“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end –it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”                                                    

Habakkuk 2:3

 

On July of last year, Mission Opportunity Short Term Ministries (MOST) brought down a team from Christ Our King Lutheran Church in Saline, MI to serve in Juarez through Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLMHC). They served in impoverished communities on the outskirts of Juarez, providing eyeglass clinics to people without the financial means to buy glasses for reading or distance.

Through one of YLMHC’s partnering mission-churches, Iglesia Luterana San Pedro y San Pablo located in Kilometer 30, a connection was made with Corina, owner of Comedor Infantil Emanuel (Comedor), which serves as the community center of KM 30.

Corina, along with her husband, began their ministry in KM 30 twenty years ago, feeding over 100 kids weekly and providing a Christian-based daycare. Ten years ago, Corina’s husband died in a car accident, and since then, she has been struggling and sacrificing to carry on the ministry.

When the July 2022 MOST team served at KM 30, they saw over 500 people, but they also noticed a glaring fact that could not be ignored –the Comedor was in a deplorable state of disrepair. Years of roof and water damage had led to stained walls, fallen ceiling drywall, and insulation black with mold.

“I kept knocking on doors, going to people to ask for help, even approaching government officials,” Corina shared throughout the week as she watched tearfully the work being done, “They would say yes, promise to help me, but there were never any results. I lost hope that this would ever become a safe and healthy place to feed the children of our community.”

Rev. David Schtecholz, a member of the MOST team, along with Scott McClelland, commented about the state of the Comedor to Scott Juengel, YLMHC’s Servant Event Facilitator, concerning the conditions of the center.

His reply: “Everyone who comes to serve at the Comedor sees the conditions, and they have the best of intentions in commenting about something needing to be done.”

For Scott McClelland, this became a challenge, one he presented to the Christ Our King members who were part of their MOST team. By the end of their week, Scott spoke for their team, “We’re going to fix this. This cannot go on anymore.”

The nine months between then and now involved an incredible collaboration of MOST Ministries, Rotary International Clubs in Michigan, El Paso, and Juarez, Christ Our King Lutheran Church, and YLMHC to raise the funds and seek the best way to achieve this massive undertaking.

“This was beyond what we have ever done before,” Kelly Bone, the team’s MOST leader and MOST’s Business Manager and Volunteer Coordinator, shared with YLMHC’s Communication Specialist, “Not just the scope of the project, but the extent of financial resources needed.”

Pastor David worked with multiple Rotary Clubs in Michigan, raising a large amount of what was needed through grants and matching gifts. Christ Our King held several fundraisers, bringing in several thousand dollars into the project. Within months, the funds were pledged or collected, yet there were other bumps and seeming obstacles that had the MOST team doubt whether the project was really going to happen.

By the 10^th of April, everything fell into place, with architect Julian Lara from one of the Juarez Rotary Clubs, bringing in his team of workers to repair the roof, tear out the ceiling drywall and insulation, clean the mold, apply an elastic-like substance to prevent mold from forming, then install new sheetrock, finishing it up by taping and mudding the seams.

The MOST team of 8 arrived on April 22^nd, unsure of what to expect, but ready to get started with finishing up the last of the ceiling, painting all inside and outside walls, and providing four days of Vacation Bible School to the local children. By the end of their first day, with several bumps and unexpected difficulties, it became obvious God hand-picked each member of their mission team. Each one had special talents and skills that became very much needed as their mission week unfolded.

On the last day, small details were left to finish the entire Comedor, inside and out. By three in the afternoon, Corina and Miguel, husband of three years, along with her son, daughters, grandchildren, children she served and families of their community, stepped into a completely transformed Comedor!

The walls bright turquoise and pink, new curtains on the windows, the kitchen a pretty pistachio green, bathrooms cleaned and painted; what was even more touching, was the care and detail Scott McClelland put into restoring a wall painting of “El Chavo”, a beloved childhood television character that had originally been painted by Corina’s first husband.

The week’s work and results exceeded everyone’s expectations –the team’s as well as Corina. Years of what seemed unanswered prayers, hopes and disappointed promises, finally came to fruition. Corina herself doubted the promise from this MOST team would be kept until the day they showed up. Throughout the week, with tears of joy and disbelief for what God had accomplished, she kept saying, “I lost hope, but it was all in God’s timing.”

Give us a call at (915) 858-2588 or send an email to luz.soto@ylm.org to get information on how your church can provide missionaries to serve through YLMHC’s Servant Event Ministry in El Paso or Juarez!