He Lost His Home but Not His Song
Onésimo’s apartment burnt down last week. When he describes the gas explosion and his scramble to escape with his wheelchair, it is clear that he barely made it out alive.
Onésimo earns his living singing for tips in the tourist area of downtown Juarez. He is loved by many for his golden singing voice and guitar flair, his small stature, and cheery smile. Dependent on a wheelchair to get around, living within “rolling distance” of downtown Juarez has been vital to his ability to perform music and earn a living. I met him several years ago at YLM’s church in Juarez, Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey, where he was helping teach guitar and accompanying singing during worship services.
After the fire, his friends and all of us at YLM were relieved that he was safe, but deeply concerned for him. After a couple of days accepting shelter from Deaconess Rosy Lira and the church, he had returned to work and decided it was closer, didn’t require transportation expense, and less demanding of others to just sleep at his apartment, amid the ruins and smell of charred rafters and furniture.
As Deaconess Rosy Lira and members of the church led me to Onésimo’s apartment on Friday, through the winding roads of Juarez, I wondered and prayed about how to help. Every possibility I could think of was complicated. Perhaps there was an unknown answer he would suggest. How might the Lord provide for Onésimo so he would be safe, close to work, and wouldn’t be inhaling the smell of charred wood while sleeping?
When we arrived, we found him resting on his bed which was sitting amid the ruined remains of the apartment. He quickly moved to his wheelchair and came out to sidewalk to greet us with warm hugs and a bright smile.
Onésimo is the first one to remind us that the material things that were lost don’t matter and what counts is that he is alive. When he says this, he lifts his eyes to heaven and thanks God that he made it out alive.
He invited us into the property and we followed him over to his bed where he sat down and told us about the fire. I didn’t realize until he lifted up the blanket of his bed that it wasn’t a mattress. He had placed cardboard over the charred remains of a box-spring. When I remember my feelings at the revelation, I imagine my eyes burst wide with surprise.
As we all visited, and prayed, we learned that an answer to Onésimo’s need was at hand. God had already surprisingly brought together the pieces of His perfect solution. He is now in a new apartment, in rolling distance of downtown Juarez, and at a rental rate he can afford. Praise God!
The songs Onésimo chose to sing while we sat and wondered together about the future revealed the source of his calm: “Un día a la vez” (“One Day at a Time”) inspired by Jesus’ words about worry in Matthew 6:25-34 and “las cien ovejas” (“one hundred sheep”) inspired by Jesus’ encouragement in Luke 15:4-7
I wanted to share this story, the pictures, and video of Onésimo leading us in song, because I was moved by his faith and joy. I was moved by Rosy and her church members’ intervention on his behalf. Amid so much hardship, uncertainty, near-death trauma, and loss, there was faith, peace, gratitude, care and certainty of a way forward in Christ.
To God be all Glory
– by Rev. Stephen Heimer, pastor at YLM and Zion Lutheran Church, El Paso, TX
