June 2013 - Francisco's hearing aid

Francisco is a hardworking husband and father in Juarez, Mexico, who has the added challenge of being almost completely deaf. Resulting from an accident when he was 12 years old, he only has about 20% of his hearing. He had a job in a factory until 2 years ago, when during the outbreak of deadly violence in the city, they were carjacked and Francisco was beaten up badly and threatened with death. They fled to a relative in another part of the country, leaving behind their house and livelihood. After things calmed down somewhat in Juarez, they returned last year, but Francisco was without a job. Searching for employment and going to interviews, he was repeatedly turned down due to his deafness. Finally he found work as an auto mechanic, although his coworkers and boss get frustrated at their need to shout so he can hear what they are saying.

Francisco has an old hearing aid that he got many years ago, but it continually breaks down. He takes it to get repaired, it works for a day or to, then he needs to get it fixed again. He went to an ear doctor to get fitted for another hearing aid, but the device costs $750 — a huge expense to this poor family. Francisco makes $65 a week, and $20 of that pays their weekly rent. They wanted to schedule payments to get the hearing aid, but the office insists on everything up front. He’s only been able to save $85 towards it since October, and now the doctor is saying he is taking too long to pay and that they won’t save it for him any longer. Knowing how important this is for Francisco keeping his job, we told him we would help raise the balance.

Monica and the children (who are very involved in our ministry of teaching catechism and walk 40 minutes each way to our center every Saturday) are so glad that Francisco will be able to hear better soon.

May 2013 - Mariquita

We have been visiting Mariquita, who is blind, each week for many, many years. Although she does not have physical sight, she seems to have been blessed with spiritual insight, and has often shared with us how she can see heavenly angels. She has always been a woman of great faith, having suffered much in life, yet always remaining cheerful and full of hope. She used to live at the bottom of a hill, and one time during a week of heavy rain, we went to see her and found her starting to shovel out piles of mud that had washed down into her little house. While we looked around dismayed at the horrific mess she was faced with, she was upbeat and thanking God for her blessings. Soon afterwards we were able to build her a good house in a much better location. Even though we would bring her groceries and companionship, we were the ones who received more from her, encouraged and built up in our faith.

However age, sickness and the death of a son have taken their toll on Mariquita. She has gotten quite frail and withdrawn, often confined to bed and not talking much at all. It almost seems like she is just waiting to die.

But during one of our weekly visits, a young mother brought along her two daughters on the ministry — one of them a baby named Philomena. When we arrived at the house, Mariquita was very quiet and subdued, not interacting much. Then she heard Philomena babbling. The young mother asked Mariquita if she wanted to hold the baby, and when she said yes, put Philomena in her arms. Mariquita’s whole demeanor changed, her face lit up with a huge smile, and we got a glimpse of the way she used to be. It gave all of us great joy to see how much happiness this little baby brought to our dear friend.

April 2013 - Mayra & Rafael

Every Friday we load up in 4 or 5 vans and head out in teams to visit the sick and elderly in the area surrounding the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico. Each van is assigned a different route with about 10 - 12 stops to make. Besides bringing groceries for the week, we also spend some time chatting with whomever we are visiting, finding out how each person is doing and what new needs they may have that we can help meet.

There are two very beautiful children with special needs that we get to see on these weekly visits. Mayra, a 14 year old girl, has been cared for by her grandmother since birth. She was born severely disabled and cannot move or talk, although she can hear. Her mother felt unable to care for her and gave her to Mayra’s grandmother. Since Mayra is bedridden, we include a supply of diapers along with the usual groceries that we bring.

Nearby is Rafael’s family. We just found out about Rafael recently and have added his family to our routes. Rafael’s dad struggles to support his family by working at a bakery, while Rafael’s mom stays home to care for her special needs son. Rafael is also confined to bed and cannot speak, but he gets very excited when visitors drop by to see him. He has a huge smile and his whole body jerks in delight when we walk in.

Both of these children are lovingly cared for by their families — families that face such hardship and challenges in their poverty and need but who have deep faith in God and real love for these precious children entrusted to them. On my first visit to meet Rafael, I was struck by the photos proudly displayed on the walls of him as a baby and as a younger boy.

As we were leaving, we sensed Rafael’s mom wanted to tell us something but seemed embarrassed to do so. Apologetically she said, “The diapers you brought last week are too big for him.” She showed the size he needed held next to the rather large size we had brought. Happily we assured her we’d bring the correct size the following week.

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.  

January 2013 - Playground

We recently were able to purchase the area of land surrounding our center at Loma Blanca, a very poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Juarez, Mexico. Many of the homes do not have electricity and the city is just now in the process of bringing water out to this area. We told you about the soccer teams that we have organized with the youth who attend our catechism classes, and now we hope to make a small field and playground which the kids can use.

In the providence of God, someone just donated a large wooden swing and slide set. Some of the men went to pick it up this week, took apart all the pieces and loaded it on the truck. They took pictures and numbered the various sections with chalk so they can remember how to reassemble it when they get it over to Loma Blanca.

  

The kids are so excited about having a place of their own to play. Even though it will be a rough dirt field, to them it is a dream come true.

We pray that you have a very happy and healthy New Year!