February 2013 - Jose's Survival




We want to share with you the remarkable story of  Jose de la Cruz Fraire, a 29 year old man we have been helping. A few years ago, when the  violence in Juarez was raging, and people were afraid to go out after dark, some friends came to Jose asking for a ride since he owned a truck. His wife begged him not to go because it was late, but he decided to do it and took his young son with him.

Suddenly, as they were driving along, a car abruptly pulled in front of them. One of the men in the car lifted a gun, took aim at Jose and shot him in the neck. Jose lost control of his truck and slammed it into a post. The “friends” of Jose jumped out and fled, leaving him and the boy behind. Bleeding profusely, Jose grabbed his son (also named Jose) and started running, trying to get his son safely away from the assailants who were stripping the truck of anything of value that they could carry. But as Jose took off holding his son, he felt two more shots in his side. Still running, another gunshot hit his left leg. Trying valiantly to save his son, he felt the last bullet hit his head, and he fell to the ground. He told his son to keep on running, but his son refused to leave his dad’s side. The gunmen came, took Jose’s wallet and said, “This guy is dead. Let’s go.” And they tore off down the road. Thank God they didn’t do anything to little Jose.

Jose had collapsed very close to our Food Bank, and one of our neighbors went out to help Jose and his son. She called a friend who had a car so they could take him to find medical help. “As they were driving,” Jose shared, “praise songs to God kept coming into my head — me, who NEVER went to church and never sang those kind of songs.” Stopping at three different clinics for help, they were turned away each time because the staff, taking one look at Jose, said he was going to die anyway. Finally, one clinic accepted him, and after 6 days transferred him to the general hospital. He was in the hospital for a month and a half, and every time the doctors came to see him, they said he was going to die soon. They called the family when they removed Jose from the respirator, but to their surprise, he did not die. Jose told his sister to just let him die because the doctors said that if he did survive, he would be completely paralyzed. But his sister told him, “Where is your faith? Trust in God!”

“A few nights after my sister said that,” Jose related, “a man came into my hospital room. He had long hair and a beard and was carrying a Bible. He stood next to my bed, looked at me, and said, ‘Don’t worry. You are not going to die. God doesn’t want that yet.’ Right then, I was able to wiggle my toes for the first time since I had been shot.” Nobody except Jose ever saw the man.

Today, not only is Jose alive, he has regained the use of his arms and hands and is now able to walk a little with a walker. He is getting better and better each day. We have repaired the family’s house and added on a big room and bathroom for Jose to get around in with his wheelchair. His wife, who works at a factory and earns $50 a week, is so grateful to God for sparing her husband’s life. Their eldest daughter, Alejandra, who left school to help care for her father, is hoping to go back to school when her dad is well enough. With God’s help, and the way that Jose is progressing, that should be very soon.