Violence in Juarez

The City of Juarez, just across the border from us, has become a war zone. There have been over 200 murders in Juarez in February. Most of these fall into two categories, either the bodies are riddled with hundreds of rounds from an automatic machine gun or they are bound and decapitated.

The violence has caused us divert our short term teams ministering in Juarez this summer to Laredo. There is not only danger for the teams, but it can make the churches we work with targets for extortion. God is sovereign over the violence. I talked with a missionary yesterday who was pulled over by two men with guns, then for no apparent reason, the gunmen turned around and left. A similar situation occurred with one of our pastors. God is using the violence to awaken a spiritual hunger. I am convinced more than ever of the need for prayer to combat the spiritual struggle at work among us. Please pray that God would bring people to faith and repentance, and that the Prince of Peace would reign in Juarez.

Our local NBC affiliate carried the following broadcast connecting the violence in Juarez to the pre-Catholic worship of Santa Muerte. This has become the patron saint of the drug dealers and reminds us that our struggle is not "against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against teh cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. So please pray against the darkness. Pray that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, would reign in this city and region.

http://www.ktsm.com/news/only-9-the-dark-religion-santa-muerte

http://www.ktsm.com/news/shes-here-santa-muerte-icons-believers-el-paso

Frank and Alicia

Frank and Alicia are some of our best friends here. Frank helps me study Spanish, and our families get together often. Two years ago Franks mother died of complications from diabetes. This struggle caused him to question what he believed. Although he grew up in a Catholic home, he had left the faith during high school. Frank met Christ through a pastor in the hospital waiting room. As a courier he spends a lot of time driving and listening to Christian radio. This was his major source of spiritual nourishment until he joined our church last year. It is exciting to see his enthusiasm for the faith. Through his testimony his neighbors and some extended family members have started attending our church. Frank is one of 7 brothers and I believe Alicia has 9 siblings. So through this family we've gotten to know a lot of people.

About a month ago, Heather hosted a baby shower for Alicia. Many of her sisters and some of Frank's family came. And about a week later Caleb was born. Please pray for this family as they grow in an understanding of God and his Word. Pray especially for Alicia. Although she is spiritually searching herself, she has been hesitant to embrace Frank's new found faith. She has been studying with the Jehovah's Witness. Pray that Alicia would recognize that Jesus Christ is God and the only hope for her salvation.

Peña Profession

Our last post highlighted the construction project we did on the Peña house in Montana Vista. Hector and Alma were culturally Catholic, but didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Both of them gave testimony to the change God has done in their hearts as they have repented of sinful patterns and their lives have been transformed by the power of the Spirit.

The first week of February, they made a profession of faith. The Spanish Bible study we have in their home has grown as well. A couple of weeks ago we had three more ladies come. We just started a Spanish version of Walk thru the Bible.

The Peña Family

As the wind swept fire through their mobile home in September of 2006, the Peña family didn’t have time to save any belongings. Alma Peña said, "The most important thing was getting the kids out. The boys didn't even have their shoes on." They watched as what little they had burned to the ground including the dress for their daughter’s quinceañera, or 15th birthday party, which was just three days away.

They had no homeowners insurance. Assistance from local agencies was limited, in part due to the family’s inability to speak English and navigate the bureaucracy. The property on which the trailer was set, a car salvage yard, belonged to Mr. Peña’s employer. After the fire, the family moved into the salvage yard’s office, a one-room space with a bathroom (no shower or tub) and no running water. They lived in that space for almost two years.
Hector Peña works as a car mechanic and only earns about $300 per week. While trying to supply the needs of a family of five on this meager salary, Hector used as much money as possible to buy materials to build a new home, one 2X4 at a time. He started building on a lot paid for by donations from the community.

Las Tierras Community Church, a BEAMM church plant led by Manuel Padilla, had been praying for God’s direction in starting mercy outreach and community development ministry in the “colonia” of Montana Vista just outside the Eastern limits of the City of El Paso. A “colonia” is an unincor-porated community that springs up with little or no public services.
Las Tierras Church and BEAMM pulled together resources and volunteers from the community and PCA churches throughout the country to do an Extreme Makeover type project to finish the Peña’s home last summer.

Our family’s focus is to lay the ground work for a Spanish speaking church in Montana Vista. Jeff has been forming relationships and scouting out the opportunities for service. He and Manuel Padilla lead a Spanish Bible study in the Peña home on Sunday nights. It is a joy to see the Peña’s grow in their knowledge of God and his Word and begin to help others know him as well.

Please pray for the Peña family

Please pray for the Peña family as they mourn the loss of their cousin, who was shot five times in Juarez this weekend. The violence subsided after the Mexican government sent 7,000 troops into Juarez. But now the violence is rising once again. Last weekend their were 30 assasinations pushing the number of murders in May to 120. Pray for peace in Juarez. The believers of Promesa de Vida continue to go door to door sharing the love of Christ in the midst of the violence.

Montana Vista

Our family is working with Las Tierras Community Church in far east El Paso. Las Tierras is a multi-cultural church in an area that is 90% Hispanic. Jeff is leading worship and teaching Sunday school. He also preaches once a month. Both Jeff and Heather are helping organize youth activities. We couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Pastor Manuel Padilla, who served with Mission to the World for 15 years in Spain before coming to the border.

While Las Tierras Community Church serves a primarily 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanic area, the bulk of our family's ministry is in Montana Vista, a "colonia" or an unicorporated area in the desert outside of El Paso.

The thing that surprises me the most is that almost all the houses are works in progress. Almost everyone is working on their house. Many of the buildings were started and never finished. Others are pieced together over time with the materials available. Some of them have faded and ripped black tar paper around them, but no siding. Other homes are made of concrete block using the construction methods common in Chihuahua and other parts of Mexico. But of these few are finished. There are a few beautiful homes, with stucco and painted with clean bold colors. Some of the houses are painted with bright colors. But the majority of the homes are still trailers.

Each house tells a story of hope, ingenuity, hardship, toil, and sometimes tragedy. There are not a small number of charred remains of trailers and homes burnt down or badly damaged by fire. I am told that these fires are caused by people using unsafe methods of heating their home in the cold winter months.

It seems like the community of Montana Vista is much like one of these pieced together homes. People staked out a future on the edge of the desert. It was rough and barren, but people worked hard to build a better life. Over time the community took shape. People came and people left. Various churches and community organizations came in to help cultivate the community. Through hard work bit by bit, family by family, the community grew. New schools were built. More services were added. You can still see the tar paper blowing in the wind, but a beautiful home is taking shape. Will it ever be a finished product?

We're in Wichita!

We had a great time learning Spanish in Costa Rica.  Now we are headed to the US/Mexico border.  We have rented a house in east El Paso, TX.  This week we are in Wichita, KS.  Tomorrow we will move our stuff from storage into a 26 ft. truck.  Sunday we will share about our time in Costa Rica and our future plans on the border during Sunday School at Heartland Community Church, the north west corner of Woodlawn and Kellogg.  If you're in Wichita we would love to have you come.  It starts at 9:15 in the fellowship hall.  We will also have an open house at the Shelden's house from 3-5 at 304o W. River Park Ct. Wichita, KS 67203.

Please pray for us as we drive from Wichita to El Paso on Monday.