Ciudad Victoria continued...finally...

Thursday morning rolled around and we meet again at Juventud por Cristo. After loading up our supplies, new friends of ours, Daniele and Karen, took us out for community outreach in a nearby area named La Moderna. As we traveled out, they explained to us that La Moderna is community located in the southwest corner of Victoria on other side of a water runoff that separates them from the main part of the city. Normally, this run off is a blessing to the city, preventing flooding from occuring when water comes down from the Sierra Madre mountains, which surrounds Victoria. Unfortunately, the roughly 50 yard wide ravine which runs alongside the edge of the main city was no match for Hurricane Alex when it swept through a little over 2 months ago. As a result La Moderna was left isolated without help and with no way in or out for roughly a week following the hurricane. As we entered La Moderna, my heart became very heavy. It was very difficult to distinguish between damage caused by the hurricane and what appeared to be normal living conditions. I had no idea what poverty actually looked like until we entered the area.

We made our way through the streets, which is a relative term for the hard rocky surface we drive on, to a small stucco building named Mission de La Moderna. Our goal at the mission was to go out into the community delivering food and clothes. We soon found that there was no need to go out, as word had traveled fast and the community came to us. We quickly found ourselves surrounded by a large group of people waiting patiently for the little assistance we could offer. One man stood out as he was searching somewhat desperately for a particular item. He had already collected quite a few items so we tried to see if we could help. It turns out that he had a family of about 12 people total, including parents, brothers and sisters and five of his own children. He had quite a load to carry so a few of us traveled down to his home with him to help him out. Along the way he kept pointing to my shoes trying to ask a question. It turns out he was asking if we brought any shoes in size, the item he had been searching for. I then noticed the worn down undersized pair of Croc type shoes he was wearing. Unfortunately we mostly only had childrens shoes. Come to find out, most of the men in the area try to find work when it is available, but most are unable to. So many of the men in the area seek work at the local landfill, which pays next to nothing. Such was the story for this man. All he was seeking was a good pair of shoe to work in.

Upon our return to the mission our group split up to travel to the homes of two families who were unable to come to the mission. The team I was on walked up to a lady's home on the side of a small mountain. She too, like the man described above, lived in a shelter that was little more than scrap wood covered by anything that could be found to keep water out. After spending some time with the woman and her family we asked if we could pray for her. Through Daniele we learned that about the same time as Hurricane Alex struck, she lost her husband to a heart attack. The exact details were a little lost in translation, but she asked us to pray for her due to financial struggles. Her husband appeared to have been the main support of income and now with him gone she was having some trouble affording even food to live on. On top of that she still owed for his funeral expenses and had no way of paying them. After praying with the woman she hugged us all and told us that although her husband is gone, she continues to live in hope, knowing that through God she is never alone.

After meeting up with the rest of the group, we traveled to a home that our build team was working on. Given the work that was left to do on the home I stuck with them while the rest of the community outreach group went back to the Juventud por Cristo building to assist with preparations for the next day. I traveled around the back of the house where the work was being done to find out that we weren't just repairing a home, we were essentially building one. The woman's home had been completely demolished by Hurricane Alex. All that remained was an open three walled room measuring roughly 10 feet long by 3 feet wide. She had been living outdoors essentially since the storm. While we were happy to be putting a roof over her head, my heart continued to sink. Given the time we had and the limited materials we were given little more could be done than to build what amounted to a car port, an open space with a tin roof and a dirt floor. We did not even have enough to put up exterior walls.

That night I was tremendously burdened as I began to process the day. I thought about how selfishly I live. Kristi and I could make very small sacrifices in our lives that would mean a tremendously better living situation for a good part of the families we came in contact with that day. But even at that we would only make a small dent in that one community, not to mention the insignificant impact we would make on the world. The physical needs were too big and our resources were too small. I then thought about what the woman living on the side of the small mountain had said. "I continue to live in hope, knowing that through God I am never alone." The concept of the body and power of God became more real to me in that moment than ever before. We serve a God who has unlimited resources and who has blessed his family in order that they bless others. Sadly few, including myself, ever make even small concessions in life to drop our own self consuming nature and live a self sacrificing life. Passages like Matthew 9:35 - 38 and James 2:14-17 poured into my mind that night. It became very real to me at that time my burdened heart was my calling to act.