April 2012 Newsletter
Greetings!
Many blessing be upon you and your family! We want to give you a warm THANKS for your continued support and for believing in us! Your dedication has enabled us to work tirelessly on behalf of the Truth. We are so busy with so many ministries taking place and teaching the truth.
As I have often said, it is a shame that too many people promise unbelievers that life will get easier if they come to Christ. The fact of the matter is that my life did not become complicated until I bowed in submission to Jesus Christ, in the same manner, following the Savior has brought great joy and peace in my life. His discipleship is not always an easy one, but I am grateful that those whom He calls He also sustains and enables us in keeping His commandments. Though we are not perfectly faithful to Christ, our deepest desire is to do the will of our Heavenly Father.
Our three main ministries are at work 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The shelter never stops caring for the 100+ men that stay every night. We help them get their identification documents, get their life in order, cleaning, washing the blankets, and cooking. The staff deals with so many men with so many different backgrounds and problems; it’s a hard ministry to be in!
The House of Grace houses 30 children of all ages plus staff that takes care of all their needs. We help bring healing into their lives, cleaning, cooking and washing their clothes and blankets and getting then ready for school, and of course helping them with their home work! And the list goes on; it makes me tired just thinking about it!
Our Discipleship Ranch houses 20 men plus staff. Again, it’s a full time job, 7/24. The 2 bible classes, plus 2 courses given every day, work for 2 hours and play volleyball and one-on-one counseling, the cleaning and cooking and the list goes on. And all the other ministries that we do!
Our outreach to the dump is a great example. Let me share a quick story of a recent trip to the dump. As my wife and I went with a small group, we knew of two sisters, one, Jessenia, who is 13 years old, and the other who is 9 years old. They both live with their grandmother Norma, because their mother is a drug addict and a cutter. The father lives somewhere else and is not really involved. The grandmother told me that she was in the hospital because of heart problems. I asked her what was going to happen with her two granddaughters. I asked Jessenia if she wanted to study, she said yes, she wanted to study and become a doctor. The sad thing is that neither one of them had ever been in school, not even one day of their entire lives! Neither one of them had any papers, like a birth certificate or any kind of I.D. Jessenia got permission from her grandmother to go to the House of Grace and then Jessenia’s mother came, her arm was in a sling and her wrist was bandaged. I asked if we could pray for her, and she said yes. I asked what happened to her wrist; she looked down, not being able to look into my eyes and started crying. We all prayed for her and she gave Jessenia permission to go with us, but the 9 year old did not want to go.
There was another 9 year old named Alondra that wanted to go visit. She got permission from her grandmother, but only if we would bring her back in 3 days. We said ‘ok’. After the 3 days, we came back as promised, to make sure it was still ok with everybody. Jessenia’s father, who is never around, happened to call right before we were getting ready to leave and talked with Jessenia and convinced her not to go back. I could not believe what I was hearing! This father, who was never around, never cared to put his daughter in school, never cared to get them their birth certificates, now was hindering them this once in a lifetime opportunity! It was frustrating!
We had to leave the dump without the two girls. But I knew we would be back soon, to continue to offer the opportunity to these two sisters and Alondra a chance to get out of the dump. And not just a chance to get out, but from becoming addicts or pregnant or without an education and without any hope, but the most important thing is for all these children to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. I wish I could finish this story with a happy ending, but the end has not yet taken place. Please pray that the Lord grants favor and trust to all these people. This is not yet a happy story, but it does not always work out the way we want it to!
Thanks for allowing us to be here, bring hope and opportunities to the lost children of the dump. In His Love, Carlos and Rossy