It all started with an e-mail received by Rev Dr. Karl Heimer, CEO of Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM).  Gary Williams, with the Summer Outdoor Adventure Club (SOAC) in Wisconsin wanted to know if there was any way for YLM to give away about fifty bikes they had to donate.

As part of an empowerment program, children and youth are taught to work on broken down bicycles, giving them an opportunity to acquire skills, learn the positive impact of recycling, and develop compassion for others.

“These kids really like knowing they are fixing the bikes for someone else,” Gary shared during a phone interview, “It helps them become more aware of the world, and they learn to be compassionate for others.”

Members of mission team helped unload 70 bicycles

On November 11^th, early in the morning, 70 bicycles for children, youth and adults, were delivered to the YLM campus.  With the help from a couple of the mission team members serving at YLM during that week, they were unloaded and placed in the large warehouse for safe keeping.

Reaching out to different organizations, Pastor Heimer was able to start distributing these bicycles, starting with ten to go to the small city of San Elizario for its Winter Holiday Celebration.

City of San Elizario picked up ten children’s bicycles for their Winter Holiday Celebration

Ten bikes were picked up by the City of San Elizario, all meant for young children.  The city’s population is less than ten thousand, with a diverse socio-economic demographic.  The San Elizario City Clerk, Nancy Montes, shared how so many donations were given by businesses, contractors, and constituents, such as YLM.

Young girl received one of the ten bicycles donated by YLM to San Elizario

YLM is dedicating time to build a new partnership with San Elizario.  Through the donation of these ten bikes, a new relationship was started, with the possibility of being able to go into the San Elizario community to help families in need.

“There’s close to 200 people that could use the kind of help YLM gives,” the editor of the San Elizario News, having grown up in San Elizario, shared how YLM could be an impact in the lives of people in San Elizario.

The work the SOAC does has helped YLM be able to further their own mission of changing lives everyday through simple acts of kindness.  Thanks to the wonderful children and youth who participate with SOAC, a new relationship has begun to form and YLM is ready to go into the San Elizario community and impact lives in both a physical and spiritual way.

Continuing to seek where else these bikes could change the lives of people in need, YLM is excited to see how God will continue to work through the unexpected gift of recycled bicycles.