Pastor Stephen Heimer (Zion Lutheran -El Paso) brings God’s Word to the families at La Santa Biblia

Almost 400 children were able to celebrate Christmas and Epiphany in the dirt open lot of the Iglesia Luterana de La Santa Biblia.  On December 23^rd, some 260 kids received toys donated to this mission-church by donors through Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM).  For several weeks prior to that day, Rosy Lira, deaconess at La Santa Biblia and another mission-church in the Anapra area, would cross the border to pick up toys and take them across to Anapra, storing them in the 53’ storage container used as a warehouse, kitchen, distribution area, and in really cold days, their sanctuary.

Tamales and hot chocolate were given out to over a hundred people on December 23rd

The women at La Santa Biblia came together to make the Christmas distribution special to the children of their surrounding community.  They served tamales and hot chocolate, distributed toys to children from two to twelve years old, and gave out blankets, which are very much needed in Anapra during these cold winter months.

Families received a bag full of non-perishable items, most of them meant to last throughout the week such as beans, rice, and cereal.  For many, the mercy shown by La Santa Biblia is the way they’ve been able to survive for the last few months.

“We used to have about twenty-six families coming every week,” Rosy shared during a staff meeting, “But now we have sixty…so many of them are single mothers or grandmothers taking care of their grandchildren while mothers work in the maquiladoras in Juarez.  There really is a need here in our community and we keep looking for every possible way to help.”

Children received toys and their families got a generous food bag and blankets for the winter months ahead

The core congregation of La Santa Biblia has been working to find ways to reach out to their community, planning events such as the Christmas distribution and the Epiphany distribution that took place on January 6^th of this new year.

Jesus’ smile warms the heart as does the hot chocolate

“I was able to worship with nearly 100 of my brothers and sisters,” Scott Juengel, Missions and Ministry Facilitator at YLM, shared over Facebook about the event that took place the first Wednesday of the new year, “It made me think of Mark 6:34, where Jesus sees the great crowd and had compassion on them, teaching them many things.”

Pastor Stephen Heimer, Senior Pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, makes the weekly trip to Anapra every Wednesday morning to give the Gospel message to this growing group of people.  With the support of his congregation, he teaches God’s Word, gives confirmation classes to teenagers and adults, and helps the mission-church pastor do baptisms.

“For many, their physical needs are so big, they don’t see their spiritual needs,” Rev Dr. Karl Heimer, CEO of YLM and Senior Pastor at San Pablo Lutheran Church explained, “This is why we put Matthew 25 into action, so they will know they are loved and cared for in their current situation.  This has opened many doors for us to share the Gospel.”

With a small team of servants working between three of the mission-churches in Anapra –San Lucas, La Santa Biblia, and Cristo Rey –Rosy and her team of dedicated volunteers are now preparing to do a distribution of toys for children in the community surrounding Cristo Rey.

The celebration of God’s Son coming to walk among us continues in Anapra, and we’re excited for it to continue in all our hearts throughout this new year.