March 2008 - Man Healed of Cancer

Stories keep emerging about how the Lord used (and is continuing to use) Fr. Richard Thomas in a mighty way to bring healing and hope to people. A few days ago Heidi shared this testimony with me.

About four or five years ago, the father of one of her friends was very sick and had been in the hospital. Since his liver had ceased functioning and his kidneys were rapidly failing, the doctors sent this man home to die. They gave him 15 days to live at most. Heidi went to visit him and suggested, “Do you want me to take you out to the Lord’s Ranch so that Fr. Thomas can pray with you?” “I guess so,” the man answered despondently. So they drove him out to the Ranch for Sunday Mass. He was so weak that they had to carry him from the van to a wheelchair and wheel him into the service.

As was his normal routine, Father Thomas finished celebrating Mass and then went to another building to hear confessions and counsel people. After the sick man had been helped back into the van to drive to that other building, he was too weak to get out again. This whole trip had been strenuous and exhausting in his feeble condition. Heidi went inside to look for Father and asked him, “Father, I brought a dying man here so that you could pray with him. Can you come outside to the van because he is too weak to come inside?” “Where is he?” Father asked. “I’ll come out right now.” Heidi led the way and Father went up to the window where the man was sitting. After giving him the anointing of the sick, Father Thomas laid his hand on the man’s shoulder and prayed out loud, “Lord, nothing is impossible for You. Please come and heal this brother who is in bad shape. Fix him up like only You can. Amen.” That was it. Father went back inside to hear the confessions of those who were waiting.

On the way home the man seemed to be in a daze. “I felt heat come from his hand as soon as Father touched my shoulder,” the man shared. “I felt that warmth spread all over my body, and I still feel it.”

Four months later he went to see the doctor. “What are you doing here?!” the doctor exclaimed. “I’m here for my checkup,” replied the man. “You’re supposed to be dead! Your liver was destroyed, your kidneys were failing – there’s no way you can still be alive!” “Well, here I am,” laughed the man. “God ‘fixed me up’!”

This man is still alive today and doing well, thanks be to God. We are saving up all these testimonies and more keep getting added to the stack as people share with us how God used this truly amazing priest in their lives.

February 2008 - Making Tamales

One of the special foods for holidays in Mexico are tamales. Tamales are made up of either a savory or sweet filling surrounded by a cornmeal dough, all wrapped up in corn husks and then steamed. They are very delicious, but after being involved in preparing tamales, you can see why they are only served at special occasions – they are quite labor intensive.

This year we wanted to serve this festive food for the celebration of Three Kings Day (the Epiphany) at one of our Food Banks in Juarez. We knew it would be a big task to prepare the many dozens of tamales needed to feed all the people. But we had a group of college students visiting from the Franciscan University of Steubenville who were willing to help. With some experienced local helpers guiding us, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

The first task was to get the meat off of 10 big turkeys that had been roasted the previous day. This meat had to be shredded into small pieces so it could be added to the chili mixture. We had pots of red chili and green chili sauce bubbling on the stove and as the meat got shredded, it was stirred in. While the filling was being prepared, the dried, golden corn husks were soaking in a big tub of warm water so that they would become supple and easier to work with.

Now came the time to put it all together. We formed an assembly line with the first station spreading the masa, the soft, white cornmeal dough that gets spooned onto the now-moistened corn husks. These got passed to the next person who put a spoonful of the meat and chili filling in the middle. The next person in the assembly line would carefully fold over the corn husks, making a neat package ready to be put in the steamer. Soon the fragrant aroma of cooking tamales filled the room making everyone hungry, but no one sampled any of the finished product (except the official taster).

The following day at the Food Bank, the college students set out the feast. Steaming hot tamales, fluffy rice, beans, hot tea and cake were served to our brothers and sisters of the colonia. The people cheered and shouted out, “Glory to God” when they saw the tamales, a rare treat for them. The crowd swelled as word spread like wildfire around the neighborhood. Thanks to the students’ hard work, there was plenty for all who came. While not the best looking tamales in the world, everyone agreed that they were delicious, and the people were so touched to know that we had made them ourselves.

“It gave me a lot of joy seeing how happy the people were to get our tamales,” shared one of the students. “It was hard work, but so worth it!”

November 2007 - Mike and Norma Reuter's wedding

The church was packed and the atmosphere was charged with excitement. Young and old crammed into the pews, mothers bounced babies, and rambunctious toddlers climbed on the seats. What was happening? Two special members of our community were getting married.

Mike Reuter, the groom, first came to work with Fr. Rick Thomas back in 1985. He was 21 years old at the time and wanted to spend a year doing missionary work. He ended up never leaving. This was God’s call for his life, he decided. However he also felt called to marriage, but how was he ever going to convince a girl to join him in this radical lifestyle. Mike lived at the Lord’s Ranch where there is no air conditioning in the summer and no heating (except from the sun) during the winter. Floors are bare cement, bathing is limited to two showers a week, and none of the staff receive a salary. All of us are full-time volunteers, dependent on the Lord’s providence to supply our needs. Mike took seriously Matthew 6:33 where Jesus says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be given you as well.” He knew God wanted him working in this part of His Kindgom, and he trusted that the Lord would bring the right girl along. And thus began a very long wait.

God had a plan. Enter Norma Garcia, the bride. Norma was only 6 years old when Mike moved down from North Dakota to live here. God had her in mind for Mike but obviously it would take some time before she was ready to be his wife. She lived only miles from the Lord’s Ranch but their paths would not cross for many years.

Finally, when Norma was 24 years old, she came to the Ranch for the first time. She started volunteering in the ministries, and then started staying at the Ranch. After several years of being good friends, Mike could see that Norma felt called to live at the Lord’s Ranch also. So on New Year’s Eve, the feast of the Holy Family, he asked her if she would enter into courtship with him. She gave a joyful yes and they started dating. Mike proposed to Norma on Holy Saturday a few months later, which happened to be Norma’s birthday, and they announced the wonderful news after the Easter Vigil Mass. The congregation erupted with hoots and hollers at this great news.

The day of their wedding was sunny and bright. Over 450 people, including Mike’s family from up north, filled the church to celebrate this very special ceremony uniting two beautiful, dedicated servants of the Lord. After the vows everyone broke into spontaneous applause and cheers.

Mike and Norma are on their honeymoon in Italy as I write this, thanks to very generous donations from family and friends. They will make their home together in the building that also houses the chapel where Mike spent many years praying for his future wife. What’s he say about it now? “She was well worth the wait!”

October 2007 - Eduardo

Sometimes the multitude of problems in the lives of the people we serve leave us bewildered as to how to help them. Such was the case with Eduardo. Eduardo basically raised his kids due his wife’s alcoholism. He took the children everywhere with him while they were growing up. Eventually his wife left him for a younger man. Then Eduardo’s father tragically burned to death when his house caught on fire.

After these events, Eduardo sank into a deep depression and stopped caring for himself. All day long he sat in the darkened room of the cardboard house he lived in next to one of his grown son’s home. He constantly muttered to himself and would go to the bathroom on the floor inside, living in filth. We would repeatedly try to get him to bathe, but he stubbornly refused. We cleaned his living quarters, but the next week it would be back to the filth. This went on for several years. Frustrated with his behavior, his kids gave up on him. We just kept praying for God to intervene.

A few months ago, we noticed he was bleeding from his stomach. It must have scared him because he wanted to go to the doctor, but the doctor wouldn’t see him until Eduardo had bathed. A lady who gets help from the Food Bank offered to take him to her house. She and her husband had an extra room where he could stay. He meekly agreed to go with her, and he allowed them to clean him up.

The transformation was incredible. You could hardly tell he was the same man, now with clean clothes on and his hair cut and combed. They had even cleaned up his fingernails and toenails which had been infected with fungus.

Now Eduardo smiles and is happy. He continues to live with this couple as he receives medical care from the doctor. His children have been to visit him and are pleased with the change in their father. Thanks be to God, what was a seemingly hopeless situation has been turned around.

August 2007 - KJES Radio Station

After many months of planning and waiting, we have a new antenna and transmitter for our shortwave international radio station KJES. As you may recall we use this radio station, which is located at the Lord’s Ranch, to broadcast the Word of God around the world. We have received mail from many countries over the 15 years we have been on the air including Japan, Cuba, Siberia, Canada, Haiti, China and New Zealand. But we wanted to further expand the areas where our signal is heard, and we also needed a reliable back-up transmitter when the main one breaks down.

To help us in this project, we enlisted the aid of John and Ruth Stanley, missionary engineers who travel around the world getting Christian radio stations up and running and maintained. John and Ruth have worked with us many times at KJES, and graciously agreed to help us again. Part of their task involved flying to Costa Rica where the new transmitter was being made to oversee its completion and to conduct initial tests on it. Finally it was loaded up and shipped to the United States. After the lengthy process of getting it cleared through customs, the transmitter arrived at the Lord’s Ranch in June. John and Ruth drove to the Ranch and set up shop, living and working out of our radio station building.

The Lord blessed us with some extra helpers. Dean Straw, an engineer friend of the Stanleys, drove in from California and was a huge help. Uswaldo Gallardo, a good friend of ours who works for the phone company, was able to get donations of wire and other supplies needed and he saved us a lot of time and money with his suggestions and help.


The existing antenna we use sends the shortwave signal east and west while this new one points north and south. Our goal was to be able to transmit more into Mexico and South America. Already we have heard from Brazil that we are coming in there loud and clear.

The back-up transmitter we used to use was old and unreliable and very complicated to operate. The new back-up transmitter from Costa Rica is much easier to run and also sends a stronger signal.

July 2007 - Aurora Villa Dies

The Lord called home another pillar in our ministries, Aurora Villa, who died last month. If any of you have visited us and were able to go the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico, you would have met this beautiful servant of the Lord. Aurora was in charge of the Food Bank for many years. Fr. Thomas asked her to run the operations there and Aurora faithfully carried out her duties with cheerfulness and great wisdom.

Aurora was an extraordinary person. Coming herself to Juarez from the coastal town of Veracruz years ago, she understood the desperate plight of newcomers to this huge border city. In her tiny house, Aurora would open the door to entire families arriving destitute in their search for a better life, and she helped them until they were able to get on their feet. It was not uncommon to be walking down the street with Aurora and have someone come greet her enthusiastically, thanking her for what she had done for them. Once as we were going into the jail to minister, one of the guards greeted her warmly. She was surprised to see that it was a man she had helped years before when his family was homeless. Now he had a decent job and the means to provide. “I’m where I am today because of you,” he told her.

Early every morning, no matter what the weather was like, Aurora would trudge up the mesa to the Food Bank and start her busy day. A big part of what Aurora did was to figure out who needed what and where the assets could best be applied. She had to make hard decisions because the needs of the people can be overwhelming, but she was fair and had a keen sense of discernment. She treated those seeking help with dignity and love, and in return they loved and respected her.

Besides all the material needs, Aurora focused on the spiritual well-being of the families we serve. For example, she made it a requirement that the children who wanted to attend our little school at the Food Bank (free of charge) needed to be baptized. The problem for many of the families is that they cannot afford to get birth certificates for their children, which are needed by the parish in order to perform the baptism. So Aurora would negotiate the price with the government agency so that each child received the needed documents.

Aurora had tremendous faith in God and was always praising Him, even as she suffered so much. After a year long battle with cancer, Aurora passed away in her home on June 9th. We will miss her peaceful, gentle presence amongst us. As one of her co-workers told me, “There’s no way to measure all that she did. We’ll never know until eternity.”

June 2007 - Eileen's Education

Education is something we often take for granted, but for a young girl living in Mexico it is in no way guaranteed. Eileen Macias was abandoned by her parents when she was 3 years old. She was left in the care of her elderly grandparents when her mom and dad went to America to build a new life. Although they are still in contact occasionally, her parents never came through with their promises of financial support, so Eileen’s schooling was in jeopardy.

Juan and Loretto, Eileen’s grandparents, struggled to keep her in school as both of them battled poor health and various ailments. Loretto has diabetes and is in need of surgery on both of her knees. Making ends meet was getting harder and harder. Juan used to work at the Lord’s Food Bank as a volunteer for 20 years until he was physically unable to help, so he is on our route to bring weekly groceries to. On one of these visits, a couple from Georgia accompanying us, was struck with Eileen’s plight and wanted to help keep her in school. They started sending money each month to do that. When the money arrives, we bring it to Eileen and she keeps it carefully in an envelope, budgeting it herself and using it to buy books and pay her tuition.

At 14 years old, Eileen is very focused on school and on making the most of her education. She is a bright 7th grader and tells us, “I really want to continue studying so that I can become a doctor. I’m taking computer classes along with my other subjects now.” She is extremely self-motivated because her grandparents, due to their ages and health, can’t do much for her. But amidst her humble surroundings with the leaking roof and cement floor, she applies herself diligently to her studies, cheerfully completing all the homework assigned to her. Someone teasingly asked her, “Don’t you have a boyfriend yet?” “That’s not for me now,” she replied solemnly. “School is what’s important now.”
Eileen is not at all bitter about her parents. “Your real mother is the one who raises you. My grandparents take very good care of me – sometimes too good,” she smiled. But it’s obvious to see that the feeling is mutual. Eileen is the light and love in Juan and Loretto’s lives. They adore this vivacious and beautiful granddaughter of theirs, and it’s plain to see how much she loves them.