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.