October 2013 - flooding

As I write this, we are just drying out from a lot of rain and flooding that hit our area. Several inches of rain fell in the course of a three day storm that hovered over El Paso and Juarez. Normally we get around 4 to 7 inches of rain a year, but in this storm we got 3 to 5 inches in less than a week. For this semi-arid part of the country, that much rain means major flooding. 

View from the van — water completely floods the streets

near our Las Alitas ministry center.

One of the locations hardest hit was on the eastside of Juarez where our ministry center called Las Alitas is. Our team almost didn’t make it back on day 2 of the storm (see picture at right). When they returned a few days later, many of the homes, which are built of odd assortments of cinder block, wooden pallets and cardboard, were heavily damaged. Sinkholes had opened up in the saturated ground, sometimes running right through someone’s living quarters, since the houses are constructed on the dirt with no foundation poured underneath them.

Lupita, pictured here with her 3 girls, is a single mom whose home was one of the most damaged in the neighborhood. Right now we are working with a local hardware store nearby to supply the families with the materials they need to rebuild and repair their damaged houses and rooms. Everyone in the community is banding together and assisting those affected by the storm. With great enthusiasm and hope, and beautiful sunny weather that the Lord is providing, the reconstruction has already begun.

September 2013 - Wheelchair Accessible Van

Last year we wrote to you about our growing concern of helping people with disabilities in the neighborhoods around the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico. One of the immediate needs we had was to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van so we could pick people up and bring them to the Lord’s Clinic for medical care. We’re happy to announce that we were finally able to get that van, thanks to you. 

Our new (used) van equipped with an automated lift for wheelchairs.

It is a used van but in good condition and with an almost-new wheelchair lift that the previous owners had installed. We are now equipped to pick up as many as 3 patients in their wheelchairs and bring them to the clinic so that they can receive medical care.

Like Jose, who has an ulcerated wound on his hip. We can now bring him to the clinic every week for the medical staff to clean and attend his wound. There are others in wheelchairs who don’t need medical attention each week, but they still ask us to pick them up on Tuesdays (our clinic day) so that they can come to the Food Bank for the hot meal we serve. Eating their chicken soup or burrito, they enjoy the social time and the chance to get out of their houses for a few hours once a week. Priority goes to those needing medical help, but if we can we bring the others along too.

Jose arriving at the Food Bank so he can go to the Lord’s Clinic.

This van is such a blessing and has allowed us to help those with physical disabilities in a greater way.

August 2013 - Francisco gets his chicken

The expectant faith of children is so powerful and seems to really touch the heart of God. Let me share a story to illustrate that.

Eight year old Francisco was really looking forward to his First Communion when he would receive the Eucharist for the first time. We had been preparing the children all year, telling them what a special event this was, and they were all so excited. Francisco’s family would be there at the Mass, and in order to celebrate afterwards, he asked his dad,  “Can we have chicken for dinner?” Now that might not seem like a big request, but Francisco’s dad makes $65 a week, $20 of which goes toward rent. Chicken was not something they normally could afford, so he answered, “Well, son, whatever we have available that day is what we will have. If it is possible, I will buy you some chicken. If not, whatever we have...” Little Francisco just smiled and skipped off. That was 3 weeks before the scheduled day.

On the very morning of the celebration, we received a donation of 293 boxes of chicken. A company called us saying that they had an unexpected surplus and that if we would come and pick it up, the chicken was ours. So we did. The chicken pieces were breaded and seasoned – they only needed to be fried to serve.

Every family present that day, including Francisco’s of course, was given a 10 lb. bag of chicken to take home with them. Not only did he get chicken for his dinner that day, his entire class and all their families got chicken, too.

Oh, the faith of a child!

July 2013 - Is God Multiplying Money?

Going through our achieves the other day, I found this testimony from Manny Basurto, a long-time volunteer at our Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico, who passed away in 1994. 

He wrote: “In August of 1984, Carmen Molina gave me 50,000 pesos. After all the bills had been paid and everything was accounted for, I ended up with 200,000 pesos. This was within a 10 day period.

“The second instance was in the month of May 1985. I believe the Lord multiplied some more money. It was almost the same amount. I told Carmen Molina about it and gave her the money that the Lord had multiplied. I didn’t mention it to anybody else because I thought they wouldn’t believe it.

“The third case happened recently. On August 14, 1985, I was given 183,100 pesos. On August 22, 1985, I was given 100,000 pesos more. So that gave me a total of 283,100 pesos. The bills I had to pay totaled 360,136.50 pesos, and when I turned in my accounting of what I had received and paid, I had 77,036.50 remaining. I believe God multiplied the pesos!”

Apparently the Lord is still multiplying money here. I just got this report from Ramona, who heads up the Lord’s Food Bank with her husband. She wrote in an email, “First I'm still in shock. After reviewing the numbers, I found out that I use more money than what I receive, glory be to God. The expenses I put on the budget are the most basic, but there are many more requests every week from people who need help with their gas and other things. Really, Ellen, I think the money was multiplying, because every week I had the exact money for all the expenses and for the extra needs that people came to me with. There have been several times when I know the envelope where I keep the money was empty, yet someone in very desperate need would come to me and I would check anyway, and sure enough, there would be like $20 left. Most of the time I have extra money to use for those who come in serious need. I’m always concerned about using this money well, but I guess the Lord is pleased because He keeps providing more.”