Migrants rooming together into small houses receive food, blankets, tables, chairs, and Bibles from Cristo Rey and La Santa Biblia

Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey, located in downtown Juarez, has been partnering for mission and ministry work with Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) for over thirty years.  Like many churches in Juarez, COVID restrictions shut their doors in 2020, and with it, the opportunity to share the Word of God with their surrounding community.

However, with about 37 percent of the Juarez population being unable to meet their basic needs, the faithful members of this downtown mission-church saw many opportunities to help families and individuals discover the love of God through simple acts of kindness.

Deaconess Rosy Lira, who works with both Cristo Rey (downtown Juarez) and La Santa Biblia (Anapra), knows what it’s like to be helped in times of need.

Rosy helps mothers and grandmothers find right size jacket for their children

“I came to YLM many years ago because I needed food for my kids.  I experienced genuine love and began volunteering.  They helped me see it wasn’t just about helping people but also about sharing God’s love with them.”

Rosy, along with members from both Cristo Rey and La Santa Biblia, has been doing a lot of helping and sharing while Cristo Rey’s doors have been closed.  From taking food boxes to the most vulnerable of their members to helping provide for refugees who aren’t able to stay at the crowded shelters.

Migrants from Haiti are currently staying at San Lucas after encountering Rosy and asking for help at one of the over-crowded shelters in downtown Juarez

“There’s four houses between Juarez and Anapra where migrants from Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, and other places, are rooming together.  We’ve take food boxes to them, as well as clothes, tables, chairs, and even Bibles,” Rosy shared, “We’ve been able to work with San Lucas to house a young family from Honduras.  Just recently, we helped four people from Haiti, bringing them to San Lucas to stay there and giving them food.  One of them is a pregnant woman.  It was moving to hear how the young father-to-be had been praying for God to bring them help.”

Juan Carlos receives his lit baptism candle

This generosity of love from many not only helped bring much needed resources to people but has brought God’s love through baptism to many of them too.  A young man by the name of Juan Carlos found himself at the receiving end of the love God shows through His children.

“He was really sick and it was the middle of the night.  He had no way to get to a hospital or a doctor so I called Rosy,” Assistant Pastor John Benito Morejón from San Pablo Lutheran Church, who spends time in Juarez reaching out to the refugees in the different shelters and homes such as these, shared after a staff meeting, “She took Juan Carlos to the hospital, stayed with him, even helped him get the medication he needed.  She was a source of comfort and care at a time that was frightening for this young man.”

A couple of weeks after this event, Juan Carlos, along with several of the other refugees whom Rosy and the members of Cristo Rey and Santa Biblia have been helping in the past few months, were baptized into God’s family at Cristo Rey.  It was a joy to reopen doors to the church after almost a year to celebrate these new brothers and sisters in Christ.

During the last month since Cristo Rey opened its doors, they’ve distributed jackets and toys, and held a Palm Sunday celebration service.  “People are hungry for more than just food,” Pastor Lozano, who helps shepherd Cristo Rey and San Lucas, explained once, “And we know the Word of God is what will truly satisfy.  We’re blessed to find ways to share God’s Word outside of the church walls, but it’s a joy to be able to gather once again.”