Javier and his mother Enedina in their little plot of land

Back in 2002, St. Paul Loon Lake Lutheran Church from Vergas, Minnesota, came down to Anapra in Juarez, ready to help Iglesia Luterana San Lucas reach out to its surrounding community. One of the members, Luke Wolters, spent his time digging out old trees and planting new saplings, hopeful they would receive the care to become a place of shade and rest for people.

Fast forward to summer of 2021, when St. Paul Loon Lake returned for their ninth servant event mission trip to, once again, help one of the mission-churches partnering with Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) by providing funds and labor to help renovate the bathrooms in the fellowship hall and repair the roof of the Office Building of Iglesia Luterana Santisima Trinidad on the east side of Juarez. The five-man team that spent the week at Santisima worked hard and even did some extra repair work, and when a positive balance was left after their projects were completed, the church decided to donate it towards the Stay-in-School Scholarship program.

YLM Missionaries met Javier in 2020 and have been encouraging his desire to know God more ever since

A couple of months after their visit, the team’s leaders, Myron and Sonya Gunderson, came down to El Paso to visit with their two-year-old godson in Juarez, stopping by the YLM office to visit. While here, they learned of Javier Valadez, a fifteen-year old boy who was attending his first year of high school thanks to the Stay in School Scholarship sponsored by St. Paul Loon Lake. Javier, a shy bright-eyed boy with a stutter who has a desire to become a missionary, is always eager to learn about God and study His Word.

Javier helps with the Servant Event teams during his winter break

In the mornings, before he has to get ready to make the one mile walk to the high school outside of Anapra, Javier goes to San Lucas to water all the trees on the property. Without fail, he is at church on Sundays and is one of two young boys who at the Wednesday Bible study, which is mostly attended by women.

The Stay In School Scholarship helped pay for a new laptop for virtual classes and assignments

“I want to be a missionary,” he shared with a couple of the YLM staff members about two years ago, and to this day, he is still desiring to serve God as a missionary. He reads his Bible every night, video-calling one of YLM’s missionaries for help to understand what he is reading.

“He’s always been interested in the things of God,” Enedina, Javier’s mother, shared about her youngest son, “I got so sick when he was born, I was sure I was going to die. I remember taking him to church and asking God to care for him. I got better and I have noticed as he gets older, he grows hungrier for God and His Word.”

While out of school during the winter break, Javier and his friend Kevin helped YLM’s Servant Event Projects Facilitator with loading and unloading materials and supplies for one of the mission teams serving during their break time. He is always eager to help in the church, to share God’s love through deed as he is learning God’s Word. Thanks to St. Paul Loon Lake, Javier has the support necessary to equip him for ministry in the mission field.

$700.00 pays for one academic school year in Mexico. If you would like to contribute towards the Stay In School Scholarship and help break the cycle of poverty by raising up children and youth, you can donate today and designate it towards the scholarship under Education Programs.