June 2015 Newsletter
Greetings brothers and sisters!
We want to say a big thank you for supporting La Roca with your prayers and donations. The ministry continues to serve the people of Tijuana and share God's love with them through the shelter (which houses up to 200 men and women daily), House of Grace Children's Home, the Ranch (a rehabilitation and discipleship center) and church services. We have recently started congregating in two new neighborhoods; Valle de Las Palmas and the City Dump.
Currently members of our staff live half the week at the dump, which we renamed “La Esperanza” or “Hope” in English. This name is fitting because just like Jesus gives us new names when we come to serve him we are calling out the hope that we see among the trash these brothers and sisters sift through each day. Here we preach the gospel and feed and prepare a group of children who we take to school each week. These kids live in tents and cardboard shacks and are often left alone while their parents work long days. It is a privilege to be able to care for these precious children of the Lord and to bring blessing upon these families. Just recently we were able to install a large basin of drinking water for everyone in “La Esperanza” to use. The quality of the bottled wáter previously sold was suspect and often made people sick. These small yet essential things lift some of the daily burdens people are facing and reflect how much their heavenly Father cares for them.
Medical care is another tangible way we want to show God's love to “La Esperanza”. The team who hosts a medical clinic regularly at the Shelter is now planning on extending their care to this community. This team regularly makes a difference in the lives of our shelter residents. On their last visit they tended to a man who suffers from Diabetes. He hadn’t been able to get his blood sugar medication for a while and his levels were dangerously high. On top of that he had a deep open sore on his foot which would end in amputation if not treated. The doctors were able to dress the sore and give him antibiotic ointment, extra gauze and blood sugar medication so his body could begin healing again. The doctors also ran into a lady they had previously seen and treated for anemia. A few weeks of iron pills and the lady who had been pale and listless greeted them with a warm pink smile. La Roca is blessed to be a tool in filling people's physical needs always pointing towards the greatest healer of all, Jesus Christ.
Spiritual healing is the work of Jesus and our greatest joy. We are blessed to hear testimonies of how La Roca is being used in spiritual transformation in Tijuana. George recently shared his testimony with us. A Belizian immigrant to the U.S., George had been deported a few years back. He stayed at another shelter a few years before attending a La Roca church service. At this service we happened to be giving diplomas to those who had completed the discipleship program at the Ranch. George, already a Christian, had felt stagnant in his faith and unstable in his life in Tijuana. He seized this opportunity and went to the ranch himself for four months, learning, listening and fellowshipping with the brothers there. The time at the Ranch changed him, he recalled looking at the surrounding mountains and thinking of Moses being told to take off his sandals because he was on Holy ground. “There is something special about that place, it is Holy to me”, he said as he detailed his personal spiritual reawakening there. George is now full time staff at La Roca working in the store, and sharing with the men from the Shelter. ”My intention today is to serve the Lord,” George humbly and confidently shared.
We share George’s desire and we thank you for making all of these ministries possible and covering them with prayer! Also, thanks for being part of the La Roca family!
Your Missionary’s for Christ – Carlos, Rossy and the rest of the La Roca team!