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.

April 2007 - New Home of Martina and Jose Reyes

In our Christmas newsletter we told you about Martina and Jose Reyes needing a better, more secure place to live. I’m happy to report that the renovations have just been completed and they now have a strong, solid home. We knocked down the old, creaky porch to make room for an indoor bathroom with running water. Concrete now covers the dirt floor and a new roof keeps out the rain. Instead of a dark, gloomy interior, Martina and Jose now have a house that is bright, clean and easier to move around in. Thank you for helping us bring this about.

March 2007 - Healing of Miguel's sister

Miguel Maldonado is one of the quiet, humble pillars of our community. He is so faithful and steady in coming to the ministries to serve in any way he can. His roles are many – he is a key driver on the weekly routes taking food to the elderly poor, sick and homebound we serve in Juarez, Mexico. He is also part of the team that goes to the jails each week to take food and the Word of God to those in prison. In addition to all that, Miguel is one of the broadcasters at our international shortwave radio station KJES, which is located at The Lord's Ranch in New Mexico.

Recently Miguel shared with us a wonderful testimony. This is what he told us:

My sister has smoked cigarettes for many years. In a recent medical examination the doctor told her, “You have cancer in your lungs. It is so advanced that we are going to have to operate on you immediately and try to remove the tumors.”
So the emergency surgery was scheduled and my sister called me desperate for prayer. I assured her we would be praying for her, and the morning of her scheduled operation, we went to Mass with the community. At the prayers of the faithful I prayed out loud for her healing. I felt the Lord’s peace.

Later on my sister phoned me from the hospital. “The doctors opened me up and could find no sign of cancer! My lungs were clear and fine, thanks be to God.”

I give thanks and praise to God for all His marvels for me and for my family.

We join Miguel in thanking God for this wonderful healing.

February 2007 - Mariquita's New House

This month we have some wonderful news to share with you. Do you remember us telling you about Mariquita, the blind lady whose house was flooded with 2 feet of mud and debris in the summer rainstorms? With the change of terrain outside, she had to get on her hands and knees and crawl out to the clothesline to hang her laundry so she would not fall in any holes. We shared how we were hoping to build her a new home soon in a better location. Well, thanks be to God, the little house is finished!

Mariquita stayed with her daughter during the time of construction because her previous house was literally falling apart after the heavy rains. The roof of one of the rooms caved in and the place became too hazardous for her. This new home is solidly built on high ground and has easy access from a paved road that runs alongside it. The design is one open room containing her bed and a kitchen/dining area, with a small bathroom off to the side. This makes it easier for her to get around since she can’t see.

Despite December being a busy month, those working on her home rushed to get it done by Christmas.

Now all moved in, she tells us, “I’m so happy here! May God bless all of you who helped build me this wonderful place to live.”

January 2007 - New Playground Equipment

Imagine going to school and at recess time having nothing but a dirt yard to play in with one old plastic cube to climb on. This was the case for the students attending our school at the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico. But thanks to some resourceful friends in Albuquerque, the kids now have a real playground.

It came about that a Catholic grade school was getting rid of their old playground equipment. Our friends asked if they could have it for the Food Bank in Mexico and the school readily agreed. But then came the problem of transportation. How does one get a swing set, slide, and merry-go-round across the border and to a rural location in Mexico? No easy task!

Getting it loaded onto a trailer and brought to El Paso was one step. Then Nestor Baca and his son, Dennis, had to scout out a route to drive, because the electric wires hang very low over many of the roads, and the equipment could have gotten dangerously snagged in them.

With that figured out, and a few more hurdles overcome, the precious cargo finally arrived! The children were so excited that as soon as the slide was unloaded and propped up against the fence, they started using it. Nestor had to chase them away so that they wouldn’t get hurt, promising that they could slide all they wanted to once it was properly installed. So the children watched wide-eyed from the classroom, dying to get their chance to play.

The men dug the necessary holes, positioned the equipment and poured the cement. It all got finished before Christmas, and what a great gift it was. The kids have been having a ball!

We hope you and your loved ones had a very blessed Christmas, and we pray for a happy, healthy New Year!