Maritza and Pastor Hernandez transfer toys and jackets into Pastor’s van

Once the Joy Distribution took place at Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) for over 200 kids, it was necessary to find a way to get toys across the border for the children in Kilometro 30, where the tiny house-church of San Pedro y San Pablo gathered to bring care, love, and God’s Word to the people in this impoverished colonia.  Pastor Jose Hernandez, shepherd of Iglesia Luterana Santisima Trinidad, one of YLM’s partnering mission-churches in Juarez, has been helping establish this small congregation with the help of a few faithful women.

“Cecy is one of our lay leaders here at Kilometro 30,” Pastor Hernandez shared some weeks before, “She hosts the church gatherings in her house, as well as the clinic care offered once a month thanks to the support of St. Matthew in Barrington.  She is the one who goes out into the streets and takes down names of families in need.”

Young teens receive jackets and blankets

Thanks to Cecy’s dedicated work in sharing God’s love through simple acts of kindness to her neighbors, a good sixty kids were registered for jackets and toys.  Now, all that had to be done was get them to Pastor Hernandez, as COVID-19 restrictions do not allow him to cross the border.  Maritza Muñoz, member of San Pablo Lutheran Church, and Luz Soto, YLM staff member, volunteered to take the jackets and toys, arranging to meet with Pastor Hernandez soon as they crossed the Zaragoza border.

“We wanted to get these toys and jackets to the kids at Kilometro 30 before Christmas,” Maritza shared, “But when we pulled up to declare what we were taking, we were being charged $600 to import $240 worth of toys and jackets.”  Unfortunately, Maritza and Luz had to turn around and go back to the YLM campus, feeling let down but discussing how it wouldn’t be a big deal of the kids get their gifts by Epiphany.  While waiting in line, they prayed for God to make way for them, then decided to return to the mission and ask Rosy Lira, deaconess at La Santa Biblia and Cristo Rey in Anapra, to take the toys and jackets to Pastor Hernandez the Saturday after Christmas.

Brand new toys were donated by local churches or purchased by YLM staff with monetary donations

However, when talking with the Border Patrol officer and answering his questions about the toys and jackets in the back of the truck bed, he off-handedly suggested the Cordova Bridge, also known as the Free Bridge, stating how they were nicer and less likely to charge so much.  “The border patrol agent had no obligation to share this with us,” Luz explained to several of the other staff members, “So Maritza and I got to the mission, then decided to go ahead and make the trip to the Cordova bridge, which meant driving towards downtown El Paso, then driving back to the Zaragoza bridge to meet Pastor Hernandez…and that’s if we were able to get across with all those toys and jackets.”

God definitely went before, because they crossed with no complications and no need to pay importation fees, safely made it across Juarez to the Zaragoza bridge and were able to meet Pastor Hernandez outside a pharmacy to transfer everything into his van.  “Thanks to God’s provision, these kids who have so little were able to get a new toy,” Maritza couldn’t keep herself from smiling, “It was so amazing for us to see how God made way when we asked Him to.”

God definitely brought Christmas to the children in Kilometro 30, not just in these gifts to bring out smiles and jackets to keep them warm during the cold winter days, but also in the Word of God shared with them on how God’s Love became flesh to live among us.