MARCHING INTO HELL FOR A HEAVENLY CAUSE

JESUSMARIA, THE FIRST DAY WE SAW HER

"TO MARCH INTO HELL FOR A HEAVENLY CAUSE...", are words to one of my favorite songs, The Impossible Dream.  There have been times during my 6 1/2 years as a missionary in Juarez, Mexico that I felt that I've done just that. I've been through some very scary situations as a missionary and in this blog I'll be sharing about my most recent heart-pounding and exciting experience. 

As most people know the drug traffic from Mexico to the United States is a major problem.  The drug cartels are powerful to the point that the Mexican Army is almost defenseless against them.  The cartels have much better weapons and equipment than the Mexican Army.  Recently one of the cartels paraded their power and force through several cities in Mexico and they went unchallenged.  

WOOD STOVES WARMING THE HOUSES

OUR FIRST VIEW OF BABICORA

In some towns the cartels have taken over the schools, businesses, and homes, forcing the population to work for them, especially in the planting and harvesting of drugs.  They have been reported to go into some schools and churches and take complete control, including the sexual abuse of young girls.  In a recent local news broadcast the Mexican Army wanted the State of Chihuahua to pay them a large amount of money if they wanted them to go into some of the areas that the cartels had taken over.  The State refused.  The army wouldn't go in, but when the door swung open for a few of us to visit such a town we decided to go.  Our departure date from Juarez was set for December 11, 2017.  We had plenty of time to pray and seek God's protection before leaving.  Our destination was high up in the mountains of the State of Chihuahua, the same State where Juarez is located.

Our small team drove 8 hours South after which we lost the hardtop roads and started on a 6 hour journey through mountains, valleys, and a few rivers where the water covered the tires of our vehicles.  During those 6 hours we saw only the road that we traveled in and only one other vehicle, coming in the opposite direction.  We had to squeeze to the right so that we could pass each other.  There were no other towns for the duration of the 6 hours.  There were times that I questioned whether or not our vehicle could climb up some of the hills and boulders that we drove through, but we always made it.  And all along, deep in our thoughts, was the unknown that awaited us.  But we wouldn't back out.  Finally far down below us we spotted our destination.  I was so glad to get out of that vehicle.

The town, Babicora de Conoachi in Chihuahua (which cannot be found on the map), looked a whole lot better that I expected.  Thought they had no electricity, running water, stores, telephones, cable tv, or internet the town looked good.  No police in town either! The big, modern, and beautiful church in the middle of the town gave the place an inviting look.  Some brothers from Canada spent 6 years building the church on different "mission trips".  It was a monumental job just to bring the materials for the construction from more than 6 hours away.  The great advantage in Babicora is the fact that the town is surrounded by woods.  The trees can be used for firewood (their only way to heat and cook) and for construction.  The temperatures get down very low in the winter time, especially since the elevation is very high.   The woods are also great for hunting.  Juarez is in the desert so there is no meat from hunting and firewood is very costly.  So in that aspect this town in the middle of nowhere has an advantage over the big City of Juarez.  There are approximately 60+ families living in town with many others living deep in the woods.  The town has a basketball court but aside from that there is not much of anything else for the young people to keep occupied...and I saw lots of young people.

BEAUTIFUL CHURCH BUILT
BY CANADIANS

PASTOR ALEX
AND FAMILY

Pastor Alex lives in town with his young family and are supported by other churches outside of Babicora.  They have not been bothered very much by the cartels.  They have lived here for 5 years and have a great heart for the people.  The Pastor has the luxury of having a water heater that runs on firewood.  There is also a school in Babicora.  Teachers come from other cities and stay only for the week.  On Fridays they head back home.  The school is right next to the Pastor's house and they allow him to hook up his house to their solar panels for enough electricity to run a few light bulbs.  There are also two wells in town that run on solar panels. 

INSIDE THE CHURCH

SMALL BRIDGE LEADING
TO THE CHURCH

Our plans were to have two church services but our long trip kept us down to one service.  We brought lots of food (mostly beans, rice, oatmeal) and many bags of clothing (especially for cold weather, thanks to SAEM in El Paso).  Since we arrived in the middle of the afternoon, all we had time for was to separate all that we brought and arranging the food into smaller bags.  We also split up into teams and went out to invite the townspeople to the church service the next day at noon.  News travels fast so we had people who came to the service from deep in the woods.  When speaking to people we recognized the fact that most of them were working the drug fields nearby.  A few times I asked some how they made a living but they would avoid the question.  The cartels do pay them minimal wages.  Thankfully during our entire visit we never encountered anyone from the drug cartels, that I know of.  

ACCEPTING THE
LORD

PASTOR MANUEL SPEAKING

During our 2 1/2 days in Babicora we visited houses often and we met some extremely poor people with some very serious issues, including health problems.  Carlos, more than 80 years old, was very sick and could not eat.  He lived in a tiny shack with his wife, son, and daughter.  Carlos looked as if he was at death's door.  He could not speak or hear.  We prayed for him and the next day he looked much, much better.  He even sat up to eat some soup that we brought him.  But Carlos had broken a wrist some years back and it was never set, so it was still broken and he was suffering intense pain.  Then his wife asked me to pray for her daughter who was in the back room.  She was in the corner bedroom floor wrapped in blankets so the light from the wood stove did not reach there.  It was extremely dark in the back; and also spiritually dark.  I had to try to find her with the light from my cell phone.  JesusMaria was her name.  She seemed to be demon-possessed and was very frail.  She didn't seem to respond to anything we said.  We were told that she also could not hear or speak.  She was confused and scared.  We also prayed for her and on our second visit, like her father, she looked much better.  During our second visit she was sitting not far from the wood stove in the kitchen/living room and she did not have the fearful/scary look in her eyes. Her mother told me that JesusMaria had problems walking and that she fell down a lot.  I looked down at her feet and saw that her left foot was at a 45 degree angle from the rest of her leg.  Her ankle was broken.  I asked the mother how long she had been like that and she stated that it had been months, maybe years.  I hurt me just to see that foot.  All we could do was to pray for them again.  The mother and the son accepted Jesus as their savior.  

ARRIVING AT CHURCH ON
HORSEBACK

PARKING THE RIDE
NEXT TO A TREE

There is so much more that can be said about this visit and other visits but I want to get to the church service.  It was a lovely sight to see people coming to church.  It looked like something out of a cowboy movie or Little House On The Prairie.  Even women in their 60's came on horseback.  They hitched their horses, visited with others, and stepped inside the church.  Those that rode horses came from outside the little town.  But the local people walked to church.  The church filled up slowly and the service was started.  Most of the men stood in the back of the church partly because of fear (I think), but mostly because of the machismo culture in Mexico.  The young people that came with us from Juarez did a great job with the worship and Pastor Martin Nuñez shared his incredible testimony in less than 10 minutes.  Then it was my turn to share a message and give an invitational.  When I invited folk to come forward to accept Jesus as savior 21 people stepped up, mostly females.  I asked Pastor Martin to pray for the people because I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to the back of the church to speak to young man that did not come forward.  I asked him if he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart and he responded with a clear "no".  But 10 minutes later he came to me and told me that he had changed his mind.  There was another man that I was led by the Holy Spirit to speak to.  He asked me if we were staying at the Pastor's house, and I said "yes".  All he said was that he would see me later.  

ON THE WAY TO THE WELL

COUPLE THAT ACCEPTED THE LORD,
SECOND AND THIRD FROM THE LEFT.
ALSO PASTOR ALEX, MYSELF, AND PASTOR MARTIN

That evening he and his wife came to see the Pastor.  The Pastor called me and told me that the couple wanted to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  It was a joy to hear that.  So immediately I began to speak to them and asking them some questions.  I found out that they lived an hour and 20 minutes from the church, on horseback.  They wanted to receive the Lord Jesus but they wanted to do it in front of  the Pastor and myself so they stayed overnight in town at a friends house (too dark to go home on horseback at night).  They had some questions about being Christians that were easily answered.  The more I spoke to them the more their countenance lit up.  Then they began to cry.  And as we prayed for them they began to break out in laughter as the Holy Spirit filled them with joy.  It was a wonderful experience for them as well as for the rest of us.  We hugged, laughed, cried, and laughed some more.  It was especially a sweet experience for the Pastor because during his 5 years as a Pastor/Missionary in this town he only had one convert.  If the Lord brought me to Babicora only for this couple it would have been worth the entire trip!  In all, 24 people came to the Lord Jesus.

STOPPING ON THE WAY TO THE
WELL TO VISIT

The next day we got up and started getting ready to leave Babicora.  But first a few of us made a trip out to the well to fill the Pastor's water containers.  The well was about 1/4 mile away and the temperature was pretty cool.  But we enjoyed our last view of Babicora as we stopped by a few houses to greet those seated on their porches to soak in the warm morning sun. 

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
IN BABICORA

We have talked about going back to Babicora in the Spring of 2018.  Next time we'll be better prepared since this was partly a scouting trip.  On our next visit we plan on getting on some horses to visit those who live out in the woods.  We give God all the glory for this wonderful experience and especially for the souls that we were able to reach; and we are very thankful that He made this Impossible Dream a reality. 

A FEW OTHER NOTES ABOUT OUR WORK IN JUAREZ:  

***  I have started meetings with Pastors in Juarez at one of the poorest areas of the City.  The goal is to bring unity and mutual love among the leaders.  Once we have unity in these churches the gospel message will spread (according to the Lord's desire for unity in John, chapter 17).  After some more training and preparation we will be going out and ministering to people in the streets and in homes.  I believe that the end-time revival will start in Juarez and from there it will touch the entire world.  We will see incredible exploits with this ministry in 2018.  We're preparing for that.   

***  Our Friday morning visits to one of the Girl's refuge continue and are going extremely well.  It's amazing to see the girls who are brought in with all sorts of unimaginable problems (rebellion, drugs, alcohol, prostitution, living in the streets...) and witnessing their lives being transformed by the power of the Cross.  The change can be seen in their faces after a few weeks. 

THE CHURCH AND THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH IN THE BACKGROUND

*** Special thanks to the Operation:Care team that made their 29th weekly missions trip to Juarez in November.  They come from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Georgia. It was such a joy and honor to receive the team and work with them.  They come into Juarez as a downspout of blessings from heaven as they bring lots, and lots, and lots of food and other aid to many ministries in the City.

*** Maxine Bingham arrived in Juarez also in November to minister in churches and to Pastors.  Her ministry to the church brings much hope and blessings.   As always it was a real joy having her again and we look forward so much for her return, hopefully in April, 2018. 

As always I am so thankful for the prayer and financial support that many give to this work in Juarez.  May the Lord multiply your sacrifice.  Also, if any individuals or teams want to visit Juarez please contact me for information.  Juarez is just across the border from El Paso, Texas so if anyone is passing by please give me a call.  

I ask that you please leave your comments below.  I have a large  audience in Russia and other nations.  I would be blessed to hear your comments. PLEASE!!!

May the Lord bring much increase to your lives as well as to His Kingdom in this upcoming New Year of 2018.  Shalom and Maranatha!!! 

JESUSMARIA ON OUR SECOND VISIT

Daniel Torres
12397 Chamberlain Drive
El Paso, Texas 79928

501-827-7679
d_torres53@yahoo.com

(Double click on pictures to enlarge).