wishing to make a financial gift to a few churches in Cuba please send your gift to either of the addresses below. Thank you very much.
Daniel Torres
650 Linwood Drive
El Paso, TX 79928
d_torres53@yahoo.com
If you need a tax receipt send to:
Covenant Fellowship
P.O. Box 8126
Searcy, Arkansas 72145
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